Protesters to Carry On at Conventions

WASHINGTON — A day after an ad hoc committee of the Los Angeles City Council voted to abandon permission for protesters to convene in downtown’s Pershing Square, a coalition of activists detailed plans Thursday to demonstrate at both presidential nominating conventions as part of a campaign against social and economic injustices worldwide.

At a news conference in Washington, organizers from many of the same groups that disrupted meetings of international agencies here and in Seattle said that they would hold marches, give speeches and stage puppet shows and other “nonviolent direct-action” protest activities at the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia, July 31 through Aug. 3, and the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles, Aug. 14-17.

The organizers--representing causes ranging from universal health care coverage and racial and sexual equality to abolition of the death penalty--said they would convene whether or not they receive official permits from the two cities.

Lisa Fithian, co-founder of the D2K network that is sponsoring demonstrations at the Democratic convention, accused law enforcement authorities of “trying to silence and marginalize” activists. “They do not want us speaking truth to power,” said Fithian, who charged that police have gassed peaceful demonstrators and recently shut down D2K protest training centers in an effort to “whip up a state of frenzy and fear.”

Fithian and other organizers predicted that thousands of men, women and children--including homeless people--will show up in Philadelphia and Los Angeles despite police efforts to discourage attendance.

Protest organizers said they are arranging for local sympathizers to house out-of-town demonstrators during the conventions. Fithian said those who cannot be hosted by residents will stay in hotels or at campsites around the cities.

Toni Guinyard, press secretary for the Democratic National Convention Committee, said the organization has “great faith” in the Los Angeles Police Department and in federal authorities, who have been preparing for the protests for 13 months.

“The LAPD has developed a . . . plan of action to guarantee that everyone’s 1st Amendment rights are protected,” Guinyard said.

The DNCC’s position, she said, is that protesters should be able to exercise their right to “make a statement,” but in doing so they should not interfere with the rights of convention delegates and workers to move freely in the area around the Staples Center.

Guinyard said the LAPD has organized “sensitivity training,” in which officers are being taught “that people do have the right to protest and . . . at the same to make sure that things don’t cross a line into violence.” LAPD officials did not return phone calls requesting comment.

Organizers, meanwhile, outlined a calendar of theme-oriented protest events designed to draw attention away from the Democratic Party proceedings inside the Staples Center.

“As we all know, the real conventions will be boring, scripted coronations,” said Chuck Collins, who belongs to a coalition holding “shadow conventions” in both Philadelphia and Los Angeles to address issues including campaign finance reform, poverty and the nation’s “failed drug war.”

One distinction between the shadow conventions and other protest events, organizers said, is that they will occur indoors. The Los Angeles Shadow Convention will be held in Patriotic Hall, six blocks from the Staples Center.

Arianna Huffington, a co-sponsor of the shadow conventions, suggested two other key differences between that movement and the rest of the protest activity.

“We’re dissociating ourselves in advance from any violence,” she said, “[and] we’re addressing three specific issues.

“What we share with the protesters is the sense . . . of being shut out of the system and wanting to give voice to those who feel excluded.”

Organizers of the outdoor protests in Los Angeles also disavowed violence, although they said they could not rule out damage to any police barricades erected to contain their demonstrations.

Last month, the LAPD said protesters would only be allowed to stage their activities from a designated protest zone outside a buffer area surrounding the Staples Center.

City Councilwoman Jackie Goldberg proposed allowing protesters to convene in Pershing Square, distanced from the Staples Center but close to the city’s business district and upscale hotels. The council approved Goldberg’s proposed venue as an amendment to a bill providing $4 million in city funds to aid convention fund-raising.

But the Pershing Square protest site remains under dispute. Guinyard said the council is expected to issue a final decision by the end of the week.