Protesters reject city-sanctioned demonstration areas at political conventions
By The Associated Press
07.14.00
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| Urban Disorder Management instructor Lt. Stephen Smyth
plays the roll of a passive resister during a June 30 training session for new
recruits at Philadelphia's Police Academy. The recruits are preparing to face
protesters during the Republican National Convention July 31 through Aug.
3. |
PHILADELPHIA — Protesters are shunning designated demonstration
areas at both major political party conventions, a defiance that police and
observers say is indicative of the recent resurgence of civil activism.
The issue is over what critics call protest pits — police call
them free-speech zones — outside the convention halls where activist
groups are each allotted about one hour to make a statement while delegates are
inside.
Such areas, used successfully at other political conventions, are
intended to be within view of the convention site entrance.
But protesters in Los Angeles and Philadelphia complain the pits are
isolated and out of view of delegates, conventioneers and journalists. Instead,
activists plan to flood sidewalks, picket in front of hotels and city
buildings, and possibly camp in city parks.
"These demonstrators are cut from a different bolt of cloth,"
Philadelphia Deputy Police Commissioner Robert Mitchell said. "They tend
to crank everything up for us law enforcement people who are just trying to
keep the peace."
The protest sites at both conventions are separated from the
convention centers by at least a quarter mile of parking lots on the other side
of a roadway. Each is at least a 15-minute walk from the entrance of the
convention center and neither has a clear view of the entrance.
In Philadelphia for the Republican convention beginning at the end of
this month, police plan to block off an area in Roosevelt Park, which is across
the street from the First Union Center. In Los Angeles, the protest site for
next month's Democratic convention is in a parking lot across the street from
the Staples Center.
Only about 30 groups had signed up for permits to use the designated
area in Philadelphia as of yesterday. The deadline is tomorrow. Police already
moved up the deadline twice — applications were initially due in May
— because of lack of interest.
About 20 groups have signed up for the city-sanctioned site in Los
Angeles. Police were unclear about when they would stop accepting
applications.
A coalition of activists backed by the American Civil Liberties Union
of Southern California
filed a
lawsuit seeking to prevent the city and police from keeping protesters
outside the current planned "no-access" zone and from requiring protesters to
get parade permits. The Staples Center parking lots are within the buffer zone,
and activists would like to be able to use those lots for their
demonstrations.
But the Los Angeles lawsuit represents a minority of activists —
those seeking a legal place to protest. Up to 30,000 demonstrators are expected
in Los Angeles and up to 20,000 in Philadelphia — many of whom plan to
march and demonstrate without permits.
"The city cannot tell us where we can or cannot exercise our First
Amendment rights," said longtime Philadelphia activist Cheri Honkala. "It's
censorship."
Designated demonstration sites have become standard at political
conventions as a way to protect First Amendment rights to free speech without
allowing activists to run rampant. The 1968 Democratic National Convention in
Chicago was marred by clashes between anti-war protesters and police.
The 1996 Republican National Convention in San Diego was preceded by
discord over where people could protest. Republicans wanted to push the
official protest zone further away from the arena, but a federal judge
ultimately ruled that convention organizers were violating demonstrators'
free-speech rights and ordered the protest zone to be across the street from
the convention.
At the GOP convention in Chicago in 1996, demonstrators caused minor
disturbances around the city after bypassing the city-sanctioned protest sites
as too far from the convention hall and inaccessible to delegates.
Los Angeles ACLU staff attorney Dan Takaji said activists were
reacting differently to police during this convention — both because a
wide array of people have joined protest movements and because of concerns
about police brutality.
"There has been a climate of hysteria created by the LAPD here in LA.
Peaceful protesters here in LA are very fearful that the LAPD will be arresting
people en masse," Takaji said.
But what's different about protesters this year?
"There are more of them," Takaji said.
Update
GOP convention protests remain peaceful
Only 17 people had been arrested as third day of convention-related demonstrations drew to a close yesterday.
08.01.00
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