“Occupy” protesters arrested at anniversary rally in New York

PanARMENIAN.Net - Police arrested dozens of Occupy Wall Street protesters on Saturday March 17 night during a protest marking the movement's six-month anniversary at its birthplace in New York's Zuccotti Park, Reuters reported.

The sweep of the park by police just before midnight capped a day of demonstrations and marching in lower Manhattan. There was no official word on the number of arrests but dozens of people were handcuffed and led out of the park.

Earlier in the day, 15 people were arrested and three officers suffered injuries, police said.

Protesters reconvened at the park following afternoon marches through New York's financial district. By 11 p.m. roughly 300 had gathered there, refusing orders to leave.

Inspired by the pro-democracy Arab Spring, the Wall Street protesters targeted U.S. financial policies they blamed for the yawning income gap between rich and poor in the country, between what they called the 1 percent and the 99 percent. The demonstrators set up camp in Zuccotti Park on September 17 and sparked a wave of protests across the United States.