Tens of thousands of people participated in marches and rallies this weekend in downtown D.C. in support of causes ranging from anti-globalization to Palestinian solidarity. Hundreds of Georgetown students joined in, and at least two students were arrested for a bike rally early in the weekend.
The protests went smoothly, D.C. Metropolitan Police Chief Charles Ramsey said on Saturday afternoon. He said that police did not expect to need the riot gear they used during last year’s International Monetary Fund/World Bank protests.
“Most people are just trying to be peaceful, but we have to be out here just in case a few choose to cause trouble,” Ramsey said. “But things are going very well.”
According to MPD, no arrests were made in connection with the registered marches and rallies, although a few dozen arrests were made in related occurrences.
One of the largest marches was in support of the Palestinian cause and began north of Dupont Circle on Saturday. Ramsey estimated that the march began with approximately 3,000 people, but by the time it reached the Capitol it had swelled to 15,000 to 25,000. Palestinians, Jews and many others were part of that march.
Thamenh Rashed, a Palestinian marcher, said she joined the demonstration to pressure President George W. Bush to make Israel end its offensive in Palestinian territory.
“Bush has to do something,” she said. “[He] knows Sharon is a killer; he knows the truth.”
Rabbi Mordecai Weberman, an Orthodox Jew from Brooklyn, N.Y., brought his congregation to the march.
“We support the Palestinian cause,” Weberman said. “They’re being terrorized by the Zionists, and we want to tell the world that we have no part in that.”
Other events included Friday’s “Critical Mass Bike Ride,” designed to support all the causes of the weekend. Georgetown Solidarity Committee board member Mike Wilson (CAS ‘05) said that approximately 200 people rode their bikes through Washington during rush hour.
Police followed the bikers, but did not receive an order to arrest them until after they rode onto the Rock Creek Parkway and occupied all four lanes of traffic, according to a press release from MPD.
Both Wilson and Gladys Cisneros (SFS ‘04) were arrested and charged with disobeying a traffic order, a misdemeanor that could carry a $100 fine.
