Fight Back News Service urges all of our readers to respond to this action alert from the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War. Please forward it as widely as possible.

On September 1, 2008, tens of thousands plan to take to the streets of St. Paul, Minnesota, to say no to the war and occupation in Iraq. The Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War, made up of more than 100 organizations from across the country, has been seeking permits for this demonstration since days after the Republicans announced they would hold their national convention in Minnesota. While we have a permit to assemble and rally at the State Capitol, the City of St. Paul continues to withhold a permit for a march on the Xcel Center, where the Convention will be held.

For months, City officials promised that the permit process would move forward at the beginning of March. On March 3rd, the Coalition finally received a formal response to our application: a “provisional” permit to begin a march at the State Capitol on September 1st, with no route, no times, and with a suggestion whatever route we are eventually granted will not be for our exclusive use for the duration of our protest. The document we received was a mostly-blank form, and was accompanied by a set of guidelines that unreasonably restrict the rights of any protesters planning actions during the 2008 Republican National Convention.

Today, attorneys from the NLG and the ACLU will file a complaint in federal court, on behalf of the Coalition. It is our hope that legal action will help us win the permit we need – one that takes a massive, anti-war march to the doors of the Republican Convention at the Xcel Center. Political pressure is no less important than legal pressure. St. Paul City officials have worked hard to create the impression that they want to work with and even welcome protesters. If they truly wanted to roll out a welcome mat, they already would have.

We are planning for a march against the war on Iraq, and we shouldn't have to wait for a court ruling to force the City to issue a permit that takes us to the Xcel Center on September 1st. We need our supporters and fellow protesters to contact St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman. Urge him to deliver a final permit to the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War, taking us from the State Capitol to the Xcel Center on September 1, 2008. Mayor Coleman can be reached at mayor@ci.stpaul.mn.us or 651-266-8510.

Please send a copy of your message to us at info@marchonrnc.org.

#UnitedStates #AntiwarMovement #ImmigrantRights #PoorPeoplesMovements #StudentMovement #Labor #OppressedNationalities #Iraq #RepublicanNationalConvention2008 #Statement #StPaulMayorChrisColeman #marchPermit #RNCAntiwarMarch

Minneapolis, MN – Standing in front of the Federal Building here, March 24, leaders of the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War and their lawyers announced they are seeking a preliminary injunction requiring the City of Saint Paul to grant the permits for their September 1 anti-war march. The attorneys from the National Lawyers Guild and the American Civil Liberties Union filed a complaint in federal district court later that day.

Marie Braun of the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War stated “Filing a complaint in Federal Court was not our first choice of action; however, we feel the city of St. Paul has left us little choice. For months, city officials promised that the permit process would continue to move forward – it has not. Instead, on March 1, the Coalition received an almost blank Conditional Alternative Permit in which the city neither granted nor denied our permit.”

Jess Sundin, also of the Coalition stated “City officials are not keeping their promises or upholding City ordinances, and that is what brings us here today. The only thing standing between the Republicans, and a massive anti-war protest on September 1st, is the ill will of the city of St. Paul, namely Mayor Chris Coleman and Assistant Police Chief Matt Bostrom.”

Sundin also announced “Following this press conference, we are issuing an Action Alert, asking that supporters from around the country call Mayor Coleman’s office and demand that he do the right thing now: issue a march permit that will take 50,000 anti-war protesters to Xcel Center on September 1st.”

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #News #Iraq #RepublicanNationalConvention2008 #CoalitionToMarchOnTheRNCAndStopTheWar #StPaulMayorChrisColeman #marchPermit #NationalLawyersGuild

City officials say they want to accommodate protests and freedom of speech at the RNC. Protest organizers responded by saying that the city needs to quit dragging its feet on issuing permits for the massive Iraq war protest that is planed for the first day of the Convention.

Jess Sundin, a representative of the Coalition, told the Mayor, “We don’t want a repeat of Los Angeles, where the Staples Center was hidden by a 10-foot high fence. A ‘protest zone’ ended up being blocked by a twelve-foot fence and 2000 police in riot gear. During a concert inside this zone, police shut off the power supply and forcibly dispersed the crowd, using tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets.” Sundin later added, “We don’t want a repeat of Boston, where protesters were penned in under some train tracks and surrounded by eight-foot high fences topped with razor wire.”

Marie Braun, also from the Coalition recounted past efforts to obtain the permits. “Starting in October 2006, our Coalition has pursued every possible avenue to obtain permits from the city and the State Capitol. We have submitted several permit applications. None have been approved. We participated in town hall meetings, attended City Council meetings, and met with Assistant Chief Bostrom. At every turn, we have been told that we have to wait. At times, we’ve been told this is because existing ordinances don’t allow for early consideration of permit applications. However, the ‘recurring event’ provision would allow the city to act on our applications now, and they have declined to do so.”

#StPaulMN #AntiwarMovement #News #Iraq #RepublicanNationalConvention2008 #marchPermits #CoalitionToMarchOnTheRNCAndStopTheWar #StPaulMayorChrisColeman #rightsOfProtesters