UFPJ CALLS FOR ADDITIONAL RNC ACTIONS

UFPJ CALLS FOR ADDITIONAL RNC ACTIONS

• WEDNESDAY, Sept. 1, 10:00AM
Protest Appalling Detention Conditions for RNC Arrestees
At Pier 57, "Guantanamo on the Hudson" (West Side Highway @ 15th Street)

• THURSDAY, Sept. 2, 8:00PM
Candlelight Convergence for Peace and Justice
Union Square (14th Street & Broadway)

See below for details

Many other important events are scheduled for the remaining days of the Republican Convention; click here for more information.

WEDNESDAY, September 1 at 10:00AM
Protest the Appalling Detention Conditions for RNC Arrestees
At Pier 57, "Guantánamo on the Hudson" (West Side Highway @ 15th Street)

At 15th Street on the West Side Highway, the City of New York has set up a temporary detention center on Pier 57 for people arrested during the RNC protests. The building was formerly a garage for buses, and the conditions are appalling: the large holding pens are made of chain link fence with razor wire on top; each pen has only two portable toilets and very few benches; most people have to sleep on the floor; arrestees have gone for many hours without access to food, water, phones, or lawyers.

The building most likely has asbestos and there are large areas where oil from the buses that used to be housed there has spilled. There is some question about whether the building has an operable fire-suppression system. On top of that, people are being held an unusually long amount of time before they are moved through the process and released.

This is an outrage. While the red carpet is being rolled out for the RNC, the City is housing protesters who were detained during sweep arrests in demeaning, dehumanizing, and potentially hazardous conditions. The situation is so bad that many are calling Pier 57 "Guantánamo on the Hudson." We call on the City of New York to move all arrestees out of this facility immediately. We call for speedy processing all arrestees, and fair and decent treatment of everyone held by the police.

Join us in a picket line in front of Pier 57 tomorrow morning to protest the appalling conditions there and show solidarity with arrestees.

THURSDAY, September 2 at 8:00PM
Our Grief Is Not a Cry for War!
Candlelight Convergence for Peace and Justice During George W. Bush's Acceptance Speech
Union Square (14th Street and Broadway)

This past Sunday, half a million people sent a message around the world that we reject the Bush administration's policies of war, greed, hate and lies. On Thursday evening, as George Bush is making his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention, exploiting the 9/11 tragedy for political gain in the most crass and cynical possible way, we must continue to raise our voices to say NO to war, and YES to peace and justice.

United for Peace and Justice invites New Yorkers and others who have come from around the country to protest the Bush administration's policies to create a closing RNC protest event that embodies our desire for peace. We encourage people to come to Union Square after 8:00 PM on Thursday, Sept. 2, with candles or flashlights, flowers, photos and other offerings to create a living memorial to those who have died or will die as a result of the Bush Administration's policies. As we create the memorial, we will gather in small groups with family and friends or people we have not yet met to share our stories and speak our truth.

After the September 11 attacks, Union Square was the place where so many New Yorkers gathered spontaneously, to express our grief at the terrible attack on our city and our conviction that this attack not be used to justify more killing and war. Three years later, more than 1000 U.S. servicepeople and tens of thousands of Iraqi and Afghani civilians are dead, our country is more vulnerable to future attacks, and billions are being wasted on war and occupation while millions are unemployed and key public services go underfunded.

For all these reasons, we will gather peacefully in Union Square on Thursday evening, to call for an end to the killing, an end to the lies, an end to the draining of our economy for military aggression, an end to all the destructive policies of the Bush Administration.

Earlier in the day, from 7 AM to 7 PM, Veterans for Peace will be holding a Vigil for the Fallen, with families of people currently serving in the military and families of those killed in the Sept. 11 attacks. They have a permit for their event until dusk, and they welcome people to join them. Our event will have no permit, but we will have no rally or amplified sound and do not anticipate problems with the police.

Called by United for Peace and Justice, the organizers of Sunday's massive protest march against the Bush agenda.