Thousands gathered in Eugene on Saturday for the “Celebration of Life Against War” rally to protest potential military action against Iraq, making one thing clear for the local peace movement: its numbers are growing.
A crowd gathered at the Erb Memorial Union shortly before 12 p.m., when the march was scheduled to begin. A group of percussionists led protesters down the streets as they spiraled through campus and marched down East 11th Avenue.
“We had over five or six blocks of solid people,” said Alexander Gonzalez, an organizer with Students for Peace, one of the groups responsible for the event.
Protesters were boisterous in their expressions of dissent regarding a potential war against Iraq, chanting slogans such as “Hey hey, ho ho, George Bush has got to go.” Oil, money and power seemed to be the predominant themes of concern, based on signs such as “Pure injections of oil” and “What would Jesus bomb?”
In spite of the anti-war theme, disparate opinions abounded. Speakers at the Federal Building also addressed the USA PATRIOT Act and U.S. military intervention in Vietnam.
Midway through the rally, a count of 5,000 was announced onstage. Sarah Charlesworth, a member of Justice Not War, one of the groups that organized the demonstration, said the number was larger than last month’s rally.
University professor Robert Zimmerman said that despite a significant presence of faculty, his choice to attend was personally motivated.
“This is an individual thing — it has nothing do with your allegiance to anything. It’s your conscience,” Zimmerman said.
At about 2:30 p.m., a portion of the crowd broke off from the main Federal Building congregation, apparently to block East 7th Avenue at High Street — a move that gave police concern for safety, according to Eugene Police Department watch commander Chuck Tilby.
A squad of police vehicles blockaded the Ferry Street Bridge on-ramp and Franklin Boulevard exits, and drove the crowd back to East 7th Avenue and Pearl Street. At that point, five police cars arrived at the intersection, and a group of officers in full riot gear arrived on the scene. One young woman, eventually arrested, shouted “This is what democracy looks like” as police converged.
Three rubber bullets were fired at protesters, both before and after they moved off the street and onto the sidewalk. Speakers from the stage urged protesters to comply with police, but the confrontation raged on. Demonstrators yelled “fascists” and other slurs toward the riot squad, while others simply held out peace signs or bowed their heads.
Six adults and one juvenile were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. One man was also charged with resisting arrest, Tilby said. Both protesters and police persevered through rain and brief hail, and protesters resumed their occupation of the streets after EPD backed off.
For the second time in a row, the event was recorded with video cameras by the police department. Tilby said that EPD policy is to videotape any situation which could evolve into unlawful or violent activity. He said if nothing happens, the tape is destroyed after 10 days.
Activist Zachary Vishanoff, one of the protesters shot, was hit in the crotch.
“That’s just plain rude and disgusting,” he said. “It’s over the line. He just picked me off like a turkey shoot.”
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