Military Shipments at the Port of Olympia: The saga continues. by Crystal Lorentzson 02 Feb 05 Back in November there was a walkout on Evergreen's campus to protest the use of Olympia's port for military shipments to Iraq. The demonstration that followed the walkout was given much attention, but the commotion has since died down. While the noise may have subsided, the energy has not, and there is still much happening in the ongoing struggle and debate over the shipments. Here's what's been happening since the walkout: Demonstration at the Port of Olympia Following the walkout on November 18, folks gathered at the port, where the Cape Intrepid had docked the day before, loaded cargo, and was planning to depart that evening. The demonstration started near the observation tower, where around 100 people gathered to listen to speakers, share their thoughts over a bullhorn, and display signs, and later moved up to the fence which separated the public space from actual Port of Olympia property. At one point, the fence was cut and some people briefly trespassed. After that, more police arrived, some in riot gear, as protesters shouted and shook the fence. The ship set sail around 8pm and the protesters dispersed. Two arrests were made for trespassing. The following day the Olympian ran an article about the demonstration, featuring pictures of masked protestors, riot police, and claiming $3,500 worth of property damage. Port of Olympia Commissioners' Meeting Around 150 people, including about 100 anti-war activists, came to the Port Commissioners' meeting the following week. Of the 50 people who gave public testimony, 40 spoke against the port being used to make shipments to Iraq. The commissioners, explaining that their job was to make business decisions, not moral ones, decided to continue with the shipments. Phone-in A week later, on December 3, the Olympian ran an article about plans for a massive phone-in to officials and commissioners at the Port of Olympia by people objecting to the military shipments. It was later determined that the action, organized at the last minute by the Olympian Movement for Justice and Peace (OMJP), was not released to the Olympian but rather discovered by an Olympian reporter who had subscribed to OMJP's listserve. The article used quotes from long-time activist and Evergreen faculty member Larry Mosqueda's e-mail, giving the appearance that he had been interviewed directly. On December 11, after the phone-in did not prove to be "massive," the Olympian gave OMJP and Mosqueda a "thumbs down," saying, "the telephone protest... was a dud. The phone in flopped." Militarization of the Port of Olympia On October 12, 2004, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published in the federal register plans to establish the Port of Olympia as a "Security Zone." One of the stated reasons for this "national security" action was to protect the port from threats from Al Qaeda. The proposed plan would give military control of Olympia's port to the Captain of Port Puget Sound in Seattle whenever a military ship or military cargo are at the port. The plan called for comments to be made by November 26, 2004. Although there was great controversy over the use of Olympia's port for military shipments at the time, the port commissioners-whether they were not informed of the plan or were withholding information-did not inform citizens of the proposal, not did they make any comments themselves. On December 10, the USCG and DHS made their final rule, stating that "no written comments were made and a public hearing was not requested and none was held." No one, except perhaps the port commissioners, found out about all this until nearly a month later, when a local activist stumbled across it. "New Horizons" Humanitarian Aid Shipments The first military shipment of 2005 was a humanitarian aid shipment which was part of a "humanitarian mission" to Nicaragua and Haiti. called "New Horizons." The Olympian ("Army Prepares for Shipments" January 4, 2005) applauded the program, while anti-war activists have criticized it as being both a public relations ploy and U.S. military training in disguise. The military itself has stated that "the primary objective remains providing excellent, comprehensive training opportunities to U.S. military personnel." Government officials and activists groups in both Latin America and Haiti have also been very critical of the shipments, seeing them as yet another form of strategic U.S. military presence in the area. What Now? As the Port of Olympia continues to be used for military shipments both to Iraq and elsewhere, activists are organizing to respond to and publicly denounce the shipments as well as educate others and plan for future actions. The Port Response Steering Committee was formed out of the Port Community Debriefing in December (a meeting of about 50 people who came together to share their reactions to the port situation and to organize for future strategies). Its agenda includes creating a better communication network to alert others of incoming shipments, of which there is often little warning. Ongoing resistance efforts include writing letters to the editor and attending the twice-monthly Port Commissioners' meetings. For more information, or to find out how to get involved, go to the Olympia Movement for Justice and Peace's website www.omjp.org and click on the "Port of Olympia" link. The information in this article was compiled from various sources, including: Peter Bohmer's article "Building a Movement Against the Shipment of Weapons to Iraq" in the January edition of Works In Progress (WIP); Larry Mosqueda's "The Militarization of the Port of Olympia and Humanitarian Aid from the Port" in February's WIP; and various articles from the Olympian. Crystal Lorentzson is a junior at Evergreen. She is currently enrolled in Political Economy, Social Change and Globalization and can be reached at lorcry14@evergreen.edu.