Subject: Update on Yugoslavia, No. 7 Date: Tue, 27 Apr 1999 11:07:25 -0400 MIME-Version: 1.0 X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V4.71.1712.3
Dear Friends,
A brief update: I was one of 14 people arrested yesterday for trespassing in a sit-in at Vermont "progressive" Congressman Bernie Sanders's office. Below is a report by support person Ron Jacobs on what happened. At my Web site, among other new items on the war, please check out Michael Moore's two pieces. A number of people have commented to me that nobody in the mainstream media seems to be making any connection between the horrible events in Littleton, Colorado and the horrible events in Yugoslavia. Moore's more recent piece effectively makes those kinds of connections between violence abroad and violence here at home and takes Clinton to task for his hypocritical comments about how kids need to use words rather than violence to resolve their problems. What a great example he (and Bernie Sanders et al among politicians) are setting!
Best wishes, Jay http://www.neravt.com/left/
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Yesterday, April 26, 1999, a rally and march were held in Burlington, Vermont, USA against the U.S. war on Yugoslavia. Approximately 100 people (primarily college and high school students with a few faculty and local citizens sprinkled about--including vetran activist David Dellinger) attended the 45 minute rally at the University of Vermont campus and then marched down Main Street. The destination of the march were the local offices of Vermont three congressional members: Senators Leahy (Dem.) and Jeffords (Rep.), and Rep. Bernie Sanders. The purpose of these visits was to present petitions calling for "an immediate end to the bombing, a return to the negotiating table
and no introduction of NATO ground forces to the conflict". These 1,000 signatures on these petitions were collected in a little over two weeks time. At Senator Leahy's office, a small delegation of demonstrators went into the office, presented the petitions and were served cookies. At Senator Jeffords' office, the delegation that went inside asked for and received a conference call with Mr. Jeffords' foreign policy advisor in Washington, D.C.. From there, we headed to Bernie Sanders' office at the top of Burlington's downtown pedestrian mall (Church Street). Once we arrived at the office building , the remaining protestors (approximately 30 in all) headed inside and up the stairs to Sanders' office. We were met by his staff who presented us with a written statement by Mr. Sanders concerning his support of the bombing. Those present read the statement and then asked a member of the staff if we could hold a conference call with Bernie and give him a chance to justify his position. We were told this was not possible because Sanders was on a plane to Washington, D.C. and he did not own a cell phone. So we sat down and informed the staff that we would wait until we could speak with Sanders. Seattle musician Jim Page happens to be in Burlington this week and he had accompanied us on the march. While we sat in the office, he played guitar and sang songs in between discussions about the war, the killings in Littleton, CO., the arrogance of liberals in power and numerous other subjects took place. As time passed, it became clear that Bernie had no intention of talking to us. After conversations out of our earshot, the primary staffperson informed us that we could meet with Bernie next Tuesday if we made an appointment. This suggestion was rejected out of hand; the reasoning being that hundreds more would die in the interim. Time ticked on. Around 5:30 PM, we were asked again if we wanted to accept the meeting with Bernie next Tuesday. We agreed to the meeting but also insisted on speaking with Sanders that day. Furthermore, we affirmed that we would not leave the office until we spoke with Bernie that evening. We were than told that our choice was to either leave then and meet with Sanders next week or stay until we were removed and not meet with the congressmen at all. At 6:00 PM or so, we were asked once again if we would assent to this arrangement. Once again we said no. At 6:45 PM, Burlington police officers began arresting those protestors who refused to leave when asked. This was done at the request of Congressman Sanders and his staff. The arrests were conducted in an orderly fashion and all were released later in the evening. This was the first time Sanders office had ever been occupied. One has to wonder if it will be the last, given his continual drift rightward. (For those who live in Vermont-There will be a Vermont town meeting on the war with Sanders in Montpelier, VT. on Monday, May 3, 1999 at the Pavilion. The meeting begins at 7:00 PM. Please come and bring your friends.) -Ron Jacobs, Burlington, VT