The grounds of the state capitol are the only realistic staging area in downtown Saint Paul for the tens of thousands that are expected to join the march to the Xcel Center Sept. 1. Protest organizers are continuing to meet with Saint Paul city officials to press their demand for the permit to march to the site of the RNC.

“Obtaining the permits for the capitol complex is an important first step,” states Deb Konechne, of the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War. “We intend to take our anti-war message to the RNC and we insist that Saint Paul city government give us the permits now. People are coming, we need to prepare and we will not wait until the last minute to get this settled.”

The Sept. 1 protest has the backing of the main local and national anti-war organizations, as well as many other progressive groups.

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The letter states, “A great deal of city resources are being devoted to hosting the Republican National Convention and this work is well underway. Again, failing to consider permit applications for demonstrations outside the RNC can only be understood as discrimination based on speech content.”

Since the announcement that the 2008 Republican Convention would take place in St. Paul, Twin Cities anti-war organizations and others have been making plans to hold protests against the U.S. war on Iraq. Permit applications and payments were submitted in October 2006, but returned by St. Paul police in March. Activists say it is more important than ever for St. Paul police to take immediate action granting permits to local groups organizing large, legal protests.

Activists are angered by a recent announcement by Ramsey County Sheriff Bill Fletcher. Fletcher calculated that he will need a budget of $4.4 million to handle the detention of as many as 3000 protesters during the RNC. “If Fletcher wants to spend $4.4 million to jail us, his colleagues should spend 4.4 seconds signing these applications so we can move ahead with our plans for a large, legal protest against the war in Iraq,” said Sundin.

She continued, “Bush is waging a terrible war on the Iraqi people. Failing to approve our permits in a timely manner only serves to suppress organizing efforts against the war. City government is putting immense resources into hosting the RNC. They should put their efforts into accommodating protesters, not just jailing us. We want permits to demonstrate at the RNC in 2008. But permits or not, we will speak out against the war in Iraq, when we take to the streets of St. Paul Sept. 1-4, 2008.”

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