Gov. Chris Gregoire said today “it is time” to clear Heritage Park of the “Occupy Olympia protest encampment and the two-month protest. But advocates of the protests, who say they are fighting economic inequality in the United States, plan to push back with a march at 4 p.m. today against a state order to vacate the park by 12:01 a.m. tomorrow [Friday].
Go here for “Occupy Olympia’s” formal statement on the action by the state Department of Enterprise Services, which I reported this morning in this post.
The statement from Occupy’s unnamed “media team” says a 4 p.m. march and 10 p.m. assembly are planned “for camp defense and witness.” It also says:
The Occupy Movement manifested as a direct response to the social and economic injustices caused by a corrupt and heartless financial system. Occupy Olympia did not create the problems faced at camp. These are the same problems faced in communities around the country. Occupier Kyle Tanner states, “It’s disappointing that the state chooses to continue to sweep the realities of budget cuts under the rug rather than face the systemic inequities.” Since the early days of the occupation, Occupy Olympia has provided the community with free medical services, food, and shelter, all of which are needs the state has failed to meet. “While Occupy Olympia has been offering social services, it’s important to remember that the Occupy Olympia encampment is, and continues to be, a political encampment. Any attempt to discredit that would be a false representation of what the Occupy movement is all about,” states Occupier Owen Prout. Though the future of the physical camp may be uncertain, the community that camp has built will continue to fight the atrocities committed to benefit the 1%.
Gregoire spoke at length to reporters when asked during a news conference today about the state’s actions:
“I think you look around the country and we have stood proudly as a model of what the rest of the country should show the world. We have allowed people to express their First Amendment rights unfettered. We have been as patient as we could. We’ve not had our law enforcement community – my State Patrol – use tear gas or mace or anything else uncontrollably. The only people that were hurt that Monday when we opened the special session were one DES [Department of Enterprise Services] employee and six State Patrol officers. So we’ve done everything we can and now it’s time for them to go home. I need to clean that up down at the park. I want families and kids to be able to access it. I don’t want there to be any concern by the local establishments that do business down in that area. So it’s time for them to go home. And if they don’t have a home, we are working with the faith community to provide them that. I have had Social and Health Services out there; there are no longer any children out there. The people that are out there are different than the people that first started that tent camp down there, and it’s time for us to say we cannot have homeless at Heritage Park. It is not the purpose of that park and therefore they must leave.’’
Asked to clarify why the eviction is being done now, Gregoire said:
“It’s time. We worked this past week as you probably saw, with SPD at the Seattle community college, time was up. They had to leave. I can’t sit where I live and look out and worry about whether those people [at Heritage Park] are going to freeze to death down there, to be perfectly blunt with you. We’ve already had one [camp resident] that was admitted to a hospital because they had a health problem. We can’t do that anymore. So we have been patient. We’ve been tolerant. The Department of Enterprise Services has been fantastic. The State Patrol has been absolutely a model for the rest of the country. Time’s up. Time’s up.”
Why the notice to clear out by midnight – effective at 12:01 a.m. Friday?
“That was just a notice of time. Pull out now. Go now! Go by 12 o’clock, go by 2 o’clock, go by 3 o’clock. I was just trying to give them notice. It’s time. Good bye.’’
Asked if force might be used, Gregoire said: “I’m going to clear the park out.’’ Asked about the possible use of tear gas or other means seen at other protests, she went back to describing the protests at the special legislative session’s start on Nov. 28 – when the only reported injuries were to one Enterprise Services staffer and six troopers:
“You didn’t see them making [the protesters]. You didn’t see them getting out of control at all. They were very patient and they cleaned this place out. And we shut this institution down. When it was closed to the public it was closed to them. I respect (the) First Amendment. I hold it near and dear. That’s why we…that’s what this country is all about. I have given them that opportunity. But now … the rest of the community needs to feel comfortable that they can go down there with their children, [that] they can take their dog for a walk around the lake, that the businesses down there can know that people can come visit them without a concern. You saw it – those of you who were with me that night we did the holiday tree lighting. It was one of the least attended holiday tree lighting since I was governor. I can’t squelch other people’s rights. So we have allowed First Amendment expression. I respect them and their voices have been heard. It’s now time to leave public property and share that public property safely with everybody else.’’
UPDATE: It appears some activists were removing their gear this afternoon from the park. Enterprise Services spokesman Steve Valandra said it appeared late in the day that state workers might not have to remove many tents tomorrow.
