Anti-war protests may be planned for chemical depot

This story was published Fri, Jan 10, 2003

By Karen Spears Zacharias
Herald Oregon bureau

UMATILLA -- Anti-war protesters may be planning demonstrations at Army installations, including the Umatilla Chemical Depot, on Jan. 18, an internal Army memo warned.

The memo obtained by the Herald said that any such protests likely would occur in tribute to peace activist Martin Luther King Jr., whose national holiday is celebrated Jan. 20.

"I think this is just in case something could happen," said Jim Hackett, Army spokesman. "It's always good to be prepared."

Hackett said as far as he knows there has never been a protest of any sort at the depot. The 3,717 tons of munitions containing deadly nerve agent such as VX, sarin and blister agent stored at the site, 30 miles south of the Tri-Cities, is scheduled to be destroyed later this year.

Anti-war organizers said the Army may be overstating the threat.

"To my knowledge there are no protests planned," said Jane Cutter, a spokeswoman for Seattle's International Action Center. She said more than a hundred protesters will be traveling from the region to Washington, D.C., and San Francisco to participate in anti-war rallies Jan. 18, but none was headed to Umatilla.

The memo urged depot officials to be alert.

"If you have not done so already, please contact your supporting law enforcement agencies ... FBI and U.S. Marshals in reference to this possibility for situational awareness," the document said.

Officials also were urged to review their civil disturbance procedures and to consider "apprehending protesters and transferring custody, use of alternate routes for installation entry/exit, availability of special tools: flex cuffs, stretchers, bolt cutters, and riot gear."

The memo was issued by the U.S. Army Soldiers, Biological Chemical Command.

"We simply informed commanders of information found on the Internet on possible protests and advised them to contact their local law enforcement agencies," said Larry McCaskill, spokesman for the agency. "As the custodians and guardians of the nation's chemical stockpile, we are very active in the security of our installations."

McCaskill said he could not discuss specifics.

Officials at an incineration site in Alabama said they are preparing for protesters.

"We know that they are possibly coming here," said Joan Gustafason, spokeswoman for the Anniston Army depot. But, she said Anniston differs from Umatilla.

"One of our main missions is the building of tanks. And we do a lot of track vehicles," she said.

The Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky also continues to aid the war business. It is a distributor of conventional weapons, such as small caliber arms and 500-pound bombs. Umatilla is solely a storage site for weapons of mass destruction.

Anniston has been the site of previous demonstrations. But Gustafason said those protests had no problems.

"As long as they protest peacefully and come up to the gate at the demilitarization site but don't go on federal property, that's their God-given right, I guess," she said.

Rufus Kinney, spokesman for the Anniston-based Families Concerned about Nerve Gas, said he hasn't heard any rumors of any such actions at the Anniston site.

"I think maybe it's a false alarm," he said. "I'm known as the No. 1 hell-raiser when it comes to incineration, and I don't know anything about any protests."

But Kinney said the time might come when he would chain himself to the gates at Anniston.

"I will protest if they light a match to that damn thing before maximum protection is in place," he said.

Cutter said anti-war protesters do have concerns about the nation's stockpiles of chemical munitions.

"We certainly intend to continue to expose the double standard the U.S. has about weapons of mass destruction," she said. "Why is it our government seeks to disarm other nations when it hasn't taken the steps necessary to disarm itself?"

 

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