UNITED STATES: Right to protest threatened in New York

Doug Lorimer

In a press statement issued on March 10, the International Action Centre (IAC) in New York City has called on the whole US anti-war movement to protest against the city administration's attempt to suppress free speech.

According to the statement, after having granted permits to organisers of the planned March 20 anti-war protest for a rally and mass street march in the heart of midtown Manhattan, the New York City police and Mayor Michael Bloomberg are trying to discourage the tens of thousands of people who are coming to the protest.

The police and the city government are working to disrupt the large mass assembly at the opening rally in New York by illegally breaking the crowd into segmented areas within each city block in an attempt to impede free exercise of the constitutional right to association and assembly.

"They hope that if they can get the word out about their
intended obstructions, they can discourage and frighten
people from joining the opening rally, or cause a boycott
of the demonstration", the IAC argues.

"Free speech on March 20 means one thing — the right to
gather in a mass assembly on Madison Avenue at 23rd St.
The illegal efforts by the police to prevent a mass
assembly even to a permitted anti-war demonstration can and
will be defeated by a massive outpouring of the people.

Only the massive and determined mobilization of the
people, who, refusing to be intimidated by illegal police
checkpoints and pens, can overcome this thinly veiled
assault on cherished constitutional freedoms."

The IAC statement reports that the Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (ANSWER) organisation, which is part of the March 20 National Coalition, and other anti-war organising
coalitions, "is expecting tens of thousands of people from
New York City and the region to participate in the rally
and mass march on March 20". Anti-war activists in more than 30 other US cities and towns are organising buses and car caravans to come to New York for the protest.

From Green Left Weekly, March 17, 2004.

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From GLW issue 575