Thaindian News

Washington/New York, Oct 15 (IANS) Scores of protesters against corporate greed were arrested as the “Occupy Wall Street movement” movement swelled across America leaving police struggling to corral or remove demonstrators from downtown parks and plazas.

iReporters posted Photos and video from “occupy” protests Friday across several American cities including Denver, Seattle, San Diego and New York, while similar demonstrations were scheduled to take place in Washington, Orlando and Atlanta.

In Denver, authorities said 24 people were arrested. In Seattle, police in riot gear rounded up and arrested 41 demonstrators who gathered in a city park and in New York 14 demonstrators were arrested after they sat in roadways to block traffic, overturned trash bins, knocked over a police scooter and hurled bottles.

Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons called the protests “inspirational.”

“People want this country to be better,” he told CNN. “They want the money out of Washington.” He said he believes the US government remains largely controlled by corporations.

Meanwhile, Brookfield Office Properties, the real estate firm that owns Zuccotti Park, considered a home base for Manhattan protesters, decided not to try to clean up the park, as it had announced, after the company was “inundated” with threatening calls from elected city officials.

The clean-up cancellation averted a major showdown between authorities and demonstrators, who appeared heartened by news.

“All day! All week! Occupy Wall Street,” the group chanted, calling the development a victory of passive resistance, CNN reported.

Originally called for by the Canadian activist group Adbusters, the Occupy Wall Street participants are mainly protesting against social and economic inequality, corporate greed, and the influence of corporate money and lobbyists on government.

(Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)