BUFFALO, N.Y.
Ashcroft gets the 'welcome' he deserves
By Ellie Dorritie
Buffalo, N.Y.
Buffalo and nearby Western New York towns
turned out well over 300 angry activists on Sept. 8 to oppose
the USA Patriot Act. The target of their wrath was U.S.
Attorney General John Ashcroft, who is trying to turn back a
rising tide against this repressive, racist law by going on a
nationwide tour. Instead, angry protests have met him in over a
dozen cities, and Buffalo was no exception.
Ashcroft came here to claim the anti-justice Patriot Act is
a success. He pointed to its use against six young men of
Yemeni descent in Lackawanna, a depressed industrial suburb
outside Buffalo, whom the Bush administration has labeled
terrorists. During his visit, Ashcroft continued to refer to
them as "a terrorist cell." However, the six were never even
charged, let alone convicted, of being terrorists.
Solely because the six attended a religious training camp in
Afghanistan, they were charged with providing material support
to Al Qaeda. They pleaded guilty to these Patriot
Act-sanctioned charges because the government threatened that
they could face military tribunals, say their lawyers.
The crowd outside the Hyatt Hotel chanted that they were fed
up with the lies of Ashcroft and the Bush administration. They
loudly denounced the Justice Department's fear tactics.
"Repeal the Patriot Act," "FBI, get outta Lackawanna" and
"Fight for our civil rights," they shouted. The chanting and
drumming were so loud and persistent that Ashcroft couldn't get
away from them, even for a radio interview inside the hotel.
The loud demonstration could be heard on the air.
The protest began with a march at 7:30 a.m. around the
hotel. Marchers roared with approval as they were joined by a
large feeder march of "black bloc" youth activists. The protest
lasted for four hours.
The ANSWER coalition--Act Now to Stop War & End
Racism--initiated the call for the protest. Many organizations
and individuals quickly responded and worked together to build
the demonstration. It was endorsed by the Buffalo Coali tion
Against Poverty, Buffalo Forum, Buffalo/WNY International
Action Center, El Buen Amigo, Green Party of Erie County, New
York Civil Liberties Union-WNY, Niagara University Pax Christi,
Olean Area Coalition for Peace and Justice, Pax Christi WNY,
Pro gressiveDirectory.com, Rust Belt Books, Talking Leaves
Books, University of Buffalo Faculty and Staff for Peace, WNY
Peace Center and Workers World Party.
Reprinted from the Sept. 18, 2003, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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Email: ww@workers.org
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