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MOVE Marks Police Bombing Anniversary

Posted on: Saturday, 14 May 2005, 21:00 CDT

PHILADELPHIA - Under the watchful eyes of police and neighbors, the militant group MOVE marked the 20th anniversary Saturday of the police bombing that destroyed the organization's home and killed 11 members.

Group members and supporters gathered in West Philadelphia near the site where police trying to evict armed MOVE members from a rowhouse dropped an explosive from a helicopter. Officers then ordered firefighters to keep their distance as flames killed six adults and five children and consumed 61 adjacent homes.

"We will never allow another May 13, 1985," MOVE supporter Orie Ross shouted through a bullhorn to about 75 people. "Our family can't be replaced."

The group, which once espoused equality with animals, had clashed with neighbors and police long before the bombing. Neighbors complained that group members shouted from bullhorns late into the night, were confrontational and unsanitary, and jogged on people's roofs.

At the rally, members called for the release of the "MOVE 9" - those they said were wrongly convicted in the 1978 death of police officer James Ramp. Eight remain in prison; the ninth died of cancer in 1998.

Today, MOVE has a few dozen members, most of whom live in a pair of houses in Philadelphia's Kingsessing neighborhood. Other residents of the block describe them as good neighbors.

The group, which once preached against technology, now has a Web site. It describes itself as a revolutionary organization that believes in life, natural law and self defense but rejects the government and big business.

Neighbors watched Saturday's rally from their front stoops, some shaking their heads and eyeing the event suspiciously. Several declined to comment on the demonstration or the anniversary, saying they preferred to put it behind them.

Some neighbors have been fighting the city since the day of the fire. Embarrassed city officials promised to rebuild, but the new houses were defective and millions of dollars spent on repairs failed to solve the problems.

The buildings were later declared too dangerous to live in, and the city offered remaining families $150,000 each. Some accepted, but others refused and sued.

Last month, a federal jury awarded $12.8 million to the 24 families who sued the city, which on Friday appealed the federal jury's decision to award those families $530,000 apiece.

At one point during the rally, MOVE members exchanged words with a neighbor. Police asked Cindy Zaman to go back into her home when she confronted the demonstrators.

"It was awful what happened," Zaman said of the bombing. "At this point, MOVE needs to move on."

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On the Net:

MOVE statement of beliefs: http://www.onamove.com/belief/

Source: Associated Press/AP Online

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