WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM PROTESTS
NYPD went after most oppressed
By Elijah Crane
New York
Police arrested more than 200 activists here during the four
days of anti-World Economic Forum demonstrations.
Seven members of New York City ACT-UP were first to be
grabbed by the cops. They had dropped banners from the Holland
Tunnel and in mid-town Manhattan with slogans calling attention
to the AIDS crisis on the morning of Jan. 31.
Many of those arrested at the anti-WEF protests were
subjected to police abuse that has basically become the norm at
anti-globalization convergences in the post-Seattle period.
This included being pepper sprayed, beaten with batons, held on
buses for hours with arms painfully cuffed behind the back in
tight plastic cords, no access to bathrooms, little or no
access to water, no food and being detained for more than 24
hours. Some face felony charges.
Women and trans people reportedly experienced particularly
harsh treatment and were questioned extensively while in
custody.
In addition to the unlawful arrests, stories have poured in
from African Americans and immigrants who were diverted for
hours as they tried to get to the Act Now to Stop War & End
Racism rally in front of the Waldorf-Astoria.
There are reports that cops blatantly lied, telling
rally-goers that the protests had been cancelled. Others were
asked by police to show copies of their individual permit to
protest. No such document is required or exists.
The police, acting on behalf of the global profiteers and
plunderers of the World Economic Forum, targeted the most
oppressed who dared to dissent.
Reprinted from the Feb. 21, 2002, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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