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Walkerville
Site of OAS Protest
by
Elaine Weeks
 Rain
gear was de rigeur as police and OAS protesters converged on Willistead
Park Monday, June 5.
Pouring rain may
have limited their numbers but it did not dampen the spirits of
about 150 protestors who marched around the park chanting,"There
is no power like the power of the people, because the power of the
people don't stop!" and "Protesting's not a crime, no more cops
on overtime!".
Several curious
residents watched from their porches; a few taking photos or videotaping
what was certainly a rare event for this normally peaceful neighbourhood.
Willistead Manor
was the site for a luncheon hosted by the Honorable Herb Gray, Deputy
Prime Minister of Canada for delegates involved in the Thirtieth
General Assembly of the Organization of American States. To prevent
any potential interference from angry protesters, police and OPP
in riot gear were stationed around the perimeter of the park and
at all of the entrances, which were locked except for one, the main
entrance on Niagara.
Protesters were
comprised of students from nearby Walkerville Collegiate and Lowe
Technical School as well as professional protestors from around
the province. "We want to help the community understand the issues,"
explained Anna Willats of Toronto. "People should know what the
OAS is doing the protestors are here to represent social justice
but we are being treated like terrorists. We aren't doing anything
illegal."
Two students from
Walkerville admitted that they didn't really know what the OAS was
but they wanted to see what was going on. "We can't really say much
because we don't know the issues - we thought we would just follow
along."
Another Walkerville
student, Chantelle Crepp was busy taking photos of the protestors.
"I'm photographing their shoes I find it ironic that here
they are protesting Free Trade and human rights issues but they're
wearing Adidas and Nike running shoes."
Protesters eventually
ended up in front of the main gate, which was blocked by a solid
phalanx of police in black riot gear. The activists hoped to block
the entrance of three buses carrying delegates by sitting on the
wet pavement but police quickly stepped in and began dragging people
away. The buses were allowed to enter without further incident.
There were no arrests.
Click
here to see photos of the protest at Willistead Manor...
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