Arrests for War Resistance Increase Again

by: Bill Quigley, t r u t h o u t

Perspective http://www.truthout.org/article/arrests-war-resistance-increase-again

"We can never forget that everything that Hitler did in Germany was'legal,' and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did was'illegal.' It was 'illegal' to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler'sGermany, but I am sure that if I lived in Germany during that time Iwould have comforted my Jewish brothers even though it was illegal ...we who engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators oftension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that isalready alive." Martin Luther King Jr. There have been over 15,000 arrests for resistance to war since2002. There were large numbers right after the runup to and invasionof Iraq. Recently, arrests have begun climbing again. Though arrestsare a small part of antiwar organizing, their rise is an indicator ofincreasing resistance. The information comes from the Nuclear Resister, a newsletter thathas been reporting detailed arrest information on peace activists andother social justice campaigns since 1980. Felice and JackCohen-Joppa, publishers of the Nuclear Resister, document arrests byname and date, based on information collected from newspapers acrossthe country and from defense lawyers and peace activists.

Since 2002, the Nuclear Resister has documented antiwar arrests forprotesters each year:
2002 - 1,800 arrests
2003 - 6,072 arrests
2004 - 2,440 arrests
2005 - 975 arrests
2006 - 950 arrests
2007 - 2,272 arrests
2008 - 810 as of May 1

"Arrests for resistance to war are far more widespreadgeographically than most people think," according to Cohen-Joppa ofthe Nuclear Resister. "Yes, there are many arrests in DC and traditional big cities of antiwar activity - like San Francisco, NYC and Chicago, but there have also been antiwar arrests in Albany, AnnArbor, Atlanta, Bangor, Bath, Bend, Brentwood, Burlington, Campbell,Cedar Rapids, Chapel Hill, Charlottesville, Chicopee, ColoradoSprings, Denver, Des Moines, East Hampton, Erie, Eugene, Eureka,Fairbanks, Fairport, Fort Bragg, Fort Wayne, Grand Rapids, GreatDismal Swamp, Hammond, Huntsville, Joliet, Juneau, Kennebunkport, LaCrosse, Los Angeles, Madison, Manchester, Memphis, Newark, Northbrook,Olympia, Omaha, Pittsburgh, Portland, Portsmouth, Providence,Richmond, Sacramento, San Diego, Santa Fe, Smithfield, Springfield,St. Louis, St. Paul, Staten Island, Superior, Syracuse, Tacoma,Toledo, Tucson, Tulsa, Vandenberg, Virginia Beach, Wausau, Wheaton andWilmington, just to name a few."

"In fact," notes Cohen-Joppa, "in 2007, antiwar arrests werereported during 250 distinct events in 105 cities in 35 states and theDistrict of Columbia. So far in 2008, arrests have been reported at 65events in 43 different cities in 19 states and DC." An example of the scope of resistance can be found in theChicago-based Voices for Creative Nonviolence. They joined with othermajor peace groups like Codepink, Veterans for Peace and the NationalCampaign for Nonviolent Resistance in early 2007 to launch TheOccupation Project, a campaign of resistance aimed at ending the IraqWar. Theirs was a campaign of sustained nonviolent civil disobedienceto end funding for the US war in and occupation of Iraq. TheOccupation Project resulted in over 320 arrests in spring of 2007 inthe offices of 39 US Representatives and Senators in 25 states. "I am energized by the dedication of so many conscientiousactivists across the country willing to take the risks of peace andspeak truth to power," says Max Obuszewski of the National Campaignfor Nonviolent Resistance. "We have been unsuccessful so far instopping this awful war and occupation of Iraq, but it is not for thelack of direct action. We are taking on the greatest empire in worldhistory, but we will continue to act." "There are large numbers of new people being arrested," notesCohen-Joppa, "most typically saying, 'I have tried everything elsefrom writing to voting, but I have to do more to stop this war.' Theprofile of people arrested includes high school teenagers to seniorcitizens, mostly people under 30 and over 50." Antiwar arrests are significantly underreported by mainstreammedia.

For example, around the fifth anniversary of the invasion ofIraq in March 2008, most news stories wrote that there were 150 to 200arrests nationwide. Cohen-Joppa and the Nuclear Resister report therewere over double that number, well over 400, many outside the citieswhere regular media traditionally look. Though arrests typically drop off in election years, as people'shopes are raised that a new president or Congress will make adifference and stop the war, this year looks like arrests are likelyto continue to rise. In part, that will depend on the attitude ofauthorities in Denver and Minneapolis, where the political conventionsare being held. In 2004, New York City authorities overreacted so muchto protesters at the Republican convention that they arrested historicnumbers of protesters - including hundreds who had no intention torisk arrest.

If Senator McCain is elected, antiwar resistanceactivities are expected to rise much higher. Why do people risk arrest in their resistance to war? PerhapsDaniel Berrigan, on trial for resistance to the Vietnam War, said itbest:"The time is past when good people may be silentwhen obediencecan segregate us from public riskwhen the poor can die without defense.How many indeed must diebefore our voices are heardhow many must be tortured dislocatedstarved maddened?How long must the world(s resourcesbe raped in the service of legalized murder?When at what point will you say no to this war?We have chosen to saywith the gift of our libertyif necessary our lives:the violence stops here.The death stops here.The suppression of truth stops here.This war stops here." Though war resistance activities and arrests have not stopped thewar in Iraq, those struggling for peace remain committed. "None of usknow what will happen if we continue to work for peace and humanrights," says a handmade poster of one involved in the resistance,"But we all know what will happen if we don't."

The Nuclear Resister is published five to six times a year. Theycan be contacted at nukeresister@igc.org.

Bill is a human rights lawyer and law professor at LoyolaUniversity New Orleans. Quigley77@gmail.com.