adminUS capital Washington DC for a planned “Occupy DC” rally yesterday, at Freedom Plaza on Pennsylvania Avenue.
Organisers told Xinhua that the rally was aimed at raising awareness of the American people in fixing the political system corrupted by corporate greed, and concentrating attention on people’s needs.
Lisa Simeone, a spokesperson with the October 2011 movement, which is central in organising the rally, said the protest has been in the making for about a year, and was scheduled to coincide with the start of the Afghani war. After the “Occupy Wall Street” movement in the US city of New York took place, they decided to join the many occupations that’s been going on around the country.
“Our main focus is that we are against corporatism and militarism,” said Simeone in a telephone interview on Wednesday with Xinhua.
She said that protesters want money out of politics, tax the rich and corporations, as well as cut military spending, end the wars and bring the troops home.
“People come to the rally for a lot of reasons,” Jeremy Ryan, an activist participating in the rally told Xinhua in an earlier interview, noting many come because they are angry that big corporations are having too much influence on Washington politics.
“The over-arching theme” of the rally, said Simeone, is “human needs, jobs, homes, education, health care, not corporate greed.” Just like the New York demonstrations, which have been going on for weeks, the Washington rally is not likely to last only one day.
Simeone said that they look at the rally as a beginning, not the end, and they will “occupy” Freedom Plaza, possibly for weeks to come.
Simeone said that she doesn’t know how long the occupation will go on or what the next steps will be.
“I do know . . . this is not the end, but only the beginning.” – Xinhua.
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter