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SOA Update: SOA Watch declares autonomous zone at Ft. Benning gates

Welcoming students, protesters and the Black Bloc, SOAW coordinator Jeff Windsor declared an autonomous zone from atop the sign welcoming visitors into Ft. Benning at 2:45pm Nov. 18.
SOA Watch coordinator Jeff Windsor opens global village, autonomous zone.

Prior to his declaring the autonomous zone, protesters had been setting up a global village constructed of boxes, paint, puppets and furniture to represent solidarity for human rights, peace and justice worldwide.

Approximately 20 anarchists, who called themselves "a group of individuals" and would not confirm affiliation with the Black Bloc, took a disposed washing machine from the grounds near the base and converted it into a drum that they dragged across the line in front of the Ft. Benning sign.

Chanting "Shut the fucking SOA, ho ho, hey hey," the group danced and banged on makeshift drums crafted out of pails, cans and water jugs.

Other protesters gathered around them, singing "We shall overcome."

A line of police formed along Ft. Benning road in response to the anarchists' actions. Rumors flew that the anarchists would be tearing down the fence that now blocks protesters from entering Ft. Benning grounds.

But when Windsor pronounced an autonomous zone, the anarchists left.

The global village extended across the road. Two officers had been directed by their chief to watch the refrigerator and bed frame that became a part of the global village. The chief, according to them, was worried that something "might happen with the refrigerator."

-Tiffany Drake
Columbus, GA
 
 

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