9-16-06, 9:58 am
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 15, 2006 CONTACT: Hany Khalil, 212-868-5545, 718-637-7351 mobile,
Under Pressure, NYPD Reverses Decision to Deny Permit
New York, NY, September 15, 2006 –- On Thursday United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ), the nation's largest antiwar coalition, learned it would be given a permit for a peaceful antiwar protest march in New York City to coincide with President Bush’s visit to the United Nations. In a stunning turn of events, the NYC Police Department reversed its previous decision to deny UFPJ the right to march on Sept. 19th within proximity of the U.N.
On Thursday morning, Sept. 14th, UFPJ announced plans to march to call for an end to the Iraq war, with or without a permit, even if it meant protestors would risk arrest. UFPJ asserted that protestors had a right to march for peace within sight and sound of representatives of the world’s governments meeting at the U.N. The AFP reported on Thursday that an NYPD spokesperson said a march near the U.N. was 'an absolute impossibility when the president's in town.' (See http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060914/ts_alt_afp/iraquspoliticsundemo_060914191434) Just hours later, the NYPD informed UFPJ it was granting a permit for a march route very similar to UFPJ's initial proposal.
“United for Peace and Justice stood up against an attempt to limit our right to peacefully protest the Iraq war -- and we won,” said Leslie Cagan, UFPJ’s National Coordinator. “It is clear that our determination to march with or without a permit -- our determination to be heard -- had an impact on the NYPD's decision to give us a permit for our protest.”
David Dubnau of Northern Manhattan Neighbors for Peace and Justice, a UFPJ member group, said, “For five years the Bush Administration and its allies have used 'security' as an excuse to wage illegitimate wars and curtail basic democratic rights –- all the while making us less secure. George W. Bush should not think he can come to an antiwar city like New York without hearing from opponents of his war. Today the peace movement won an important victory in challenging the Bush agenda.”
As President Bush makes his way to the United Nations for his speech in front of the General Assembly, antiwar protesters will gather at 6th Avenue and 37th Street in Manhattan, between 9 and 9:30 am. At 9:30 am the march will kick off, heading north on 6th Avenue and then east on 47th Street. The march will end at the Dag Hammarskjold Plaza on 47th Street between 2nd and 1st Avenue, across from the UN.
The march will be followed by a rally from 11 am to 12 noon in Dag Hammarskjold Plaza. President Bush is expected to address the U.N. between 11:30 and 11:45 am. UFPJ will provide additional logistical details of interest to the press on Monday, September 18.
Protesters will march on the sidewalk for this demonstration. UFPJ had offered this as an alternative in negotiations with the police, but the police initially informed UFPJ that this proposal, too, would be unacceptable.
With more than 1,400 member groups under its umbrella, United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ) is this country's largest peace and justice coalition. Since its founding in October 2002, UFPJ has spurred hundreds of protests and rallies around the country, including the three largest marches against the Iraq war. http://www.unitedforpeace.org
From United for Peace and Justice
