Good news! We have secured an assembly point for the "World Says No to War" protest on February 15. The New York City Police Department has offered a permit for a noon rally on First Avenue stretching north from 49th Street, which is within sight of the United Nations. This is an important victory, and we are confident that February 15 will be a day of massive, peaceful, powerful protest in New York City.
The downloadable leaflets on our website will soon reflect this information: http://www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?id=710
The Police Department has, however, so far refused to approve a permit for a march. We insist on our right to march, as well as to rally, to express our opposition to this war. We expect to be successful in our vigorous political and legal efforts to obtain a march permit. We will not be distracted from our objective of mobilizing for February 15. Nor will we capitulate to the NYPD's attempt to curtail our rights of expression and assembly: Military aggression abroad is entangled with restriction of civil liberties here in the United States, and we reject both.
As part of our campaign for our rights to expression and assembly, United for Peace and Justice filed suit in Federal Court in Manhattan to require the NYPD to issue a march permit. A hearing was held on Friday, February 7, and the judge's decision may be announced on Monday, February 10.
What can you do?
1) KEEP MOBILIZING FOR FEB. 15: The NYPD wants to discourage people from coming to this protest -- we need to redouble our efforts to make February 15 an enormous gathering for peace. Please contact Fran Geteles asap(fgeteles at igc.org or 212-663-8048) if you are organizing buses or trains. Check out our website at http://www.unitedforpeace.org/feb15 -- we've added lots of new information.
2) SPREAD THE WORD: Forward this message widely, post the assembly location on your website, tell everyone you know to gather at noon on Saturday, February 15, at 49th Street and First Avenue.
3) KEEP UP THE PRESSURE: We need all of our supporters to make a huge ruckus about the NYPD's attempt to keep us from marching on February 15. Some suggestions:
>>Fax a statement from your organization to NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg
insisting on our right to march on February 15. Fax#: (212) 788-2460
>>Ask sympathetic elected officials, community leaders, and/or celebrities
to contact Mayor Bloomberg and demand that the City issue a march permit.
>>Contact your local media, write letters to the editor, call in to radio
talk shows, get the word out about this outrageous denial of our
Constitutional rights
>>Keep making phone calls of protest to these officials:
*NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg: 212-788-9600, 212-788-3010, 212-788-3040
*NYC Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly: 646-610-8526
*NYPD Chief of Department Joseph Esposito: 646-610-6710
>>Send an email to Mayor Bloomberg using this form:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/mail/html/mayor.html
If you're not already on our email list, you can receive future updates like this one about the February 15 mobilization, including an announcement of the judge's decision on Monday about our march permit lawsuit, by visiting http://unitedforpeace.org/email.php
Thanks for your support -- we can still prevent this war, and together we will win the right to march.
Sincerely, The February 15 organizing staff of United for Peace and Justice
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