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brief report on the march against the FTAA.
by pog supporter
Sunday, Oct. 27, 2002 at 7:07 PM
A brief summary of the march
Hey everyone,
Here is a brief report on today's march against the FTAA:
The main purpose of the march was achieved: we had a public display of solidarity with the people of Ecuador (which is what they asked for).
The March lasted about 80 minutes with about 25 of those with most people on the street without a permit. People marched on the street until there was an overwhelming police presence for the small group of ~60 people (about 8 Pgh police officers and 8? Pitt cops). Most people had some type of noisemaking device from train whistles to large drums. The chants at the march were few and far between due the constant music but included ALCA NO PASARA, THE FTAA WILL NEVER BE, Yes to Life, Death To the FTAA, and so-so-so solidarity. There were a couple other Spanish chants but I can't remember (or spell) them.
The police attempted to move the march onto the sidewalk numerous times with: yelling get the fuck on the sidewalk now- Get off the street- move to the sidewalk- The police also tried numerous times (failing miserably) to cut the march off by driving their cars in front of the march and blocking the road, people simply walked directly past them while the cops yelled to stop. They tried that about 4 times before giving up. They also tried to move people by blaring their sirens as loud as possible. This also failed as it just added noise to the racket we were already making. One Pitt cop followed us the entire way to Shadyside and back to CMU's campus.
Arrests (and mass arrests) were threatened MANY times, but never happened. The police seemed unprepared and disorganized. They were never really together on what they wanted to happen. Different officers were yelling different things to different people. One kid they told to put his hands behind his back ran when the officer was distracted and merged into the march. We did hear later that a woman was issued a citation for riding her bicycle in the march. We are trying to get in touch with her to see if she needs any assistance (solidarity!).
A lot of things could have been done better for the march and will hopefully happen next time. Among the negatives were: low turnout, lack of eye/face protection in the event of illegal police violence, a lack of group input on route, insufficient outreach leading up to the march (especially to less "radical" people), a lack of flyers for passerby�s, and a lack of large musical instruments. The good things about the march included: no arrests, no boring chants, cool instrument playing, a lot of new faces, and that people seemed to think a lot about new ideas.
STOP THE FTAA!!!
-pog supporter-
pictues?
by march attendee
Monday, Oct. 28, 2002 at 4:59 AM
Did anyone get any pictures of the march. There was some good boogying going on and that I would love to see. I saw some folks (univ. students) taking pictures and a link would be cool. The turnout was low but the streets were taken over by just thirty or so people. I dont think the kops knew what the fuck to do. Next time lets have twice as many people. Great job everyone!
ya, pictures
by Yagi
Monday, Oct. 28, 2002 at 9:09 AM
yes. There is a whole disc of pictures.
I'll try to post some once I get a copy of it. There will be a article in the next CMU paper about the march.
The cops were hilarious. They really didn't seem to have any idea what was happening or how to stop it. We should have stayed a little closer together, but everything else seemed to work well. Taking the left on Craig? was really a great move.
I'd say it was closer to 50 people on the street at the beg, but either way it was good. A lot to do for next time.
Photo from the Tartan
by Photo
Monday, Oct. 28, 2002 at 1:52 PM
Link: http://thetartan.org/97/8/news/2411.asp
Photo credit: Brad Yankiver
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