Protesters Make Last-Ditch Appeal On Pens
July 24, 2004
 http://www.thebostonchannel.com/print/3573020/detail.html?use=print
BOSTON -- As delegates are arriving for the Democratic National Convention Saturday, so too are demonstrators whose planned protests and parades will be strictly and tightly regulated by police.
NewsCenter 5's David Boeri reported that the hotly-contested designated free speech zone near the Fleet Center was flooded with standing water Saturday.
Not that it would have mattered to the federal judge who, even after declaring the zone an interment camp last week, rejected the claims of protestors that it violated their first amendment rights.
"Who will challenge the vague rationale that national security, quote unquote, 'takes precedent over the cornerstone of democracy -- the right to free expression?'" asked Tony Palomba, of the American Friends Service.
The standing water, the coiled razor wire and high double fencing enveloped in additional mesh netting made an ironic contrast to the father of a Marine killed in Iraq in the stated cause of defending freedom.
"My son died in an immoral war in Iraq," he said.
"What country is this? We always claim that we are the most democratic, the most free country of this planet. We condemned countries like China, but right now we are using methods to suppress in the same way as country that we consider totalitarian," said Urzula Masny-Latos, of the National Lawyers Guild.
In Cambridge, Mass., Saturday, members of a mobilizing committee called Black Tea, whose clean-cut earnestness seems to undercut police concerns about agitators, condemned fear tactics and once again vowed to shun the designated demonstration zone.
"We have no intention of giving up every right that we have in this country to enter that area," said Elly Guillette, of the Black Tea Society.
Attorneys for two different groups of activists filed an appeal to the federal judge's decision upholding the government's security arrangement.
The matter goes to the 1st Circuit Court of appeals on Monday morning.
Related:
Excerpt from article: "Judge deplores but OK's site for protesters"
author: Jonathan Saltzman, Globe Staff
http://www.saveourcivilliberties.org/en/2004/07/449.shtml
A federal judge yesterday upheld a fenced "free speech zone" for protesters near the FleetCenter during next week's Democratic convention, even though he said he agreed with critics who likened the cramped space to an internment camp. [snip]
Woodlock said he had initially assumed that activists were exaggerating when they likened the protest zone near Canal Street to an internment camp. But he said that after touring the area for 90 minutes Wednesday, he concluded that comparison was "an understatement."
The zone covers 25,800 square feet, according to the city's latest measurements, smaller than officials previously said. It is a rectangle bordered by cement barriers, a double row of chain-line fencing, heavy black netting, and tightly woven plastic mesh. Coils of razor wire line the train tracks, which slope downward to 5 feet, 9 inches above the ground.
"One cannot conceive of other elements [that could be] put in place to create a space that's more of an affront to the idea of free expression than the designated demonstration zone," Woodlock said.
[ Full article at:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2004/07/23/judge_deplores_but_oks_site_for_protesters?pg=full ]
My comment:
Any real "terrorist" would gain access to the convention with a fake ID as an employee connected to janitorial, food related service or media production crews. Such a person may even try to pass themselves off as a security guard or medical personnel.
They would not be hanging out in the "free speech" zone. They would not be "disguised" as a protester.
If the area inside of the cage is the "free speech zone" what do you call the area outside?
Photos of the zone at:
http://parkerpettus.com/index.html
Related links:
http://www.saveourcivilliberties.org/en/region/boston/
http://blackteasociety.org/index.php
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