by Zoltan Grossman
Late Friday afternoon, approximately 50 members of
Olympia Port Militarization Resistance (OlyPMR) sat
down near the main gate of the Port of Olympia in
Washington State. Two tractor trailers, one carrying
two Stryker combat vehicles, another filled with
military cargo, were blocked from exiting the port.
Police arrived on the scene and after failing to
persuade the demonstrators to allow one truck through,
ceded control of the entrance. The 2 trucks were forced
by these circumstances to back up – returning inside
the port gate. At this point, OlyPMR controlled
movement into and out of the port.
OlyPMR was founded in May of 2006 when Olympia peace
activists attempted to block outgoing Strykers and
other military equipment in advance of the deployment
of the 3rd Brigade Stryker Team from Ft. Lewis.
Activists united under the banner of Olympia Port
Militarization Resistance, declaring a common mission
to “end our community’s participation in the
illegal occupation of Iraq by stopping the US
military’s use of the Port of Olympia.” Thirty-
seven people were arrested for acts of nonviolent civil
disobedience over the course of 10 days during that
first campaign.
On Monday November 5 of this year, the USNS Brittin
arrived at the Port of Olympia with equipment from the
3rd Stryker Brigade returning from that same deployment
in Iraq. The troops of the Brigade had returned to Fort
Lewis about 2 weeks previous, minus 48 of their fellow
soldiers who had died from injuries sustained in Iraq.
When OlyPMR members learned of this incoming shipment,
they quickly mobilized, releasing the following
statement:
“We oppose Olympia’s complicity in a war whose
disastrous effects have been felt worldwide and we will
actively resist the use of Olympia’s port to further
that war…. Through nonviolent actions we intend to
stop the Port of Olympia from becoming a revolving door
of military machinery furthering illegal war. This war
has taken the lives of 3,845 US soldiers, over one
million Iraqis, and has displaced millions more. These
weapons are returning to be repaired and refitted for
further combat. We see this as a continuation of the
war despite our nation’s and the Iraqi people’s
overwhelming opposition to the war.”
OlyPMR blocked several convoys of Strykers beginning
the evening of November 7, continuing into the morning.
Dozens of protesters blocked the road with their bodies
as one convoy after another attempted to exit the Port
of Olympia. In each case the convoys eventually passed,
but only after police shoved protesters, striking many
with batons and dragging them from the road in order to
clear the way.
At 2:30 AM that morning, police used pepper spray
against 20 people in order to apprehend one man in
their midst who was then arrested and charged with
pedestrian interference and resisting arrest. Another
activist was also arrested and charged with pedestrian
interference that night. No other arrests were made.
Protesters reported that their nonviolent actions were
met with unwarranted and excessive force by police.
Several people reported minor injuries, including one
young man who had his lip split open and also received
other facial injuries when he was hit with a police
baton.
On Thursday evening, at an open meeting, a packed room
of more than 60 activists agreed on a plan for using
human blockades to nonviolently contain military cargo
at the port. Approximately 200 people gathered at the
port entrance, which activists say was a number twice
as large as that needed to execute their plan. After
several hours it became apparent that there would be no
movement of vehicles from the port that night, and
activists set up an encampment in order to keep watch
while others rested. Activists at this location issued
a call to action on Friday, when military equipment
began to move from the port.
Civil disobedience and other actions at the port are
expected to continue as anti-war activists have
declared their commitment to ongoing resistance.
“The combat vehicles being shipped through our town
were used to invade and destroy a sovereign nation,
devastating the lives of millions of Iraqis and
thousands of Americans. The reason we are blocking them
now is because we do not want these war machines to
ever be used for this purpose again,” said Sandy
Mayes, an Olympia nurse, and founding OlyPMR member.
As the nation begins its annual observance of the
Veterans Day holidays, OlyPMR says they stand with the
men and women of the military by demanding an immediate
halt to the War, and the return of all the troops.
“We want the troops to know we are glad they are
home. We also want them to know that we will do
everything we can to make sure that they never have to
go again,” said Mayes.
This message seems to resonate with many soldiers.
Activists involved in PMR actions in Olympia or Tacoma
report overwhelmingly positive gestures such as
“thumbs up” from troops as they drive by in their
Strykers and other vehicles. TJ Johnson, Austin Kelley
and others vigiling at a busy intersection in Olympia
this Thursday report that a Non Commissioned Officer
wearing fatigues pulled over, got out of his car, came
over, shook their hands and said, “I just want to
thank you people for what you’re doing.” He told
them that he had been deployed to Iraq twice before and
found it to be a “hopeless situation.” He said that
he and other soldiers wished that they could speak out
against the war, but military regulations prohibited
them from publicly opposing the war.
Members of OlyPMR argue that they are struggling for
what most US soldiers, and the majority of citizens in
the US and Iraq clearly want. It is, they insist, the
politicians themselves who must be brought along
through direct action, in order that the will of the
People be fulfilled.
*In video recordings of Strykers moving out of the Port
of Olympia Wednesday night soldiers are seen making
apparent gestures of support as they pass the
protesters: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOkn2Fg7R8w
(As well, the local daily in Olympia, The Olympian, had
on its website a link to a video of Wednesday night’s
events which, in addition to images of protesters being
hit and in some cases knocked to the ground by police
with batons, showed soldiers on Strykers making
positive gestures to protesters. As of this writing
that video is no longer available on the Olympian
website. Members of OlyPMR are working on getting that
video back up.)