11 Arrested in PMR Freeway Blockades

[April]

They have been doing this for years now! Makes me wanna smile... but it's a pretty sad article. Cheers though, to their reason and most of all their endurance! B)

Quote:Protesters are resisting the US Military surge in Afghanistan by blocking Stryker Vehicles bound for the Port of Tacoma for shipment overseas.

May 3, 2009 Tacoma, WA – Activists staged a series of successful direct actions in several locations on the night of May 2, blocking striker vehicles bound for the Port of Tacoma from Fort Lewis. Blockades halted strikers at several points along Interstate 5, and 11 activists were arrested. Demonstrators have pledged to continue resisting the use of the port for war shipments.

The Stryker vehicles were heading to the Port of Tacoma for eventual shipment to Afghanistan in advance of the deployment of the 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, where soldiers' skills and
lives would be exploited in the name of the "War on Terror."

At times police used excessive force against unarmed nonviolent demonstrators. One woman was choked on the strap of her messenger bag while another demonstrator was dragged across the road by his hair while he was shouting that he was nonviolent.

Port Militarization Resistance (PMR) has been actively resisting the
use of the publicly owned ports in the Pacific Northwest since 2006.
PMR demonstrators share a common goal to "end our community's
participation in the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan by stopping
the military use of our Ports."

According to Chris Grande, one of those arrested May 2, “people in
Iraq and Afghanistan are being massacred. We cannot trust the Obama
Administration to do this work for us. It is up to people in the US to
be involved in the process of military deescalation. If we allow
strykers to enter the port we are complicit in their violence.”

“The police may see our actions as criminal, but the real crime is the
illegal invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq and their continued
occupation,” adds Ellis, a demonstrator.

In a statement issued March 18th, Port Militarization Resistance noted
that “as long as US military attacks continue against the people of
Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, we will continue to block military
equipment from moving through our public port. Port Militarization
Resistance calls for people everywhere to find the ways that their own
communities participate in these wars, and join together to creatively
resist that participation.

"We must respect the sovereignty of other peoples and recognize that
US intervention is a primary source of ongoing human suffering in
these countries. Resources currently allocated for such imperial
endeavors must be redirected toward urgent domestic needs. These
realities should guide our understanding as we build a just and
sustainable society at home and better relationships abroad."

http://tacomasds.org/node/1111