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The presence of police in riot gear and a chain link fence to keep out the rabble was my first indication that peaceful actions were going to met with major resistance by the police state protecting the WTO delegates and restricting the rights of citizens in their expression of free speech and freedom of assembly. 

 As the violent behavior of the police intensified during the week I was gassed many times.  No Democracy zones were established but the boundaries were changed frequently.   I was surrounded by police stripping stickers off my clothes and backpack.  They destroyed my signs and threatened to throw me in jail with a $500.00 fine.   I was eventually allowed to continue to a church to demonstrate against the third-world debt.

 Wednesday we were gassed indiscriminately, many people were beaten and hundreds were arrested.  I was shot in the back when swarms of police suddenly appeared and starting chasing and shooting us with rubber bullets and canisters.  It was a state of war against unarmed citizens.

 People gathered on Capitol Hill Thursday morning and talked about how the police had broken into residences the previous night destroying property and brutalizing residents.  

 Some of us acted in solidarity with the protestors  incarcerated in the King County Jail.  Organizations donated food, clothing, blankets and cardboard for ground cover as we protested the incarceration of activists and the refusal to grant them legal representation.

 My battle against the WTO continues.   I testified in court on behalf of the citizens who were incarcerated in Seattle.  We won that case and won a financial settlement against the City of Seattle.  I also protested against the WTO in Cancun.

 The Battle of Seattle was a pivotal and dramatic experience for me.  

Sue Bastian

Bend, Oregon

541-389-3677

posted 3 years, 5 months ago
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