|
Refuse & Resist! Statement 5 Feb. 2002 |
The world needs us in the streets! |
|
That was the message that echoed from the streets of New York as more than 20,000 people went to conferences and marches and vigils, partied, danced and demonstrated in the streets against the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in New York City, January 31st through February 4th. On Saturday February 2nd, a massive march organized by the Another World is Possible coalition was characterized by a spirit of solidarity that was infectious, determined and inspiring. Thousands rallied at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel at a rally organized by the International ANSWER Coalition. All different types of people came out to protest, including religious leaders, academics, activists, labor unions, environmentalists and youth. In spite of a week of threats from police who promised to arrest protesters for anything from wearing a mask to jaywalking, with cops posted at every Starbucks and McDonalds in Manhattan, and a barrage of newspaper columnists claiming the protests were 'unwanted' after 9/11, thousands of people massed in New York City this weekend to voice their anger and outrage against the current climate of repression and cruelty - both in the U.S. and abroad. Saturday, protesters filled the streets with giant puppets, samba bands, drums, and banners. 5,000 of R&R!'s stickers proclaiming "Another world is possible! We won't be intimidated! Refuse & Resist!" were all over the demonstrators. Thousands of youth from New York City stood side by side with anti-globalization activists from Europe and across the United States. There were posters and chants against the war in Afghanistan, the attacks on Muslim and Arab immigrants, and the continuing devastation of the environment by industry worldwide. A giant dragon snaked through the crowd, radical cheerleaders led chants, people held giant pictures of Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld with their faces smeared with blood and oil. This unity was built over the weeks of preparation for these events, and was strengthened in the streets as the demonstrators stood their ground in the face of police violence. Early on Saturday, a large contingent of youth including people from Refuse & Resist!, NYC high schools, Hunter College, the Black Bloc and the Revolutionary Communist Youth Brigade was approached by a line of police in riot gear. Without warning, dozens of riot police charged toward the youth. People were pushed back into the crowd and the call to link arms was taken up. The crowd held their ground, eventually pushing the cops back and boldly retaking the street. The initial attack by the police just made the crowd angry -- they were not going to be intimidated. People who had planned not to risk arrest became outraged and were determined to stay to the end. Everyone linked arms it didn't matter why you were there, where you came from, how old you were or what ideology you had everyone marched side by side, yelling out the chant heard at the protests against the FTAA in Quebec, "So-so-so-Solidarity!" On Saturday night the coalition decided to continue the protests on Sunday this time in the East Village, the heart of New York City counter-culture. What started a little past noon with a handful of people quickly grew to several hundred. But this time the police, who claimed to have 'advanced warning' of the march, violently divided up the protesters and attacked them --pushing them into walls and onto the street. The youth kept trying to regroup and the police kept dividing and separating. The riot police, backed up by helicopters and police on rooftops, arrested 154 people throughout the day. But that did little to discourage the thousands of determined protesters who showed the world that this movement of resistance is alive and well in the face of these attacks. Since September 11th, we have seen a steamroller attack on civil liberties in this country. Hundreds of people have been rounded up and held in indefinite detention without charges. New laws permit the government to read our e-mail, scrutinize our financial records and secretly break into our homes. Dissenting professors have been fired. Secret military tribunals have been proposed. An 'endless war' is being waged around the world. It is against this backdrop, and in the face of police violence, that R&R! joins with the tens of thousand of veteran activists and youth who are daring to fight for a different future, and boldly declaring, "Another World Is Possible!"
We will not be intimidated! Refuse & Resist! is the organization for everyone who refuses to go along with today's national agenda of a war-time fascist police state. It is an organization of people of diverse backgrounds and walks of life who accept responsibility for a different future. Join us!
Refuse & Resist!
Refuse the politics of cruelty! |