Re: [pf] "This is inhuman"; a response from a Philadelphia resident.

At 08:37 on Fri 4/8/2000 -0700, Tom Wheeler wrote:
>A brief report from Philadelphia. R2K Legal folks say that this 
>seems to be part of a concerted effort by the judicial system to 
>strifle the protest movement by imprisoning organizers. - Tom
>
>This is inhuman
>(From Philly Indymedia Center  --  http://www.phillyimc.org/)
>
>Demonstrators continue to demand medical treatment, access to lawyers,
>access to phones, and timely release as constitutional 
>violations persist in Philadelphia jails.
>
>Outside, solidarity actions are happening, with rallies planned at 
>Franklin Park at 12 noon and 7 p.m. Activists also plan to collect 
>signatures for a petition demanding the release of jailed demonstrators.
>
>Arrestees have now been held for over 60 hours without arraignment, some
>without phone calls or contact with their lawyers. Detainees report 
>missing paperwork, and arraignments with incomplete or slipshod records. 
>Philadephia continues to restrict R2K lawyers, allowing only a total of 
>three access to all six detention sites.
>
>R2K Legal has documented 381 confirmed arrests, not including members 
>of the Int'l Action Center and School of Americas Watch (15 more). 
>Additionally, there are people we have not heard from ...
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** I posted that whole item (& others following) to the GreenViews-NZ list.

**  This came back this morning (Tuesday, NZ time) :-

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Date: Tue, 8 Aug 2000 09:47:30 +1200
From: Peter Russell <.-.-.@bitworks.co.nz>
To: David MacClement <davd@ihug.co.nz>
Subject: [GV]unConstitutional treatment of protesters: GOP Convention, Philly

I forwarded this to another list...here's one response ...Pete

  I asked:

Is this stuff really going on in the land of the free ? ... And the slightest
confrontation was resolved before the start ?

>[one response: ]
> Don't let the obvious left-wing views of the Alternative Press Review
distort the true events that happened here. I say here because I live in
the area and was not amused by the "antics" of the protesters. In regards
to the protesters' claims, Philadelphia ACLU legal director Stefan Presser
said "I think it's highly unlikely that the kinds of things that have been
described here ever occured." That's good enough for me. Police go on to
say that many protesters delayed their processing with acts such as
refusing to give their names, jamming cell-door locks and in extreme cases,
covering themselves in feces and urine.
>
> The facts are:
> Sunday was a day set aside for a LEGAL protest to happen called Unity
2000. This went on without incident.
>
> Monday, an unplanned (illegal without a permit) protest was ALLOWED to
happen by police letting some 1,000 people march 4 miles from city hall
down Broad St. to the convention area at the First Union Center. This was a
positive gesture towards protesters by the city AND its people.
>
> Tuesday, R2K protesters decided to create relative chaos in the city by
chaining themselves together in city intersections, blocking onramps,
turning over dumpsters, spray painting police cars, slashing tires,
smashing windows and assaulting police officers physically and by dousing
some with a toxic liquid substance.
>
> Wednesday, Thursday and Friday because their ring leaders were jailed,
the city returned to normal.
>
> This is what I saw on TV and in the print media. I saw it first hand as
it occurred on 4 different TV stations. The problem was that the protesters
had no central message to convey. In 1968 it was "stop the war". For Martin
Luther King, it was "equal rights". For R2K it was a hodgepodge of
political, social and environmental issues that was granted little notice
and no respect from the common working man in the city of Philadelphia that
they were trying to influence. Their main goal as stated by themselves was
to disrupt and inconvenience the city. In the short term, they may have
succeeded, but in the long term this gained no converts to their causes in
this town. I personally believe the police were too lenient with the
protesters. They used no tear gas, pepper spray or water cannon, when I
believe at times they had every right to do so.
>
>  If you don't agree, that's fine, but I live and work here. Most people
when polled stated that they would just like all the outsiders to take
their message someplace else and stay out of our city.
>
> The protesters chanted while marching "Whose Streets...??? Our Streets"
... wrong again they are our streets once and for all ....
>
> ===For subscription commands
http://mail.southside.org/guest/RemoteListSummary/Yes
>
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David.

(David MacClement) davd@ihug.co.nz 
http://www.emucities.com.au/member/davd/index.html
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