cj#1036,rn-> Amnesty International calls for Seattle inquiry

1999-12-13

Richard Moore

Dear friends,

One thing Seattle has made clear is the value of Internet.
Imagine if the only news you got from Seattle was from the
mainstream media!!!

Now think about this...  All the gestapo violence in Seattle
was 'excused' by 'violent protestors'.  And the
establishment has more or less 'gotten by with it'.  There
are many scenarios by which the net can similarly be shut
down.  I hope we're still talking after y2k.

I hope Amnesty International is able to get somewhere with
their investigation...

all the best,
rkm

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Delivered-To: moderator for •••@••.•••
From: "Steve Bishop" <•••@••.•••>
Date: Sun, 12 Dec 1999 18:41:35 MST

---<snip>---

Forwarded from the New Paradigms Project [Not Necessarily Endorsed]:
    http://www.msen.com/~lloydFrom: Ian Goddard <•••@••.•••>
To: •••@••.••• <•••@••.•••>
Subject: Amnesty on Fascism in Seattle
Date: Saturday, December 11, 1999 3:12 PM

=============================================================
FROM: http://www.amnesty.org/news/1999/25120399.htm
=============================================================

Amnesty International calls for an inquiry into police
actions at WTO talks in Seattle

Reports of widespread police abuses against non-violent
protesters and others during the World Trade Organization
talks last week in Seattle are deeply disturbing, Amnesty
International said today.

"The use of chemical sprays, restraint chairs and beatings
appear to violate international human rights standards,"
Amnesty International said.

The organization is calling for the establishment of an
independent commission of inquiry to fully and impartially
investigate the use of force by the police against the
demonstrators.

Allegations include:

the indiscriminate use of chemical agents such as pepper
spray and tear gas against non-violent protesters, unresisting
residents and bystanders. Some of whom were repeatedly sprayed
in the face at close range.

Reports also indicate that a barrage of other potentially
dangerous weapons including rubber bullets, wooden pellets
and "flashbang" grenades were used indiscriminately.

According to some sources, symptoms described by victims,
suggest that an unauthorized 'neurotoxic' chemical agent
may have been used.

Systematic cruel treatment used to coerce or punish violent
protesters for act of non-compliance such as refusing to give
their names in King County jail. One person was slammed against
a wall, beaten while lying on the floor and had his fingers
forced back with a pencil. In another case, guards squeezed
a man's nose, almost suffocating him, when he refused to give
out his name.

Also at King County jail, people were allegedly strapped into
four-point restraint chairs as punishment for non-violent
resistance or asking for their lawyers. In one case a man was
stripped naked before being strapped into the chair.

One woman was stripped naked by four woman guards, while a
male guard outside watched. She further had her arms and
legs folded behind her and was held down on the floor with
the full weight of two guards on top of her.

Amnesty International calls for an independent commission of
inquiry to be implemented, including examination by independent
experts of the symptoms reported by those exposed to chemical
agents and the reported use of force in the King County jail
and other detention centres. The results of these inquiries
should be made public at the earliest possible date.

Source: Amnesty International, International Secretariat,
1 Easton Street, WC1X 8DJ, London, United Kingdom

=============================================================
http://www.amnesty.org/news/1999/25120399.htm
=============================================================


=============================================================
FROM: Kirk James Murphy, M.D. <•••@••.•••>
=============================================================

Neurotoxic Symptoms In Chemical Warfare Casualties At
Seattle WTO Meeting        by kirk james murphy, MD
     <•••@••.•••> 10:04am Tue Dec 7 '99
 >
        Direct Action Network Medical Collective members
provided first aid and other  care for thousands of
casualties of chemical warfare during the Seattle WTO
protests. Collective members identified a subset of
casualties with  symptoms consistent  with exposure to
neurotoxins which disrupt  acetylcholine irritant
agents do not explain the symptoms.
 >
              The Direct Action Network Medical
Collective was organized to provide first aid and
other health services to activists and others
(onlookers, media, residents, and anyone else
requesting assistance) in Seattle for the WTO  meeting
last week. The Collective members  provided care for
literally hundreds of chemical warfare casualties on
both  November 30 and December 1; hundreds more have
requested information and treatment in subsequent
days. As one may imagine, Collective members have
acquired  extensive expertise in the recognition  and
treatment of symptoms arising from exposure to pepper
spray (OC) and "tear gases" (CS and CN).
 >
            Individuals exposed to chemical weapons in
the late afternoon and evening of           December
1st at two locations downtown  blocks adjacent to Pike
Place Market and   the Seattle neighborhood of Capitol
Hill  evinced and reported a pattern of  symptoms
which is inconsistent with the  pattern of symptoms
which may be ascribed  to irritating agents. This
"atypical"  pattern of symptoms includes the rapid
onset of: mydriasis (pupillary dilation) with
resultant impairment of visual acuity; tachycardia
(rapid heart rate) with some palpitations; new-onset
hypertension (high blood pressure) in one individual;
nausea, vomiting, diarrhea (persisting for days after
exposure); abrupt or immediate onset of menstruation
(asynchronous with usual menstrual cycle); muscular
fasciculation (twitches); muscular dyscoordination;
lethargy, confusion, disorientation, diminished
concentration, nocturnal hallucinations.
 >
         Moreover, some casualties reported an  abrupt
experience of loss of muscular   tone and strength
that sometimes (but not always) immediately preceded a
loss of  consciousness; one observer of these
affected individuals reported uncontrolled, spasmodic
movements in  those affected.
 >
        Some individuals exposed in the Pike Place Market
area reported that the  aforementioned symptoms came
immediately  after exposure to a non-irritating agent
which was did not cause pain, lacrimation, or burning
on mucous  membranes.
 >
        At least one individual complaining of
fasciculations and cognitive impairment   days after
exposure reported resolution of both symptoms for a
duration of   approximately five to six hours within
twenty to thirty minutes after treatment with 10 mg of
the specific antidote dicyclomine (Bentyl) - an
anticholinergic  medication which crosses the
blood-brain  barrier and hence can relieve central
nervous symptoms of excessive cholinergic activity as
well as relieving peripheral  symptoms of the same
etiology.
 >
          The pattern of symptoms is not consistent
with known mechanisms of action of the irritant
chemical weapons OC, CS, or CN. The pattern, however,
is consistent with  disruption of neurotransmitter
activity. Lamentably, the single most compelling
explanation for the observed findings is  the
(deliberate or accidental) inclusion   of
"incapacitating agents" which disrupt  neuronal
function in the chemical  munitions discharged by law
enforcement  agencies in Seattle during the WTO
protest.
 >
         While direct cholinergic effects or indirect
(inhibition of acetylcholinesterase) effects arising
from synergistic combinations (of OC, CS, and CN)
cannot be ruled out at this time,  the experience and
observations  Medical Collective members, together
with  the aforementioned information, appears  to most
robustly support the hypothesis   that the casualties
described above  resulted from exposure to
cholinesterase      inhibitors used as chemical
weapons in crowd control.
 >
        The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported on December 4
that the Seattle Police   Department had to replenish
its chemical weapons stocks by going to outside
sources. Various individuals have  reported being told
by individual law enforcement officers that chemical
weapons in addition to OC, CS, and CN   were deployed
by various entities; these  anecdotal accounts are not
yet confirmed.
 >
        Any information regarding the use of  chemical
munitions in addition to OC, CS  or CN, as well as
information regarding  the discharge of chemical
weapons by   agencies other than the Seattle Police
Department would be helpful.
 >
            Available Internet information from
presumably authoritative (eg, DOD)   sources describes
"nerve gases" as lethal  agents. While the casualties
described   above - fortunately - have not included
fatalities, the apparent pattern of  excessive
cholinergic activity and the   fact that
"incapacitating agents" is the  term of art for a
subset of chemical weapons used in crowd control
suggests  that the term "nerve gas" may be a
suboptimal descriptive term.  "Incapacitating agents"
or "neurotoxic   agents" may be more precise ways of
describing chemical munitions with the  effects
described above.
 >
        If you were exposed to chemical weapons  during the
WTO protests and have the  pattern of "atypical"
symptoms discussed  below, please make a written,
signed, and dated account of your exposure, including
details such as the (approximate)  location in which
you were exposed and  the date and part of the day
(morning,    midday, afternoon, evening) of your
exposure, as well as the nature of your     symptoms.
Please send such accounts to  the email above and to
the ACLU unit    investigating law enforcement actions
in Seattle during the WTO protests.
 >
        Collection of discharged chemical weapons  munitions
is proceeding apace at this time. Collection of serum
samples from affected individuals will probably be
organized over the next 48 hours. Assay  of garments
(and other materials) exposed    to the chemical
warfare agents on  individuals demonstrating the
aforementioned pattern of symptoms is also
contemplated. If you have canisters  or other chemical
munitions containers  discharged during the WTO
protest, please  contact the above email address for
information about how to forward these  containers for
chemical analysis
 [NOTE: Canisters of "CS" or "CN" (tear gas) or   "OC"
(Oleoresin Capsaiscum) are not   needed - we know they
were used. The   containers to be sent for chemical
analysis would only be those without the  above
markings or those with markings  consistent with the
use of other agents.]
 >
         Your comments are invited and desired.  Obviously,
the escalation of chemical  weapons used in "crowd
control" to include even non-lethal neurotoxins is an
 exceedingly grave prospect: the qualitative leap from
irritant agents  (OC, CS, CN) to agents which disrupt
 neuronal function is truly an appalling  prospect.
This communication is intended  to ensure the fullest
possible discussion  and consideration of the events
and  mechanisms described above.

=============================================================
FROM: Kirk James Murphy, M.D. <•••@••.•••>
=============================================================

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Richard K Moore
Wexford, Irleand
Citizens for a Democratic Renaissance
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