STOP THE REPRESSION OF THE PROTESTS AGAINST THE G-8 IN GEORGIA

****ACTION ALERT****ACTION ALERT***

STOP THE REPRESSION OF THE PROTESTS AGAINST THE G-8
IN GEORGIA

Dear Friends,

From June 8-10, 2004, George Bush will host the G-8
Summit in Sea Island, Georgia. This has been
declared a National Special Security Event (NSSE),
and puts the U.S. Secret Service as the lead law
enforcement agency. There is up to $67 million in
security funding, over 20,000 police are being
brought into the community of Brunswick (pop.
15,000), and the Miami Model of excessive violations
of civil liberties and civil rights is alive and well!

As in Miami, prohibitive ordinances have been passed
based on 'advice' from the G-8 Legal Subcommittee;
permits have been hard, if not impossible to secure;
at least two organizers have been fired thanks to
visits of Secret Service to their employers; and
the story goes on.

George W. Bush has already shown his disdain for
democracy and civil liberties, both at home and
abroad. We call on the United States Congress to
fulfill its role as a check and balance to Bush’s
power and send a delegation of observers to the
Georgia protests.

We ask that you contact the following elected
officials between now and Friday, May 21 to ask them
to send a Congressional Observer Team to Savannah, Georgia
during the protests of the G8, June 8th, 9th and 10th:

Hon. John Conyers (D-MI)
Ranking Member, House Judiciary Committee
2142 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-5126, Fax: (202) 225-0072
Email: John.Conyers [at] mail.house.gov

Hon. John Lewis (D-GA)
343 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: 202-225-3801, Fax: 202-225-0351
Email: john.lewis [at] mail.house.gov


MORE BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

We also join the local organizers in calling for
President Bush, Attorney General Ashcroft and Homeland
Security Director Ridge to:

1) Support the First Amendment Cooperation
Agreement as a way for demonstrators and law
enforcement to work together to protect the rights
of demonstrators. (see below)
2) Public assurance of no harassment of or
violence against demonstrators.
3) Urge local officials in Brunswick and Savannah
to repeal unconstitutional and unreasonable
ordinances, permit fees and waive indemnification
agreements.
4) Support our permit applications for PUBLIC
property for our events.
5) Offer the same level of Hospitality offered to
the G-8 Summit participants
6) Support the Calgary Model instead of the Miami
Model


FIRST AMENDMENT COOPERATION AGREEMENT:

We are an alliance of local, state and national
organizations and activists who oppose the G-8 Summit.
We are committed to asserting our democratic rights to
free speech, to peaceful assembly, to dissent, and to
organize in opposition to the G-8. We demand that the
police and other local, state and national law
enforcement agencies in South Georgia respect these
rights in the following ways:

1) End harassment, intimidation, spying, and arrest
of people involved in organizing and free speech.
2) No raids, disruption, or intimidation of
organizers, meetings, trainings, residences or other
designated activist spaces.
3) No pre-emptive arrests of politically profiled
individuals or profiling based on race, class, gender,
sexuality, age or appearance of either their persons
or their vehicles.
4) No bans or confiscation of free speech materials:
signs, puppets, artwork, banners, theater props, or
materials that are not designed to cause personal
injury to people.
5) Respect 4th Amendment rights protecting us from
illegal searches.
6) Refrain from initiating violence or using any
potentially lethal wooden bullets, metal shot sacks,
rubber bullets or other projectiles, tasers,
concussion grenades, chemical weapons, tear gas,
pepper spray, sound or energy weapons, or explosive
devices against protesters.
7) Respect and do not interfere with designated legal
observers, medics, and all members of the media.
a) Embedded reporters and other information
warfare tactics will not be employed to marginalize
demonstrators or justify use of force.
8) Provide an official, accountable police liaison
system with whom concerns and violations with these
agreements can be addressed including:
a) Direct line of communication with commanding
officer(s)
b) Direct line of communication with the
City/County Manager's office.
c) Direct line of communication for jail concerns
such as withholding of medication and human rights
abuses.
9) Respect and communicate with designated community
liaisons.
10) Respect the rich American tradition of protest,
civil disobedience and direct action and do not
attempt to criminalize the organizing of such
activities.
11) There will be no restriction on demonstrator's
movement including the use of blocking, isolating, or
dividing tactics; the use of check-points; or mass
demonstrations of force that impede mobility or
intimidate people from participation.


Initiated by the SAVE OUR CIVIL LIBERTIES CAMPAIGN

The Save Our Civil Liberties Campaign (SOCL) is a
national grassroots campaign that formed in response
to the violent paramilitary suppression of free
speech, assembly and protest that occurred during
the 2003 Free Trade Area of the Americas Ministerial
in Miami.

http://www.saveourcivilliberties.org