 |
Jail rally ends peacefully
Day of calm protest ends quietly; curfew lifted
Thursday, December 2, 1999
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER STAFF
(Last updated 12:15 a.m. Friday, Dec. 3)
"Let them go! Let them go!" the protesters chanted as they drummed and danced.
"We're demanding the immediate release of the non-violent protesters!" Chris Borte blared on a bullhorn.
Dozens of police officers, who earlier in the day escorted the marchers to various rallies, stood by and did move in to break up the crowd, as they've done many times this week when demonstrators defied orders to disperse.
City officials met with protest leaders and told them they would not release the arrested demonstrators, but they would allow lawyers in to talk to the prisoners if the crowd outside the jail would disperse.
The protesters remained outside the courthouse through the early evening, but dispersed shortly after 7 p.m. Some gathered again in the nearby Capitol Hill neighborhood, site of demonstrations several times this week.
(See separate story on Friday's WTO news.)
Hundreds of people gathered at the corner of Broadway and Pine Street. Some played the bongos; others the tambourines.
Through it all, people danced. Two men stood in the intersection and directed traffic. A few feet from the curb, some joined hands to keep the crowd from wandering into traffic.
Neighbors were furious when someone blew up M-80 at an intersection, and as a group headed downtown, many stayed behind to protect their neighborhood.
There were reports of small fires in trash bins, but the police stayed away.
The protesters who returned downtown were stopped by police on Pine Street near the Paramount Theater. The police stood their ground, enforcing a no-protest zone downtown, but took no offensive action. The protesters refused to disperse and staged a peaceful sit-in.
Police later retreated, and the crowd of protesters slowly dissipated afterward.
Mayor Paul Schell, who has defended the arrests of protesters as necessary to restore peace, met throughout the day with community and protest leaders in an attempt to return the city to normal.
Perhaps in one such gesture, the mayor's office announced tonight that a
"no-protest" zone around the WTO convention has been reduced in size. The new limited-access area is bounded by Fourth Avenue, Pine Street, Seneca Street, Interstate 5 and Boren Avenue.
(See map)
City officials also decided to lift a general 7 p.m.-to-sunrise curfew that covered much of downtown the last two nights.
The city was responding to the concerns of labor leaders, gay and lesbian groups and Capitol Hill residents, all of whom told Schell they were tired of seeing police use tear gas against peaceful demonstrators, Deputy Mayor Maud Daudon said.
Earlier in the day, Schell urged citizens to take back their city and apologized to innocent demonstrators or bystanders who might have been affected by police efforts to disperse crowds.
"Our primary goal at this moment is to regain and maintain peace in this city," he said. "Until we can restore peace, we are still in a state of civil emergency."
That meant possible nighttime curfews downtown and a "police perimeter" around WTO venues where demonstrations are not allowed.
Since Tuesday, when violence first erupted in the streets surrounding the World Trade Organization conference, police and protesters clashed daily and more than 500 demonstrators were arrested.
Police used tear gas, pepper spay, rubber bullets and flash bombs to scatter crowds and keep areas around the WTO sessions open. At one point early this week, a small group of protesters raced through downtown streets, breaking windows and spray-painting buildings. Damage has been estimated in the millions of dollars.
Some looting and other vandalism also occurred, and for the past two nights police enforced a downtown curfew overnight.
Today, though, protests were peaceful and police did not need to use force to break up crowds. In fact, protesters had police escorts for several marches through city streets.
Bystanders cheered, construction workers banged their hard hats and motorists stuck in traffic honked their horns. As the sun shone for one of the few times in a rainy week, the mood felt lighter.
"Right now, they're doing it right," 70-year-old George Keefe said while his car idled.
Early on during the jailhouse protest this afternoon, one minor disagreement occurred when protesters lowered an American flag, prompting Spokane steelworker John Goodman to raise it back.
"The flag stands for everything we're trying to do in this country," he said. "It stands for freedom, it stands for democracy. It stands for first amendment rights. Ain't nobody gonna pull the flag the down."
In previous demonstrations this week, police said they had to be aggressive in dealing with unruly demonstrators, who have referred to the anti-WTO protests collectively as "the Battle in Seattle."
During an afternoon news conference, Schell declared: "There is no battle in Seattle."
He and police Chief Norm Stamper said the police presence and activities this week have been necessary to restore peace and will remain necessary until people quit breaking the law.
Seattle "holds the right to free speech in very high regard," and as long as people protest peacefully, they are encouraged to exercise that right, Schell said. But lawbreakers will continue to be arrested, he added.
"There are a lot of angry people in our city today. ... Let's bring this city back to being Seattle."
Stamper said a self-proclaimed group of anarchists from Eugene, Ore., took credit for the violence this week. He said Seattle officials knew violence was a possibility during the WTO conference, and officers were trained for that likelihood. But the police presence just wasn't big enough Tuesday to control things when they got out of hand, he said.
Some residents and protesters alike have criticized Schell or Stamper -- or both -- for this week's violence, and some people want them out of office.
"I'm not pleased that our city was trashed," Schell said in response to such criticism. "I'm sure there were lots of mistakes made. ... As a community, (WTO) brought out the worst in us, it brought out the best in us. We will get past this."
As for placing blame, he said: "If anyone's mad out there, start with me. Vote me out of office next time."
But Schell said the city will recover. Gov. Gary Locke agreed.
He predicted Seattle's image as a peaceful city and trade center will withstand this week's televised images of demonstrators, tear gas and broken windows.
"We've even seen peaceful protestors out in the streets scrubbing buildings to remove the graffiti," Locke said. "I've talked to WTO delegates and they recognized the difference between the great majority who obeyed the law and the small handful who did not."
During an early morning news conference, several protest groups expressed frustration with police. They said they had a non-confrontation pact and charged that authorities, by gassing and arresting protesters, went against that pact.
"We came to an agreement that non-violence would be met with non-violence," one organizer said. "That was disregarded."
Declared another: "The fact that the city has had to be locked down ... is totally indicative of the insidiousness of the World Trade Organization."
Police responded by saying protesters threw bottles, rocks and other objects and disobeyed orders to disperse. They said officers responded properly and with restraint.
Also early in the day, President Clinton, in town for WTO meetings, signed a treaty that bans the worst forms of child labor. (See story )
"Today we say with one clear voice abusive child labor is wrong and must end," he said while in Seattle for the World Trade Organization conference. "We believe that everyone will be better off when children are given back their childhood."
Hundreds of anti-WTO protesters marched to the King County Jail in downtown Seattle today, calling for the release of other demonstrators who were arrested earlier in the week.
· Mall searched after fatal shooting, no gunman found
· Fire leaves two Arlington boys dead
· Shooting leaves three hurt, one dead in Skyway
more
101 Elliott Ave. W.
Seattle, WA 98119
(206) 448-8000
Home Delivery: (206) 464-2121 or (800) 542-0820
seattlepi.com serves about 1.7 million unique visitors
and 30 million page views each month.
Send comments to newmedia@seattlepi.com
Send investigative tips to iteam@seattlepi.com
©1996-2008 Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Terms of Use/Privacy Policy
