Demonstrators Ready to Push for Peace at Arms Convention

The civil disobedience classes have ended; the meetings with local law enforcement agencies are history, and demonstrators are ready for their fifth annual protest of the Winter Conference on Aerospace and Electronic Systems--also known as Wincon ’87.

When a cadre of aerospace engineers and Defense Department officials gather at El Toro Marine Corps Air Station for three days of classified meetings starting Tuesday, an estimated 2,000 protesters will be ready for them.

The police, too, will be ready for the standard bearers of the local peace movement, who have chosen Wincon in recent years as a high-profile way to make their point about the necessity for a non-nuclear world with those they say are most involved in the escalating arms race.

At 7 p.m. Monday, the eve of the 28th annual conference, about 2,000 protesters are expected to converge outside the Westin South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, where conference-goers are staying, for a two-hour candlelight vigil and demonstration.

At 6:30 a.m. Tuesday, a crowd of about 100 will protest at El Toro. Forty of those demonstrators, who have taken civil disobedience classes sponsored by local peace organizations, are expected to risk arrest by blocking the buses carrying conferees to the meetings.

“That weapons’ base will be shut down and we will be hopefully able to stall the arms race just a few minutes if we can,” said Richard Hamel, a staff organizer for the Alliance for Survival, which is sponsoring the demonstrations along with the Los Angeles Catholic Worker, another Southern California peace organization.

Although law enforcement officials will be out in force at all of the scheduled demonstrations, they say they are expecting another series of peaceful protests and are not worried about violence erupting during the four days of scheduled events.

“We expect no problems,” Orange County Sheriff’s Lt. Larry Khune said. “We’re there to protect the constitutional rights of all people and to keep the peace. Our purpose is not to arrest anyone, but to protect everyone’s freedom of assembly and speech.”

Patrol Perimeter

Khune said that sheriff’s deputies will patrol the perimeter of the Marine Corps base Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings. Khune said that he met with Marion Pack, executive director of the Alliance, several times over the past week to ensure “communication” between law enforcement officials and protesters.

“They’re very professional,” Khune said. “We’re expecting no problems.”

In addition to the Monday night demonstration, vigils will be held outside the Westin hotel on Wednesday and Thursday nights from 5 to 6:30 p.m., Hamel said. Costa Mesa police refused to comment Sunday on their preparations, but past demonstrations outside the hotel have been orderly.

“It’s been a relatively calm, orderly process in past years, no resistance whatsoever,” Costa Mesa Police Capt. Robert Moody said before Wincon ’86. “The officers recognize the people’s right to protest and treat them as human beings. It’s all very congenial.”

Wincon organizers could not be reached, and Lt. John Bobrowiecki, officer of the day at El Toro, refused to comment on the upcoming demonstrations.