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Sunday marked the one-week tally of protesters’ “refugee camp,” on UW’s Library Mall.
The camp, created through a collaboration of groups and individuals including Students against War, Madison Area Peace Coalition, Stop the War and AmVets, opposes a potential war in Iraq.
Protesters have been camping out under tents of tarp and metal poles.
Protester Ivan Higginbotham is a permanent resident of Southern Illinois but has been camping out in Library Mall. He says there is an average of 20 people staying in the tents overnight, but said the group is rarely the same make up.
“This thing is mushrooming, lots of people are feeling our cause,” Higginbotham said.
Ald. Todd Jarrell, District 8 supports the protesters’ actions. Jarrell said he participated in the construction of the camp.
According to Higginbotham, protesters have camped on Bascom Hill, and at the Capitol, but until now, protesters have not camped on State Street.
The camp caused concern amongst Madison fire and police departments early in the week. Officials were particularly concerned with the tents’ flammability.
Some Madison residents aren’t persuaded to join the camping, saying the protest camp stems from ill-informed people.
“These protesters should be protesting what Saddam Hussein is doing to his people ? making human shields of his citizens. They need to understand the United States is going in to help the Iraqi people,” Madison and Wisconsin College Republican Chair Nick Cekosh said.
Cekosh also said the tents inconvenience pedestrians by creating obstacles for walkers.
Some protesters say they’ve dealt with comments from pedestrians, including “Stupid hippies. You want a war? I’ll give you a war.”
The mock “refugee camp” was not expecting to legally reside in Library Mall until Feb. 26 when the City Council would vote on a permit for the camp. However, after being informed of the camp’s illegal squatting, Mayor Sue Bauman bumped up the permit proceedings to early last week. The camp was given a dwelling permit by the city of Madison valid from Feb. 21 through March 5.
A group of protesters said Bauman was supportive, but that she declined to sign their petition to stop the war against Iraq.
Higginbotham said the “refugee camp” occupants will pursue another permit to remain in that location after March 5 if President Bush does not change his current approach to Iraq’s non-compliance with UN resolutions to admit weapons inspectors.
“If this has to go longer than that, we’ll do what it takes,” Higginbotham said.
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