[Previous entry: "Kerry's big Idea? There isn't One *Desperation Shouldn't Blind us to the Faults of Bush's Challenger*"] [Next entry: "Bluebeard's CastleDisappearing the Right to Development"]

08/10/2004:

"Chicago on the Hudson?"

by Dave Lindorff counterpunch.org
The way things look, August 29 could see a major triumph for the First Amendment, or a pitched battle between police and demonstrators that would be reminiscent of Chicago's Democratic Convention police riot of 36 years ago.

Since Michael Bloomberg, the Republican mayor, has taken the anti-civil liberties position that a protest rally can't be held on Central Park's Great Lawn-traditional site of such major political events-thousands of those who want to gather to protest the Bush administration have concluded that this is exactly where they ought to go.

No surprise that. After all, much of the anger at Republicans and Bush is over his administration's assault on basic civil liberties, such as freedom of speech and assembly.

The main protest organization that has been working for over a year on the anti-RNC march and demonstration, United for Peace and Justice, recognizing that Bloomberg and his police department were committed to stonewalling their permit application for the Great Lawn to the bitter end, finally agreed to the mayor's shabby and wholly inadequate offer of a rally site along the lower portion of the West Side Highway, a multi-lane artery that runs just along the edge of the Hudson River. Clearly, while it certainly makes crowd control simple, a highway is no place for a rally, since it forces the estimated several hundred thousand to half a million anticipated demonstrators to stretch out along over a mile of hot pavement.

The alternative, which is being discussed and promoted on numerous websites and chat lines-and advocated in the mainstream newspaper New York Newsday by columnist Jimmy Breslin--is for people to just make their way spontaneously to Central Park, which after all will remain open to the public (short of instituting martial law and bringing in the National Guard, it would be almost impossible for city police to close the park, especially given the numbers of cops who will have to be sent to the West Side Highway for the official rally). full article

Open Letter by United for Peace and Justice zmag.org
United for Peace and Justice has been fighting for months to have our Constitutional rights respected. We have been in a contentious process with the Mayor and Police Department of New York City regarding the location of our march and rally against the Bush agenda on August 29th, the eve of the Republican National Convention. We are writing to update you on these negotiations and to make sure you know about a number of important developments. full article