Page Nine

Friday, May 7; 1971

THE MICHIGAN DAILY

Friday, May7, 1971 THE MICHIGAN DAILY Page Nine

Mayday:
By TAMMY JACOBS
Special To The Daily
WASHINGTON - Eighteen days of con-
tinuous protests against the war in Indo-
china ended yesterday as only about 200 of
what was once estimated at half a million
peace demonstrators appeared for a rally
at the South Vietnamese embassy.
"The Spring Offensive" of protest cul-
minated the effort of at least three major
coalitions-the National Peace Action Co-
alition (NPAC), the People's Coalition for
Peace and Justice (PCPJ), and the May-
day Tribe.
NPAC, an offshoot of the New Mobiliza-
tion Committee to end the War, organized
actions aimed at a broad spectrum of
people. Among these were the April 24
mass march and rally, and Wednesday's
attempt at a nationwide moratorium on
"business as usual".
PCPJ is oriented to the left of NPAC,
and although it joined in the April 24
march and May 5 moratorium, it also
sponsored more militant actions.
At the People's Lobbies last week, fo-
cused on major federal institutions, over
1,000 demonstrators were arrested.
The most militant of the three groups
is the Mayday Tribe, sponsor of the traf-
fic disruptions Monday and Tuesday that
promoted massive police response. Al-
though PCPJ called the Mayday Tribe its
"youth affiliate", the two groups are dis-
tinet in the amount of militancy in their
tactics.
PCPJ and the Mayday Tribe find their
major link in the People's Peace Treaty,
drawn up by students from North and
South Vietnam and the United States, and
calling for immediate and total withdrawal
from Indochina.
Besides the demand that the govern-
ment ratify the peace treaty, PCPJ and
the Mayday tribe are linked in demands

A chronology of protest

Sunday: Women march for equality

-Daily-TerryMcuarthy
Monday: Police arrest 7,000 protesters

for a minimum $6,000 wage for every fam-
ily of four in the U.S., and freedom for
"all political prisoners".
The efforts of three groups have led to
one of the most sustained series of demon-
strations against the Indochina War ever
held in Washington.
These were the anti-war events of the
past two and a half weeks:
April 19-Over 1,000 veterans arrived in
Washington, where for the next five days
they carried on "Operation Dewey Can-
yon III", a series of protests involving

pseudo-military operations such as seek
and destroy raids, and demonstrations at
selective Washington targets.
April 22-Over 100 of the veterans were
arrested at a sit-in on the steps of the
Supreme Court building.
April 23-About 800 veterans, in the last
stage of Dewey Canyon III, threw their
battle ribbons and medals onto the steps
of the Capitol, in a symbolic rejection of
the War.
April 24-A broad coalition of protesters
held a massive, peaceful, anti-war march

down Pennsylvania Ave. to the Capitol,
where they rallied and heard speakers
against the war. Police estimated the
crowd at 200,000, organizers at 500,000.
Several thousand demonstrators remain-
ed after the march to begin "Algonquin
Peace City", a campground in Washington
West Potomac Park, near the capital and
government area of the city. Demonstra-
tors were given a permit to assemble un-
til May 9. However, it was revoked May
2, scattering the demonstrators through-
out the city.
April 25-Three hundred Quakers held
a peace vigil outside the White House,
where 151 were arrested for "violating
police lines."
April 26-Protesters began a series of
PCPJ sponsored "people's lobbies" by
disrupting the Senate. Twenty of the pro-
testers were arrested for use of "loud and
abusive language".
April 27-PCPJ continued lobbies, in-
cluding blockage of steps to the Internal
Revenue Service, Selective Service, and
Central Intelligence Agency. There were
no arrests, and the groups dispersed when
given a warning by the -olice.
That night, Leslie Bacon, a nineteen
year old protest organizer, was arrested
and held as a material witness in the
March incident during which the capitol
was bombed. Attempts to have Bacon re-
leased were thwarted, and the chant "free
Leslie" was added to traditional protest
slogans for the next few weeks.
April 28-Two hundred demonstrators
outside the Selective Service headquarters
were arrested and charged with disorderly
conduct and illegal entry as the lobbying
continued. The bond collateral, which had
been $10 earlier in the week, was raised
to $50.
April 29-Demonstrators massed at the
See CHRONOLOGY, Page 16

Tuesday: 2,200 arrested at Ju

qt. Wednesday : 3,000 to Cal