Boycott is planned in free-speech zone
Worried about their safety and angry at the symbolism of being completely fenced in, several of the largest protest groups at this week's convention have rejected the city's designated ''free-speech zone" near the FleetCenter, shifting their rally plans to the surrounding neighborhood instead.
Leaders of Representative Dennis J. Kucinich's campaign, the American Friends Service Committee, United for Peace and Justice, and other groups said yesterday they were going to boycott the zone and move an antiwar rally planned for the culmination of the convention Thursday.
''I don't feel comfortable leading supporters who I'm guiding into a space where they potentially may be hurt," said Danielle Feris, on the staff of the Kucinich campaign, which brought several hundred people to Boston for protests and other events during the Democratic National Convention. ''With so many people in a small space, with the entrances and exits so small -- it's just asking for it."
Instead, Feris and other organizers say they will probably hold their protest in the streets around the FleetCenter, an area known as the ''soft zone," which is open to pedestrians but not within sight of delegates to the convention. When they rally Thursday against the war in Iraq, they plan to add another cause to their agenda: the free-speech zone itself.
The zone, a 25,800-square-foot asphalt lot next to the parking area for delegates' buses, is the only area where protesters are allowed within sight of delegates themselves.
It has become a flash point for protesters because security concerns have led officials to fully enclose it with chain-link fencing, razor wires, netting ,and cement barriers. It is also capped by elevated Green Line tracks that slope down to 5 feet 9 inches above the ground at one point.
The Bl(a)ck Tea Society, an antiauthoritarian group helping to coordinate protesters, began calling for all protesters to boycott the free-speech zone almost two weeks ago. And a group of activists, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, is still fighting in court to have the zone moved or changed.
It appears that the only left-leaning event still being planned for the free-speech zone is a rally supporting Palestinians and opposing Israeli occupation, and that is only because organizers think the area offers symbolic value for their particular message.
''We want to draw attention to what Palestinians have been subjected to for years," said Marilyn Levin, of United for Justice with Peace, who referred to the zone as a cage. ''We can leave our cage, but Palestinians cannot leave theirs."
US District Judge Douglas P. Woodlock said Thursday it was ''an understatement" to liken the zone to an internment camp, but he agreed with city officials who said the security measures are necessary, given post-9/11 terrorism threats and a pattern of unruly antiglobalization demonstrations in recent years.
A three-judge panel agreed to hear the protesters' appeal of Woodlock's decisions, and asked the parties to submit their case in writing by tomorrow morning. It is not clear if the panel will hold a hearing, or when the judges will decide the case.
A range of liberal and radical organizations held a news conference at the entrance to the zone yesterday to protest it. Three women representing CODEPINK, a feminist antiwar group, were dressed as Statues of Liberty -- only in pink -- with pink cardboard crowns and flames made of tissue paper and aluminum foil.
A few other groups that have obtained permits to use the free-speech zone could not be reached yesterday. They include the Westboro Baptist Church, which campaigns against homosexuality, and Vietnam Veterans Against Kerry. Groups need permits for the zone only if they want access to the stage and the sound system.
''Nobody is being required to use the demonstration zone," said Mary Jo Harris, legal counsel for the Boston Police Department, who oversaw the design of the area. ''The demonstration zone is provided merely for those people who wish to be able to express themselves directly to the delegates."
Harris said the area won't be dangerous if the protesters themselves don't engage in violence and said Boston police are sending community service officers trained at resolving gang conflicts and other sticky situations.
Marcella Bombardieri can be reached at bombardieri@globe.com.
