GN summer fall09 Digital.indd - National Lawyers Guild

Guild Notes ▪ Summer/Fall 2009NLG gears up for G20 protests in Pittsburghby Andy ParkerPittsburgh will serve as the host city for the upcomingG-20 summit, which will be held on September 24 and 25.The G-20, a group whose membership includes representativesfrom 19 countries and the European Union, will meet todiscuss financial policy and the state of the global economy.The G-20 meeting will follow the Pittsburgh Coal Conferenceon September 20-23 as well as the AFL-CIO convention theweek before.Local groups have been hard at work, planning an entireweek of activities. Here are a few highlights:On Sunday, September 20, the faith community willbe getting out its message both in their churches and in apeaceful march on the NorthSide.Beginning on Saturdayand continuing Monday andTuesday, a people’s summitwill bring together inspiringspeakers from Pittsburgh andaround the world.On Monday and Tuesday,an international laborgathering will take place aswell as the First Annual InternationalPeace, Justice andEmpowerment Summit.On Wednesday, September23, The Institutefor Policy Studies, NationMagazine, United Electrical,Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) and manyco-sponsors will present a stellar panel featuring JosephStiglitz and other local, national and international speakers.This will set the stage for activities the following day, whichwill use dynamic discussion circles and a people’s tribunalto protest the G-20 and its policies while highlighting localstruggles. The Alliance for Responsible Trade is planning tobring in representatives of the Hemispheric Social Alliancefrom countries throughout Latin America, and GrassrootsGlobal Justice is inviting representatives of grassroots communitiesof color from throughout the U.S. to participate(GGJ brought us the amazing USSF in Atlanta last year andis now working on the next USSF for Detroit next summer).Then on Thursday, the G-20 Resistance Project, a Pittsburghbased anti-authoritarian group which functions as aclearinghouse for information and action to confront the G-20will engage in direct action.Protestors in the United Kingdom during the G-20 financial summitin April 2009. Photo courtesy of Indymedia Bristol.▪ 4 ▪And on Friday, there will be a major permitted marchbeginning in Oakland. Organizing is being spearheaded bythe anti-war committee of the Thomas Merton Center.On top of that, at least three encampments are being organizedthroughout the week—by Code Pink, the Bail out thePeople Movement, and various environmental organizations.Peaceful demonstrations at similar events in the pasthave been met with unduly harsh reactions from law enforcement.As Guild members well know, beginning with the 1999protests in Seattle, police used tear gas and pepper spray oncrowds and forcibly arrested hundreds of demonstrators. Atthe Free Trade Agreement of the Americas protest in Miamifour years later, police displayed an unprecedented showof force in what became known as the Miami Model. Theextreme tactics in Miami—which included the use oftasers, electric shields andpolice popup lines—havebeen adopted by law enforcementagencies acrossthe country when facingsimilar crowds.The most recent G-20summit was held in Londonthis past April. Prior to theevent a Member of Parliament,Andrew Dismore, expressedconcern about crowdcontrol measures, saying,“The police have a dutyunder the Human Rights Actto facilitate protest and notfrustrate it. If they act in a confrontational way…they willstart to provoke the kind of behaviour they are seeking toprevent.” Despite this warning, law enforcement officials stillhandled the demonstrations in a severe manner. At one point,thousands of protesters were rounded up by police and detainedfor several hours without access to food or water. Afterthe summit, an officer was suspended when a video surfacedof him striking a man who suffered a heart attack and diedminutes later.The extremely high-profile nature of the event has ledthe Secret Service to take over several aspects of the planning.Malcolm Wiley, a spokesman for the Secret Service,noted that the G-20’s classification as a “National Special SecurityEvent” raises the security requirements for the summitand puts the Secret Service in the lead on security issues.According to Pittsburgh mayor Luke Ravenstahl, securityexpenses for the summit will be in the neighborhood