November 2, 2001 Green Party USA Coordinator Detained at Airport;
Prevented by Armed Military Personnel from Flying to Political
Meeting in Chicago Source: CounterPunch Wire Armed government
agents grabbed Nancy Oden, Green Party USA coordinating committee
member, Thursday at Bangor International Airport in Bangor Maine,
as she attempted to board an American Airlines flight to Chicago.
"An official told me that my name had been flagged in the
computer," a shaken Oden said. "I was targeted because the Green
Party USA opposes the bombing of innocent civilians in
Afghanistan." Oden, a long-time organic farmer and peace activist
in northern Maine, was ordered away from the plane. Military
personnel with automatic weapons surrounded Oden and instructed all
airlines to deny her passage on any flight. "I was told that the
airport was closed to me until further notice and that my ticket
would not be refunded," Oden said. Oden is scheduled to speak in
Chicago Friday night on a panel concerning pesticides as weapons of
war. She had helped to coordinate the Green Party USA's antiwar
efforts these past few months, and was to report on these to The
Greens national committee. "Not only did they stop me at the
airport but some mysterious party had called the hotel and
cancelled my reservation," Oden said. The Greens National Committee
-- the governing body of the Green Party USA -- is meeting in
Chicago Nov. 2-4 to hammer out the details of national campaigns
against bio-chemical warfare, the spraying of toxic pesticides,
genetic engineering, and the Party's involvement in the burgeoning
peace movement. "I am shocked that US military prevented one of our
prominent Green Party members from attending the meeting in
Chicago," said Elizabeth Fattah, a GPUSA representative from
Pennsylvania who drove to Chicago. "I am outraged at the way the
Bill of Rights is being trampled upon." Chicago Green activist
Lionel Trepanier concluded, "The attack on the right of association
of an opposition political party is chilling. The harassment of
peace activists is reprehensible."
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