Reply #17: For those who are interested:

[FlemingsGhost]

Just for the record...


The PPRC strongly reaffirms and endorses every person's right to protest at the University of Portland this coming Thursday during George W. Bush's visit to Portland. PPRC is committed to peaceful, nonviolent forms of protest and advocates proactive efforts to maintain safe and inclusive protest actions.

The Portland Peaceful Response Coalition wishes to clarify that it is neither a co-sponsor nor an endorser for the Columbia Park Bush Protest gathering and march, and that PPRC has not taken part in any of the planning for this event.

PPRC applied for a permit for a separate gathering and a "feeder march" to the Bush protest at the University of Portland campus. The city chose to withhold granting that permit until a Portland Police Bureau representative had verified that the Columbia Park protest planners had refused to accept a permit. In other words, it appears that the city decided to offer the Columbia Park protest planners a permit for their action (which the protest planners had NOT requested), and that until it was clear that the offer of a permit was turned down, the city refused to grant PPRC's formal application for a permit. PPRC has chosen to cancel all plans for an independent feeder march.

PPRC's police liaison has been informed by the Portland Police Bureau representative, Commander Rosie Sizer, that the following will be the PPB's approach to the Columbia Park gathering and march. According to Commander Sizer, since the event is not permitted, the PPB will expect participants to stay on sidewalks, not cross against traffic lights, and to otherwise obey all relevant traffic laws. Commander Sizer said that the incident commander on the scene will decide whether and how to enforce these traffic laws. She said that one factor that will influence the incident commander’s decision will be the size of the gathering.

PPRC has no way to predict how the police will actually respond to the Columbia Park protest gathering and march.

Commander Sizer also informed the PPRC police liaison that an area has been designated for protestors. That area has been tentatively set to be N. Willamette Boulevard from N. Portsmouth Avenue to N. Olin Avenue. THIS DESIGNATED PROTEST AREA HAS NOT BEEN VERIFIED, AND MAY CHANGE. (PPRC does not endorse, nor do we recognize the Constitutionality of the PPB’s policy of creating a "designated" protest area.)

The behavior of Portland Police has been difficult to predict. PPRC urges protest participants to weigh carefully the kinds of actions that you take part in on Thursday. If you choose to attend the protest, go with a group of friends that you feel comfortable with, and consider the likely consequences of actions that you choose to take part in. You do not have to take part in the Columbia Park gathering or the protest march in order to participate in the protest at the University of Portland.

PPRC does not have the medical or legal competence to endorse or promote reliance on either of the following resources and is including them here for information purposes only:

Advice on first aid and the sorts of crowd control tactics used by the PPB (pepper spray, etc.) is available at http://www.blackcrosscollective.org/

A jail support telephone number has been posted for the Bush protests: [phone]

In solidarity,

PPRC General Meeting