[Gipfelsoli Newsletter] April 4th, Heiligendamm -- Seattle

[International Newsletter]

April 4th, Heiligendamm -- Seattle

- Bicycle caravans to the G8 - summit
- WTO protesters to receive $1 million

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WTO protesters to receive $1 million

City's settlement is largest and last to arise from suits

Tuesday, April 3, 2007

By COLIN MCDONALD
P-I REPORTER

Seven years after being illegally arrested in Westlake Park, about 175 World
Trade Organization protesters settled their claims with the city of Seattle for
$1 million -- and promises to clear their records and improve police training.

The settlement announced Monday is the largest -- and last -- to arise from
dozens of lawsuits filed after the 1999 downtown protests.

"The lesson here is that the police can respect the constitutional rights of
protesters and at the same time protect the public safety," said Mike Withey,
lead attorney for the plaintiffs.

After legal fees are subtracted and members of the class action are properly
identified, each will be eligible for between $3,000 and $10,000.

So far, only half the plaintiffs have been contacted about the lawsuit,
according to Public Justice, one of the law firms that argued the case for the
protesters.

For lead plaintiff Kenneth Hankin, no amount of money will ever replace what he
lost after being arrested and jailed.

"For three days, I lost my right to protest the WTO," said Hankin, a Boeing Co.
engineer. "That still upsets me a great deal."

In January, a federal jury found that Seattle police had violated the
protesters' constitutional rights because they were arrested en masse, without
any attempt to determine whether people had a right to be in that area at that
time.

The settlement, which requires approval from U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman,
avoids a damages phase to determine how much the city owed.

The city's insurance company, National Union, decided it would rather pay than
continue to fund the city's legal fight. The city already has paid a total of
$800,000 to resolve WTO-related lawsuits.

City Attorney Tom Carr maintained Monday that Seattle would have won on appeal
by proving the police did not need individualized probable cause in such a mass
disturbance. But he's happy to be moving on.

"The city is pleased that the last of the WTO cases is resolved, and we believe
the settlement is extremely reasonable," he said.

Both sides emphasized that the settlement does not require any taxpayer dollars
to be tapped.

The deal requires Seattle to add copies of Pechman's rulings about the city's
unlawful arrests to police officer training materials to help avoid repeating
the mistake.

"The proper lesson is to avoid repetition of the fiasco in Seattle by allowing
peaceful protesters to gather -- as guaranteed by the Constitution," said Fred
Diamondstone, another attorney for the plaintiffs.

As part of the settlement, the city has agreed to clear the records of the
plaintiffs and ask the Washington State Patrol, FBI and King County Sheriff's
Office to do the same.

Withey said he also will contact the New York Police Department, which he
believes created a list of those arrested in Seattle after the WTO conference
in preparation for the Republican National Convention in 2004.

NYPD spokesman Michael Collins said he could not comment on whether such a list
exists.

According to court documents, the protesters were sitting in the park singing
patriotic songs the morning of Dec. 1, 1999, when police began making mass
arrests.

Earlier that morning, a group of protesters ignored an emergency order by
then-Mayor Paul Schell of a "protest-free zone" by marching into a "limited
access" zone.

The group, along with other protesters and pedestrians, was then corralled into
Westlake, where they were arrested.

"They just surrounded us," Hankin said.

That week, 50,000 demonstrators flooded downtown Seattle, overwhelming local law
enforcement and closing down sections of the city and the WTO conference.

P-I reporter Colin McDonald can be reached at 206-448-8312 or
colinmcdonald at seattlepi.com.


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Bicycle caravans to the G8 - summit

G8-Summit protest will begin with the start of the first bicycle caravan from
Budapest in 5th of April

>From 6th to 8th June 2007 the G8 will meet in Heiligendamm near Rostock
(Germoney). A lot of creative actions have been (and will be) prepared, such as
bicycle caravans to mobilise protests in the run-up of the meeting.

So far, 4 routes have evolved from the idea to travel to the G8 by bike from all
over Europe:

* The "shake-G8-bikeride" will go from Budapest (5. April) via Györ, Bratislava,
Brno, Wroclav, Poznan, Schwedt to Wittstock.
* The "Gr8chaoskaravaan" will go from Brugge via Brussels, Utrecht, Nijmegen,
Münster, Osnabrück, Oldenburg, Hamburg, Gorleben to Wittstock.
The Scandinavian caravan will go from Rovaniemi - Stockholm (23-04) via
Linköping, Jönköping, Malmö, Copenhagen, Odense, Flensburg, Hamburg to
Wittstock.* The bycicle caravan from Berlin, will start at 21.5
* The four caravans will meet on the planned military bombing territory
"Bombodrom" near Wittstock in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern at the end of May and
participate in the actions there. Further they`ll join the protests around
Heiligendamm.

What the people of caravan want

On their way they want to spread information about and fight against the
politics of the G8 and the effects of global capitalism. For that we are
planning information events and creative direct actions with local groups. By
doing so they' ll try to link the global politics of the G8 with local
struggles and build networks.

The caravan as a space for experiments

The cyclists don't want to take part in the whole neoliberal circus and the
division of people for example along racist criterias and economic
exploitability. They consider the caravan as a place for experiments in which
they can realize their ideas and ideals (even if only temporarily). They want
to create a non-hierarchical structure during their ride in which we can learn
and act in a self-organised manner. They want to make it possible for all
people to participate regardless of money, bicycle, physical condition or
papers. They want to use our time together for exchange and to build networks
with various local groups from different backgrounds.

"Come in multitudes and bring bicycles, let's take ride with many people
collectively! You should bring along between one day and two months time - and
an interest in self-organisation and creative actions. join the ride, be it
from Budapest, Brugge or anywhere else.", says Franz Farin from the caravan
Info Office in Rostock, Germany

Don't fight (only) the players - Fight the game !!!

For more infos visit: http://www.g8-bikerides.net

Contacts:

East caravan: fahrradkarawane07 at lists.riseup.net
If you want to get in contact to people of the east-caravan and arrange meeting
at their starting point, please contact the phone 0036706356398
West caravan: gr8chaoskaravaan07 at lists.so36.net
Scandinavian caravan: scandinaviacaravang8 at lists.riseup.net
caravaninfo-office: Mr. Franz Farin, available under 0049 - 179-6268785,
Rassmussenstr. 8, 18106 Rostock, Germany