Action Direct from the Streets

US, Boston's Anti-Capitalist Festival of Resistance No Business As Usual in Boston's Financial District

Date Tue, 2 May 2000 17:03:37 -0400

As part of the Mayday 2000 Global Day of Action, over 200 anarchists,
environmentalists, workers, students, and assorted radical left activists
descended on Boston's Financial District in a spirited and disruptive
celebration against capitalism. Taking to the streets and bringing
downtown traffic to a standstill, protesters made their way through the
city, making stops at some of Boston's largest capitalist financial
institutions, including the Boston Stock Exchange, and the headquarters
of Fidelity Investments and Fleet Bank. Despite a fairly heavy police
presence, protesters were successful in keeping control of the streets
throughout the demonstration, with minimal confrontation or arrests.

At Fidelity Investments, protesters pushed past police lines and brought
the "festival of resistance" inside the building, touching off minor
skirmishes with police and brief panic on the part of security (who were
forced to lock the doors and bring down the security gates after
protesters were ejected). Continuing on through the financial district, a
handful of anarchists managed to enter Boston Safe Deposit & Trust before
police managed to seal off the entrance and the group was forced to
leave. At about this time, someone involved with the Critical Mass
bicycle ride was arrested for supposedly obstructing the police, and
taken into custody. Angry protesters surrounded the police van demanding
his release. Things started to heat up when a black bloc anarchist
slashed the van's tire, leaving it entirely immobile. Out of nowhere an
undercover cop grabbed another anarchist (who was accused of slashing the
tire) and proceeded to arrest him. In response, a number of protesters
attempted to make an unarrest, shoving the undercover into some newspaper
dispensers. About eight uniformed police moved in and grabbed the same
individual, pushing back the rest of the protesters. As tensions began to
rise and a riotous situation looked likely, a member of the National
Lawyers Guild negotiated with the police for the release of both
individuals. In surprising move, the police agreed to release the two on
the condition that we continued on with our march in relative peace.
After this small victory, we finished off the demonstration in Government
Center and listened to some anti-capitalist speakers.

As one of the world's largest centers of capital, Boston's financial
institutions are responsible for managing more than $7 trillion. More
mutual funds are traded here than in any other city in the world. The
Boston Stock Exchange alone is the third largest in the U.S., and the
fastest growing in the world. With this in mind, we made it our intention
to have our anti-capitalist Mayday celebrations in the heart of Boston's
financial district, bringing our resistance right to the very front doors
of this city's financial ruling elite. Of course, this was only the
beginning...

                       ********


From:  http://www.ainfos.ca
Back to the front page