Subscription 790/year or 190/quarter

USA 1969





(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)

Near the campus of Berkeley, California, a small space was occupied by students and others. They called it "People's Park" and had had a permanent meeting place here since mid-April. May 16, the place was previously filled with hippies, students and others who discussed politics or broke up a chat. "People's Park" had become a gathering place. Legally it belonged to the university area. The Berkeley administration wanted this property relationship made clear. That's why they sent 200 policemen to the People's Park to clean up. The assembly was driven away and an eight-foot steel fence was set up around the square.

The same evening a meeting was held in the university area. 3000 people were present. They marched shortly after to "People's Park". There they were stopped by a compact police wall. There was a clash between police and protesters, and police obtained reinforcements. Stone was thrown at the police, who without warning began to shoot into the crowd. Before night, one of the protesters was dead and over 90 other people were injured. The police were armed with guns and telescopic rifles. Tear gas bombs were also used. Also, gas of the United States uses in Vietnam. It can be deadly.

Last winter was it big demonstrations at Berkeley. The students demonstrated in solidarity with the Third World. The Governor of California, Ronald Reagan, then introduced absolute state of emergency. It was still in power when the clashes at "People's Park" took place. Therefore, helicopter support troops were allowed to deploy over the area. The military, armed to the teeth, waged war on unarmed protesters. Later, during the autopsy, it emerged that the dead, James Rector, had been shot in the stomach by police. The gassing continued with Reagan's and the university administration's approval.

Regular matches stretched over several days. A policeman who refused to join the various strife was sent to a psychiatric hospital with a diagnosis of "suppressed aggression". Reports of mistreatment of prisoners in the Santa Rita prison spread rapidly. Protesters were forced to lie still on concrete floors for hours. Every attempt to rise was rewarded with kicks in the crotch. The gas from the university area spread to the nearby buildings. After several days of fighting and countless prisons, the army and police took control of the "People's Park". A lot of valuable combat training was the result. USA 1969.

You may also like