Publication date: 03/18/2003

40-plus arrested in early war protest

BY J.K. DINEEN
Of The Examiner Staff

    More than 40 antiwar protesters were arrested Monday while blocking an intersection near the British embassy in an act of civil disobedience.

    At dawn about 100 protesters gathered at Justin Herman Plaza and then marched up Market Street to the British Consulate at Sansome and Market, where they staged a "die in" -- lying in the middle of the street until police came with handcuffs and led them away.

    Police said the arrests went smoothly.

    "Fortunately we're no stranger to this stuff. We handle 400 demonstrations a year in this town," said police spokesman Michael Malone. "You get to be experts at maintaining the rights of the demonstrators and the rights of the citizens."

    He said there was no destruction of property or other violence.

    "It was just peaceful, civil disobedience-type stuff," he said. "They were not bad people, just passionate about what they believe in."

    Organizer Bernadette Moreno said only a few workers seemed annoyed that they were prevented from entering work.

    "Generally people were supportive -- most people in San Francisco don't want to go to war and are willing to sacrifice a little inconvenience in order to save the lives of millions," she said.

    Gopal Dayaneni, an organizer with Direct Action to Stop The War who was arrested Monday, said the start of a war would be met with large-scale civil disobedience.

     "Bush has ignored millions of demonstrators around the world so it's come to the point where if you are interested in preserving democracy and reclaiming the country from this administration you're left with civil disobedience."

    The demonstration was the third antiwar action in four days in The City and probably the last one before a U.S.-led attack of Iraq is launched.

    "Our next actions will begin after the first bomb drops," said Moreno, an artist who lives in the Mission.

    For now police are handling the morning demonstrations by holding over the night shift, which allows the day watch to respond to other, non-protest related calls. Officers are paid time-and-a-half for working the demonstrations, which means the war could be a financial strain for The City, which is already facing an estimated $350 million deficit.

    "It's going to get very expensive," said Malone.