Oakland Green Party endorses day of anti-war action at Port of Oakland on April 7th

The Oakland Green Party unanimously voted to endorse the call for a day of anti-war action at the Port of Oakland on April 7, 2007. The unanimous decision to endorse was made at the Oakland Green Party meeting held February 22, 2007.

A community meeting to organize the day of action on April 7th will be held on Monday night, March 5, at 7pm. Below is a notice for the meeting, please feel free to forward it widely.

Come to a community meeting on Monday, March 5, 2007, at 7:00 PM, to organize a
day of anti-war action at the Port of Oakland. The date of the proposed action
is Saturday, April 7, 2007. The proposed day action will be around a call to Stop
the War Machine and War Profiteering! It will also call for an End to the Occupations
and To Bring the Troops Home Now!

The meeting will be on Monday, March 5, 2007 at 7:00 PM at:

Niebyl-Proctor Marxist Library
6501 Telegraph Avenue
Oakland, CA
(near Alcatraz, accessible from Ashby BART and bus)
wheelchair accessible
NPML ph.: (510) 595-7417

This ad hoc meeting will discuss a proposal for the day's activities centered
around a community picket against a company engaged in war profiteering. The proposed
day of action includes: gathering in the morning at the West Oakland BART for brief
rally; a march to the Port of Oakland; a community picket and rally with speakers
and entertainment (we will ask the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU)
to honor our community picket), and will conclude with a march back to West Oakland
BART. t.

This event is timed for the anniversary of April 7, 2003, when non-violent protesters
and by-standing longshore workers were attacked and wounded by Oakland police (OPD),
shot with "less than lethal" munitions, tear gassed, and run into by motorcycles.

The OPD attack in 2003 was an effort to intimidate people from exercising our First
Amendment rights to protest at the Port of Oakland (which is public property).
The proposed action will demostrate that we will not be intimidated.

The protest in 2003 targeted two corporations with extensive war contracts: Stevedoring
Services of America (a long shore labor provider), and American President Lines
(a major shipper). The proposed action is for also to target such a corporation
and to educate both the public and ourselves about the role the Port of Oakland
plays in the supporting the wars and in the corporate war machine. At the same
time, we will be celebrating the brave sisters and brothers who endured the OPD
attack in 2003, while recalling the history of that day, and what resulted from
it.

While much of what is proposed is similar to 2003, the idea is to avoid any violence
by OPD and plans for insuring that will be discussed at the meeting. Basically,
the proposal is to commit to being non-violent. If there are people interested
in organizing non-violent civil disobedience as part of the day's activities,
there will be discussion about that possibility.

Once the meeting agrees on the basic plan for the day, we will discuss and decide
on things we need to do to organize it including: outreach, publicity and press,
obtaining endorsements; researching the corporate target to determine the site at
the Port for the community picket and rally; other major logistics; peace keeping;
speakers and entertainment; signs and banners; etc. Initial progress on these areas
will be reported.

Please come to the meeting or get in touch to help us organize a day of anti-war
action at the Port on April 7th that will be both successful and fun.

for more info call Jonathan at (510) 465-9914 or email: jnack [at] igc.org