[D66] Massive police mobilization against Occupy Wall Street protesters

[Antid Oto]

Massive police mobilization against Occupy Wall Street protesters
By Sandy English
18 November 2011

Occupy protests on Thursday were met by a heavy police response nationwide. More
than three hundred people were arrested, most of them in New York City, where
protesters marked two months since the beginning of the occupation of Zuccotti
Park in lower Manhattan.

The actions came two days after New York City’s billionaire mayor, Michael
Bloomberg, oversaw a military-style raid on the occupation encampment, involving
hundreds of riot police, to forcibly remove the protesters. Moves to shut down
the demonstrations have been coordinated by Democratic and Republican Party
mayors nationwide, backed behind the scenes by the Obama administration.

As several hundred demonstrators swarmed into Manhattan’s financial district
Thursday morning, police in riot gear met them with drawn batons and metal
barricades. Police corralled the protesters on the sidewalk and cordoned off the
entire area, making it difficult if not impossible for many workers in the area
to get into their buildings.

Witnesses reported that the NYPD used a Long Range Acoustic Device [LRAD], a
“sonic cannon” crowd control weapon. The device emitted sharp sound bursts
lasting a few seconds.

Around 2 pm, police closed off Zuccotti Park, preventing protesters from exiting
or entering. A scuffle broke out over control of the barricades. Police pushed
some protesters to the ground, and seriously injured at least one
demonstrator—reportedly with a baton strike to the head—in the process of
retaking the park.

Police arrested approximately 180 protesters by the afternoon. Ten demonstrators
and seven police officers were injured.

Later in the day, over 2,000 college students who had left classes to protest
debt and tuition hikes joined Occupy protesters in Union Square. Students from
the City University of New York demanded that tuition be abolished. Protesters
broke though police barricades at various points, and police attempted to
prevent them from marching on to the streets.

The demonstration in Union Square then marched to Foley Square, where others
joined them, including delegations organized by the trade union officials, who
attempted to promote the Democratic Party. The rally was notably smaller than a
similar one in the same place on October 5 to protest the arrest of 700
protesters on Brooklyn Bridge four days earlier.

Protesters marched across the Brooklyn Bridge this time as well. Police arrested
at least 80 as they sat down in the roadway of the bridge in an act civil
disobedience.

Two months of protests against social inequality in the heart of the financial
nerve-center of American capitalism have unnerved the ruling circles and New
York’s political establishment. From the start, the demonstrators, who are
opposed to the pervasive social inequality in American life, have been met by
media lies and police intimidation.

The clearing of the occupation at Zuccotti Park on November 15 as well as the
attacks on similar protests across the United States and the world is an
indication of the fear in ruling circles that the protests could spark a broader
movement in the working class.

Mayor Bloomberg spelled out this concern on Thursday. In an unscheduled
appearance at a meeting of the Partnership for New York City, a right-wing
association of business leaders, the multi-billionaire mayor declared, “We’re
coming to a point where Occupy Wall Street is just the beginning, the Tea Party
is just the beginning,” he said. “The public is getting scared. They don’t know
what to do, and they’re going to strike out, and they don’t know where.”

Another indication of the growing nervousness of the privileged layers of the
establishment was the presence of the unions both at Foley Square and on the
Brooklyn Bridge. The unions, who are gearing up to support the re-election bid
of Obama and the pro-Wall street Democratic Party, held a highly controlled
demonstration.

The same union executives who have feigned support for a movement against
inequality—including AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka—are absolutely opposed to
any mobilization of the working class against the corporate-backed assault on
jobs, wages and benefits.

In addition to New York City, protests were held in Portland, Oregon; Los
Angeles, California; Boston, Massachusetts; and other cities. Sympathy
demonstrations were also held in several European cities.

In Los Angeles, about 250 protesters marched to an open-air plaza outside of a
Bank of America Center, where they pitched about 10 tents. Approximately 400
police in full riot gear and dozens of black and white and undercover police
cars surrounded the area. Five helicopters continuously buzzed overhead.

Police awaited the direction of the property owner, reportedly Brookfield Office
Properties, which also owns Zuccotti Park in New York City. At 4:15 PM police
ordered the remaining occupiers to disperse. Shortly thereafter police tore down
the tents and arrested everyone who remained.

The arrests would not have occurred without the approval of Democratic Mayor
Antonio Villaraigosa.

The World Socialist Web Site spoke to protesters at Union Square and Foley
Square in New York City.

Anna, a New York University journalism student said, “I have been reporting on
the Arab Spring since January from here. It seems like that world is far from
ours, but the Tunisian street vendor who set himself on fire in Tunisia seems so
close to what people experience here with high student debts and no jobs. I grew
up in a big Arab family, and they are experiencing the tragedy of unemployment
like everyone else.

“I think Occupy Wall Street is similar to what has happened there. In Egypt you
have the leader hoarding money from the people, while here it is the
corporations hoarding money from the people. This is an international movement.”

Devin, a student from Montclair State University in New Jersey, said, “People
think they know what is going here but they don’t really understand the real
message. The message here is that everyone is equal and wants something fair. I
saw a picture of people being boxed in in Zuccotti Park this morning. What is
happening to freedom of speech?

“I saw the barricades on TV this morning. There were four rows of cops around
Zuccotti Park. It’s like the demonstration was a caged animal. The politicians
are protecting their own interests, and the people are protecting our interests
against them.

“I haven’t seen politicians come out to defend Occupy Wall Street’s right to
exist and occupy at this time. The NYPD acted as the security force for Wall
Street this morning. Now we have all seen it.”

On the Obama administration, Devin added, “Obama approved 13 oil drilling
permits right after the BP oils spill. He is the same as all of them. Anyone who
is president would do the same thing. It shows that you have to change the system.”

In Foley Square, Rosemary a young worker and violin teacher, said, “I thought
what happened at Zuccotti Park was disgusting. I didn’t expect it. I think it is
a typical response of a power system that doesn’t care about the people. As long
as we just go on consuming and working and not asking questions we are fine. But
if we begin to speak up, we get nightsticks and beat up.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if Obama sanctioned this. Because contrary to popular
opinion he represent the banks and big business.”

Ankita, a worker and teacher at the Rubin Museum, added, “Education should be
free if it is necessary to succeed in life.

“What I would like to see is people of this generation taking responsibility to
change the way the system works, to make it so it works for us and we can have
legitimate lives. Our experience is not something we can use in our lives.
Having a good life is not seen as real.”

Kamala, a teacher in adult education in Harlem, was waiting for a friend before
walking into the rally. “I came to be in solidarity. There is too much
disparity, too much wealth being transferred between the good old boys, bankers,
war-mongers. It is the same scenario over and over. Obama has done nothing.”

http://wsws.org/articles/2011/nov2011/occu-n18.shtml