Sacramento Police arrest Cindy Sheehan, 18 others at Occupy Sacramento!

Sacramento Police arrest Cindy Sheehan, 18 others at Occupy Sacramento!

by Dan Bacher

In a continuing wave of police repression against peaceful protesters, Sacramento police officers arrested and jailed nineteen people, including anti-war mom Cindy Sheehan, early Sunday morning at Cesar Chavez Park, located across from City Hall.

Karen Bernal, chair of the Progressive Caucus of the California Democratic Party (whose certification is currently in limbo), was also arrested.

Sheehan and the rest of the protesters were not released until about 1:30 p.m. Sunday afternoon. Occupy Sacramento has occupied the park since October 6 and Saturday was the 10th day of the occupation. There have 58 arrests at the park since October 6.

“Again, it was an overwhelmingly display of City Police might – at least 65 officers and 40 police vehicles were used to overwhelm 19 nonviolent and peaceful demonstrators, which included one person in a wheelchair and another who had to be transported to a local hospital because he was on a hunger strike,” according to Arya Rashid of Occupy Sacramento.

All were charged with “unlawful assembly,” penal code section 409, a misdemeanor. The violation of the First Amendment and the U.S. Constitution by the City of Sacramento’s unprecedented wave of arrests has outraged people from throughout the city, state and nation.

On Saturday afternoon, a diverse group of more than 600 people marched through the Sacramento financial district and held a 2 hour rally at the Capitol in concert with more than 1,000 Occupy protests all across the country.

Speakers at the rally at the Capitol spoke passionately about the direct connection between the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the war at home by Wall Street and the politicians they control against the 99 percent.

Kevin Carter: stop the war overseas and here at home

“We want to stop the wars abroad,” said Kevin Carter of Occupy Sacramento. “But if we want to stop the wars overseas, we have to stop the warfare against us here in Sacramento. We are talking about the lobbyists, special interests and politicians who are working against the interests of the people. When it comes to the people, every year we have to fight for the state budget.”

He emphasized, “We are not a Republican, Democrat, or Tea Party movement, but are a genuine people’s movement. We need not to just occupy the park, but must occupy a lot of state offices, including the offices of the Secretary of State, Transportation and Department of Education.”

He noted how the gains of the civil rights movement are being attacked by the 1 percent that control the country. “In 1965, the Civil Rights Bill that Medgar Evans died for was passed. Those civil rights are for everybody. We cannnot allow those rights to be taken away as the 1 percent try to keep us in economic slavery.”

In a similar note, Cindy Sheehan said in a speech before the march, “The economic and social justice we seek cannot be achieved without complete and unconditional peace.”

Cindy Sheehan decries ‘partisan political hackery’

Sheehan blasted both Democratic and Republican Party political leaders for their subservience to Wall Street and the corporations.

“This movement should not allow itself to be co-opted by partisan political hackery,” she emphasized. “If Obama or Democrats were the answer, then, guess what? We wouldn’t be here today. The wars would be over; the 99% would have single-payer health care, housing, education, a sustainable energy policy, and meaningful jobs with a livable wage as RIGHTS not PRIVILEGES for the 1%."

“Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want Republicans in power either—I want US in power,” she continued. “Just like we are today, but I want we the people calling the shots in a meaningful way that changes corrupt and harmful policies, and that will take not only going out of the parks and into the streets like we are today, but staying there and taking breaks to strategize about the society we want to build: One where the resources of our country are used to guarantee basic human rights to EVERYONE, not just the one-percenters.”

Sheehan concluded, “We care about ourselves and we care about each other, the Robber Class doesn’t. Take care of yourselves and take care of each other and the way to make true change that works for everyone is by keeping power in our hands; whether it’s in our schools, workplaces, or communities.”

For the transcript of Sheehan’s remarks, go to: http://www.eurasiareview.com/16102011-cindy-sheehan-remarks-at-occupy-sacramento-oped.

Karen Bernal blasts conditions in jail

After her arrest, Karen Bernal commented on the poor conditions in the City Jail. "While generally the police at the jail weren't abusive to us, we definitely witnessed mistreatment of another arrestee that wasn't warranted," she stated.

She also believes that the police were trying to make a point by releasing all of the women later than of any of the other protesters arrested early Sunday morning - in keeping with a recent tendency to release the protesters later in the day.

"Conditions were terrible in the jail," she emphasized. "The holding cell was tolerable, but the releasing cell, which we spent more time in, was filthy on a level that I'm sure was not up to code. In addition, they put 15 women in a space that was perhaps designed for only 8 people."

"There needs to be a serious investigation of the conditions in the jail by an independent citizens body," Bernal urged.

"Despite the conditions, the arrestees remain undeterred from continuing their protest against corporate power and control over peoples' lives," Bernal said. "We need to fund human needs, not corporate greed!"

Native American groups, Occupy Sacramento proclaim Indigenous Day of Resistance

On Friday, activists from Native American, student, labor and civil rights groups and Occupy Sacramento joined together in a march from Cesar Chavez Park to the Capitol for an Indigenous Day of Resistance protest to denounce the United States’ “glorification of the atrocities committed against native ancestors of the Americas during the Indigenous Holocaust let by Christopher Columbus.”

Like Carter and Sheehan, they emphasized the connections between the wars abroad and the war at home.

“With many severe cuts to education and social services nationwide, we call to question, why we continue to increase our $14.6 billion US National Debt to fund wars over seas,” according to a statement from the groups. “Instead we have a war at home, were millions are losing their homes and jobs while the banks are plundering our wealth. CA is #1 in Prison Spending and #43 in Education Nationwide. Why is that?”

“As for our Native Community surrounding the US/Mexican border, we are now being labeled as ‘Immigrants’ that was once home. We are tired of seeing migrants scapegoated for the failures of capitalism. It angers us to be called 'illegal aliens' when it was our ancestors who inhabited this lands before Columbus came to conquer and plunder this land. Now in contrast our people are forced to risk their lives crossing a further militarized border. Over the last decade, it is estimated 10,000 died crossing the border.”

“We are calling to action here at the State Capitol for all communities to join the movement to defend families and education, because this is a people’s movement for human rights and to stand up against injustice. We will no longer be victimized by these racist laws or corporate greed restricting us of an education and split up the millions of families from one another.”

The event was endorsed by Occupy Sacramento, MEChAs from throughout northern California, United Indigenous Nations, United Native Americans Inc., the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement AFL-CIO Sacramento and numerous other organizations. The rally began and ended with Aztec dancing.

On the national level, a statement from Occupy Wallstreet proclaimed:

“From America to Asia, from Africa to Europe, people are rising up to claim their rights and demand a true democracy. Now it is time for all of us to join in a global non violent protest. The ruling powers work for the benefit of just a few, ignoring the will of the vast majority and the human and environmental price we all have to pay. This intolerable situation must end.

“United in one voice, we will let politicians, and the financial elites they serve, know it is up to us, the people, to decide our future. We are not goods in the hands of politicians and bankers who do not represent us. On October 15th, we will meet on the streets to initiate the global change we want. We will peacefully demonstrate, talk and organize until we make it happen.”

For more information, contact: Arya Rashid or Chris MacDonald, 916-996-9170, or go to: http://www.facebook.com/OccupySacramento , http://www.occupysac.com and Twitter @OccupySacto.

See OccupySacramento LIVE now at: http://www.livestream.com/occupysacto or http://www.ustream.tv/channel/dummey