Save Our Civil Liberties Action Alert

**Please Distribute Widely**

The past month has seen a flurry of activity as a number of groups have been actively working to respond to the shocking suppression of political dissent and the unjustified use of force at the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) meetings in Miami.

Inspired by the courage shown on the streets of Miami, the Save Our Civil Liberties Campaign has formed to raise public awareness about what happened there and to hold accountable the individuals and organizations who were responsible for those violations.

We are asking you to take action to support these four demands:

- Drop all charges
- Begin prompt independent investigations
- Fire Timoney and criminally charge those responsible
- Repeal anti-civil liberties ordinances

Here are 10 simple things that you can do:

1. FAX THE FLORIDA STATE ATTORNEY
Fax Florida State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle demanding that all charges from the FTAA protests be dropped. Many of the defendants have court dates in January. Fax her online here:
http://www.citizen.org/fax/background.cfm?ID=248

2. JANUARY 12th NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION TO DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY
January 12th will be a national day of action to phone, fax and email Miami City officials and others in order to demand accountability and independent investigations of what happened in Miami and to drop the charges.
http://www.saveourcivilliberties.org/en/static/officials.shtml

3. SIGN AND CIRCULATE A PETITION
Circulate the Save Our Civil Liberties petition to local, state and federal officials and urge your friends and co-workers to do the same. Download the petition or sign the "E-Petition" online: http://www.saveourcivilliberties.org/petition

4. ENDORSE THE CAMPAIGN
Encourage your organization, church or union to endorse the Save Our Civil Liberties Campaign. Make a commitment to ongoing support and add your group's name to the list of participating organizations. Endorse the Campaign here:
http://www.saveourcivilliberties.org/join

5. WRITE A LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Write a letter to the editor of your city newspaper about civil liberties and human rights abuses in Miami and the Save Our Civil Liberties Campaign, then post it to our website. See a sample letter to the editor here: http://www.saveourcivilliberties.org/en/static/write.shtml

6. VISIT http://www.saveourcivilliberties.org
The Campaign has created a web portal that will serve as a repository of information and materials for groups and individuals working on, affected by, or otherwise interested in the civil liberties organizing in the aftermath of Miami. It is much like an Indymedia site - a place where information-seekers and information-providers and go to exchange information, including news, commentary, testimonials, evidence (video/photo/audio), announcements, press clippings, flyers, fact sheets, etc.

7. TELL YOUR OWN STORY OF MIAMI
Your testimonials and evidence are needed for legal, political and educational work and are a critical part of getting our demands met. However, before you tell your story Miami Activist Defense (MAD) points out that testimony and evidence can affect criminal cases (possibly more than just your own) and any civil rights claims made in the future. Before making your story public, read their concerns here:
http://www.saveourcivilliberties.org/en/2003/12/49.shtml

* Where should you tell your story? If you are ready to move forward after reading MAD's concerns, you can post your story to our website at http://www.saveourcivilliberties.org. A number of groups, media outlets and Miami officials are asking for testimonials and evidence. The Campaign is also seeking to help facilitate those needs through our website.

8. EDUCATE OTHERS
Include information/articles in your group's newsletter, website, and send out this message to your lists, networks and friends. Copy and distribute informational/what you can do flyers. Download flyers here:
http://www.saveourcivilliberties.org/en/category/flyers/

9. SHOW VIDEO FROM MIAMI
Sponsor public events, meetings and video screenings about the civil liberties and human rights abuses in Miami. The FTAA IMC video working group is working on a polished documentary for February - in the meantime, download short videos here:
http://www.saveourcivilliberties.org/en/2003/12/94.shtml

10. DONATE TO THE CAMPAIGN OR SUPPORT THE LEGAL EFFORT
Contribute or hold a fundraiser. To support the Campaign's continuing political, educational and media work, go to:
http://www.saveourcivilliberties.org;
to donate to the Miami Activist Defense go to: http://www.stopftaa.org/article.php?id=156.

***

The Save Our Civil Liberties Campaign is a diverse collaboration initiated by global justice, anti-war, labor, environmental, community, and other organizations working at the local, state and national level. In the long term, the Campaign hopes to foster cooperation among the many groups and individuals already working to save and expand our human rights and civil liberties and to make links between the criminalization of dissent, police brutality, criminal injustice, the Patriot Act, and the widespread assault on immigrant rights in the aftermath of 9-11.

For more information, contact info [at] saveourcivilliberties.org.