Occupy Wall Street back in Zucotti, supports Nigeria

This video from the USA is called Re-Occupy Zuccotti Park Nov 15, 2011.

From AFP news agency today:

Occupy Wall Street returns to Zucotti park

NEW YORK – Agence France-Presse

Barriers erected around the Manhattan square where the Occupy Wall Street movement was born were removed Tuesday for the first time since demonstrators were evicted two months ago.

About 250 protesters flocked to Zuccotti Park in New York’s Financial District to mark the end of strict security measures brought in after the contested square became a battleground between police and activists.

Gathering around a large model of the Statue of Liberty, they sang and celebrated.

The park’s owners, Brookfield Office Properties, took down the metal barricades after a legal challenge to the restrictions from several civil rights groups.

The barriers had been erected immediately after police forcibly evicted a tent camp established by protesters, who say they are campaigning against corporate greed.

“It’s a big victory. They accepted they wanted to suppress the right of the protest. We will see what happens now,” Bill Dobs, a spokesman with the OWS movement, said.

Rules imposed by Brookfield to combat protesters’ initial aims of setting up a permanent tent village — including a ban on lying down or erecting tents — remained in force.

However, it was unclear whether the protesters would try to defy the regulations.

“If you are in #nyc and you are a member of the 99 percent, come join us at LibertySq,” OWS encouraged followers on Twitter.

We hope Zuccotti Park can now resume its rightful place as a center for meeting and protest in New York City,” New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) executive director Donna Lieberman said.

January/11/2012

From the Occupy Wall Street site:

Wednesday: Protest Against State Repression at the NYC Nigerian Consulate

Posted 14 hours ago on Jan. 10, 2012, 5:40 p.m. EST by OccupyWallSt

Wednesday, January 11th

3pm-4pm leafletting at 43rd St and 7th Ave
4pm March to the Nigerian Consulate at 44th St and 2nd Ave
5pm Rally at the Nigerian Consulate

On Facebook: here

Called by an affinity group of participants in the Occupy Movement in NYC working against the NDAA:

This upcoming Wednesday, January 11th is the 10 year anniversary of the opening of Guantanamo Bay Prison. This day is a somber recognition of previous repressive state measures that violate not only people on individual levels, but our international agreements on Universal Human Rights. We will be protesting in solidarity with others all over the world.

The Nigerian people are striking that same day, after the Nigerian government cut oil subsidies for citizens January 1st 2012. In response, Occupy Nigeria blocked the shipping routes and shut down petrol stations this past Tuesday. Though it was a peaceful protest, the state attacked the protesters with teargas and gunfire, killing 23 year old Mustapha Opobiyi. This mirrors the systemic state violence witnessed world-wide over the past year since the beginning of the Arab Spring — but this ongoing repression builds resistance.

As we know in the United States, repression is on the rise. Between the continued use of inhumane prisons like Guantanamo Bay and the recently passed National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 2012, people in the US are becoming more and more aware of the injustices of this globalized corporate system. We stand in solidarity with the Nigerian people and all victims of this system. We also see the inconsistency of the US government’s support of pro-democracy movements when it is actively derailing the very democracy it claims to protect.

We call on you to join us in fighting back against state repression!

In an interview with The Christian Science Monitor, Nigerian author Chinua Achebe supports fuel-subsidy protests and says that Nigeria’s unrest can be eased by better, less-corrupt leaders: here.

Guantanamo Bay Anniversary: Former Detainee Tells Of Torture, Mistreatment: here.

Lawsuit demands that Obama administration release Guantanamo torture tapes: here.

Ten years after the first prisoners in Washington’s “global war on terror” arrived at Guantánamo in hoods and shackles, the infamous prison camp remains open, its operations codified by Congress and President Obama into US law: here.

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• #OccupyWallStreet – Police has started to clear Zuccotti Park (nextlevelofnews.com)
• Occupy Wall Street’s debt buying strikes at the heart of capitalism | Alex Andreou (theguardian.com)
• House Votes To Delay Broker Rules Protecting Retirement Savers (huffingtonpost.com)