Tuesday, January 20th at 9am Cheri Honkala, the national organizer for the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign (PPEHRC), will be held on trial by jury for her arrest on Harriet Island preceding the Republican National Convention. In the days prior to the RNC, as PPEHRC member organizations from around the country began arriving in the Twin Cities for the March For Our Lives, PPEHRC organizers established "Bushville." Bushville was erected on Harriet Island so that it would be visible to members of the media and delegates from around the country. However, this political demonstration - which also served the purpose of housing poor families and individuals who came to demonstrate against poverty but could not afford a hotel - was dis-assembled by the police its very first night. The 23 adults and five children who were sleeping there were surrounded in the dark by roughly 50 police officers on bicycles and flanked by a squad of roughly 30 police in riot gear before being given the option of leaving the park or being arrested. The park lights that were directly above Bushville were turned off as bystanders, legal observers and activists who arrived to show solidarity were told to leave or were detained. Large spotlights were then turned onto the previously sleeping demonstrators. This was an incredibly intimidating process and an unnecessary show of force. The demonstrators were given the opportunity to take their belongings before Bushville was deconstructed and taken away by the police department. As they were leaving the park, demonstrators noticed that on the bridge above the exit to the park was stationed an officer with a large rifle. Cheri Honkala was one of 2 demonstrators who was arrested for not leaving Bushville. On September 2nd, the group led the March For Our Lives.

Visit www.economichumanrights.org for the national campaign and www.ppehrc.org for the Minnesota Chapter.

Where:

Court room 130, 15 West Kellog Boulevard, St. Paul, MN, 55101.
In front of Judge Wilson

When:

January 20th 9:00 am

Contacts:
Manuel Levins Holden/Deeq Abdi
612-821-2364
Peter Cooper
512-924-7561
Cheri Honkala
267-439-8419

Labels: Cheri Honkala, March on the RNC, RNC

[London]--Amnesty International is concerned by allegations of excessive use of force and mass arrests by police at demonstrations in St. Paul, Minnesota during the Republican National Convention (RNC) from September 1-4, 2008. The human rights organization is calling on the city and county authorities to ensure that all allegations of ill-treatment and other abuses are impartially investigated, with a review of police tactics and weapons in the policing of demonstrations.

The organization’s concerns arise from media reports, video and photographic images which appear to show police officers deploying unnecessary and disproportionate use of non-lethal weapons on non-violent protestors marching through the streets or congregating outside the arena where the Convention was being held.

Amnesty International urges that an inquiry be carried out promptly, that its findings and recommendations be made public in a timely manner. If the force used is found to have been excessive and to have contravened the principles of necessity and proportionality, then those involved should be disciplined, measures put in place and training given to ensure future policing operations conform to international standards.

Police are reported to have fired rubber bullets and used batons, pepper spray, tear gas canisters and concussion grenades on peaceful demonstrators and journalists. Amnesty International has also received unconfirmed reports that some of those arrested during the demonstrations may have been ill-treated while held at Ramsey county jail.

Amnesty International is also concerned at reports that several journalists who were covering the RNC were arbitrarily arrested while filming and reporting on the demonstrations. They include host of independent news program Democracy Now!, Amy Goodman, and two of the program’s producers, Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar, who were both allegedly subjected to violence during their arrest. A photographer for the Associated Press (AP) and other journalists were also arrested while covering the demonstrations.

Kouddous described his arrest to media, “…two or three police officers tackled me. They threw me violently against a wall. Then they threw me to the ground. I was kicked in the chest several times. A police officer ground his knee into my back…I was also, the entire time, telling them, ‘I’m media. I’m press….,’ but…that didn’t seem to matter at all.”

Amnesty International recognizes the challenges involved in policing large scale demonstrations and that some protestors may have been involved in acts of violence or obstruction. However, some of the police actions appear to have breached United Nations (U.N.) standards on the use of force by law enforcement officials. These stipulate, among other things, that force should be used only as a last resort, in proportion to the threat posed, and should be designed to minimize damage or injury. Some of the treatment also appears to have contravened U.S. laws and guidelines on the use of force. The U.N. standards also stress that everyone is allowed to participate in lawful and peaceful assemblies, in accordance with the principles embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

For more information, please contact the AIUSA media office at 202-544-0200 x302 or visit our website at www.amnestyusa.org.

Labels: Arrests, March for Our Lives 2008, Police, RNC

Owing to the fact that the police cleared our Bushville this morning. We decided to move our Bushville to the home of the State of Minnesota.

Shortly after we arrived, the State Police evicted us from the Rotunda. In the process, police force the media and laywers out of the building preventing them from entering the Capitol.



Here is the video of a police manhandling and injuring Cheri Honkala as she attempts to help the media gain access to the building in order to cover the protest, protect our freedom of expression, and document the actions of the officers on site.

Labels: Cheri Honkala, M4OL Coverage, Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign, PPEHRC, RNC