(Portland) After the partial withdrawal of the federal troops deployed in Portland, demonstrators assured this weekend that they would continue the struggle they have been waging for weeks in this city in the northwest of the United States. United.
Posted on August 2 2020 at 21 h 22
Javier TOVAR
France Media Agency
Sierra Boyne, an 19 year old African American, said the protests were not going to end. Dressed in a jacket bearing a red cross indicating that she can provide first aid in the event of an injury, she called a crowd of around 100 people to witness.
“In view of the energy” that reigns among the protesters, “the movement is not going to stop until there is a definitive change,” she said. And this even if there is not unanimity on the demands.
The area that has recently been the scene of clashes, the area surrounding the Portland Federal Court, was generally quiet on Saturday and Sunday. But clashes took place elsewhere in Portland between police officers and a crowd throwing bottles at them.
After days of anger reinforced by the deployment of federal troops by President Donald Trump, the smell of tear gas persists in some neighborhoods.
Much of the tension that had long reigned has dissipated. But several protesters like Sierra Boyne said they were not going to back down.
Leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement, speaking in front of several thousand people, called on them to “refocus” their efforts.
For them, the emphasis should no longer be on the demand for the withdrawal of federal troops but return to the initial demands for racial justice which animated many demonstrations across the United States following the the death of George Floyd, the African American who died after his arrest by police in May in Minneapolis.
The relative calm that has reigned in Portland in recent days set in after Washington agreed to withdraw federal troops as part of a deal with Kate Brown, Governor of Oregon, State in which Portland is located.
The agreement called for state police to be deployed to protect the federal court from attacks by protesters.
However, several members of the protest movement assured that the gradual departure of federal troops operating in camouflage uniforms would not end rallies against what they see as systemic racism in the police force.
“It's a revolution”
“We do not say goodbye”, declared Alicia, 46 years. “This is a movement that will not end. No one is leaving. It’s a revolution ”.
After the recent deal with the government, city, state of Oregon, and federal security forces were largely absent from the central Portland area. The protests that have taken place there in recent days have been mostly peaceful, with chanting slogans and chanting.
But clashes between demonstrators and police took place in the eastern part of the city, according to local media.
After participants started throwing bottles at the police and targeting them with lasers, the police declared the gathering illegal. She ordered protesters to disperse, then charged several times, according to media reports, which did not report injuries.
What would it take to put an end to the anger that reigns in this very marked city on the left and put an end to the demonstrations?
Sierra Boyne enumerated several objectives: the elimination of police funding, more aid for the poorest people, and the resignation of the mayor of Portland Ted Wheeler, responsible for her for a “brutal” reaction. of the police.
But Alicia wants much more: the revocation of the Constitution of the United States.
