Civil rights, anti-war groups
Unite to fight Ashcroft, FBI
Announce June 29 protests in Washington, other cities
By Workers World Washington bureau
Representatives and supporters of the ANSWER (Act Now to
Stop War & End Racism) coalition held a news conference at
the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., June 18 to
announce the National Campaign to Defend Civil Rights. The
group announced a major demonstration on June 29 at the
headquarters of the FBI and Justice Department.
"Our community is uniting with other civil rights and
anti-war organizations to mobilize for the June 29
demonstration protesting the attacks on civil rights and civil
liberties," stated Mahdi Bray, executive director of the Muslim
American Society's Freedom Foundation.
Rainbow Coalition/PUSH leader Joe Leonard explained that his
organization was mobilizing for the June 29 protest because
President George W. Bush and Attorney General John Ashcroft's
use of racial and political profiling was "a threat to all the
hard won civil rights gains of past generations."
"The Bush administration is substantially expanding the FBI
and CIA authority to conduct domestic spying in the absence of
probable cause or criminal conduct and is authorizing
indefinite detention for citizens and non-citizens at the sole
discretion and the direction of George Bush and John
Ashcroft--without charge or trial, and without access to an
attorney," Mara Verheyden-Hilliard of the Partnership for Civil
Justice explained in analyzing the government's latest
move.
"The government is now authorizing monitoring internet and
email activity, secret searches and seizures in our homes and
offices, and expanded electronic eavesdropping," she said. "The
new attorney general guidelines authorize the FBI spying on
people in the U.S. who are not suspected of any criminal
activity but are engaged in political dissent or pursuing
religious activity."
Other speakers at the news conference included: Lubaba
Abdallah, Muslim Student Association of U.S. & Canada; the
Rev. Graylan Hagler, senior minister, Plymouth Congregational
Church; Macrina Cardenas, Mexico Solidarity Network; Peta
Lindsay & Daniel Keesler, ANSWER youth and student
organizers; Chuck Kaufman, national coordinator, Nicaragua
Network; Damu Smith, Black Voices for Peace; and Brian Becker,
co-director, International Action Center.
According to ANSWER coalition representatives, buses, vans
and car caravans are coming to Washington, D.C., on Saturday,
June 29, from many cities on the East Coast, South and Midwest.
Protesters will assemble at 12 noon at Pennsylvania Ave.
between 9th and 10th St. NW, in front of FBI and Justice
Department headquarters.
Other cities will hold local protests on June 28 and 29.
Details about transportation to Washington and local protests
taking place nationwide can be found on the Web site www.internationalanswer.org.
Reprinted from the June 27, 2002, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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