1 the South African embassy in Washington on November 21, has been followed up by demonstrations in Boston, New York, Seattle, and Los Angeles. Wednesday's protest was organized by Willard R. Johnson, an MIT political science professor who is president of the local chapter of TransAfrica, a foreign policy lobbying group. TransAfrica has been responsible for many of the demonstrations around the country.
Johnson was also arrested with Wald, as were Boston city councilor Bruce R. Bolling (D-Roxbury), and Steve Louis, head of Local 509 of the Service Employees International Union.
As some protestors marched outside the store, the four who were arrested went inside to ask the currency dealers to stop dealing in Kruggerands, South African gold coins. When the manager of the Deak-Perera store said he could not get authorization from the corporate headquarters to stop selling the coins, Wald and the three other protesters refused to leave the store.
Repression
The protesters were picketing Deak-Perera because "they import and sell the South African Kruggerand which is a significant symbol of South Africa's repressive policy and it also aids the financial stability of South Africa," Bolling said.
For Wald, this is not the first time he has been arrested in an act of civil disobedience. He was previously arrested in the chamber of the House of Representatives during a protest against the Vietnam War.
The 78-year-old retired professor said that he was planning to circulate a letter to be signed by a large group of fellow Nobel laureates asking the South African government to free Black civil rights leader Nelson Mandella, who has been in jail in South Africa for 22 years.
Not Guilty
Although they received an offer to have the charges dropped, Wald and the other protestors arrested with him decided instead to take the case before a jury trial, Wald said.
The defendants pleaded not guilty at the arraignment and were released on their own recognizance until the trial.
