PORT OF OLYMPIA: ROUND TWO
Olympia PMR (Port Militarization Resistance)
Report from Olympia SDS


On Tuesday November 6 there was a march and rally at the Port of Olympia
against the arrival of the USNS Brittin which came to the port carrying a
cargo of Stryker vehicles and other military supplies and weapons
returning from Iraq. At the rally Iraq War veterans and SDS members Seth
Manzel, and Josh Simpson both gave inspiring speeches as well as members
of Port Militarization Resistance and Peter Bohmer who is a member of
Olympia Movement for Justice and Peace and a former member of the 1960s
Rosa Luxemburg SDS chapter.

The Strykers were from 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division Stryker Combat
Team which resisters tried to prevent from leaving through the port in May
2006. Since then port actions have occurred in Tacoma and Aberdeen, WA
against military shipments. Most likely, the returning materials will be
shipped out again, even though the last tour of Iraq resulted in 48 deaths
of American soldiers and an unknown number of Iraqi civilian deaths. Also,
a high-ranking official in the US military leaked out that all the
vehicles and weapons aboard the ship are contaminated with depleted
uranium. The presence of the ship and the movement of Strykers act as a
hyper-militarization of an already militarized town.

Wednesday night over 150 people gathered at the Port of Olympia to
demonstrate against the militarization of the port. Demonstrators, both
members of PMR (Port Militarization Resistance) and others, decided to
block the convoys. People sat down in lines to block convoys leaving the
port and cops came in to push them back and assault them. The next several
hours saw similar displays of civil resistance. More cops came onto the
scene. More convoys left the port, running into resistance on many
streets. Several people came close to getting run over by Stryker vehicles
that were traveling at high speed. Small barricades went up as well and a
number of people defended themselves and their community from the cops by
pushing them back. People were chased by cops and in return cops made
fools of themselves by tripping over their own feet, falling down and
being too out of shape to run after and catch up with the evasive
resisters.

Sinn Steiner of Olympia SDS was arrested earlier in the night and a few
people were detained. Olympia SDSer Emiliano Guevara was clubbed in the
face by cops, causing his lip to split open.

There was a march from the port to the city jail to release Sinn but the
cops didn't give out any information. Most people started heading back to
their homes when a convoy started rolling by and people ran out to block
it. Olympia SDSer Shyam Khanna was almost run over by a Stryker and the
cops went after him to arrest him. Fifteen people or more all linked up to
prevent him from getting arrested but the cops came down on them with
pepper spray and clubs, leaving people injured, including some SDSers from
Olympia and Bellingham who were pepper sprayed directly and repeatedly in
the face and hit with clubs.

Shyam and Sinn were both released from jail early in the morning, facing
only minor misdemeanors. Perhaps the city was taught a lesson from the
Olympia 22 trial that came out of the May 2006 port actions, was sabotaged
by the police but in the end the defendants came out victorious.

What was amazing about the night was the level of resistance displayed.
Never before, in the port actions in Olympia, Tacoma and Aberdeen, have
people displayed these levels of resistance, adapting quickly to changing situations and fighting back. There was something beautiful that happened
Wednesday night. Liberals, radicals and everyone in between were working
together. They were on the same page and because of this they were able to
act in the manner they did. It was a true expression - no, a true act of
solidarity.

People are asked to come back down to the Port of Olympia tonight. On
Wednesday night 11 SDSers came up from Lewis and Clark SDS in Portland,
one from Bellingham and many others from Olympia.

Because of the resistance that occurred the previous night, on Thursday
night, all military movement at the port was completely halted. Tonight
(Friday) it is expected that the remainder of the shipments will be moved
out of the port.

Solidarity actions against the war machine are encouraged. Please forward
this message on to as many SDSers and others around the country as you
can. Oakland and NYC turned out last year. Let's have more actions like
those. Anything that is part of the military-industrial complex is a good
target.

As of 3:00pm Pacific Time, resisters are setting up road blockades against
convoys and materials attempting to leave.

As we say in Olympia, tear it down, while building sustainable alternatives.