Thread: City's Security Plan Reined in by Judge(OAS)

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/ne ... 812176.htm

The OAS is pro NAFTA, CAFTA, & Globalization - Of course Bush and Condi will be part of the main event!

City's security plan reined in by judge

As Fort Lauderdale prepared for the OAS General Assembly starting Sunday, a judge ruled that part of its new security ordinance cannot be enforced.

BY ERIKA BOLSTAD AND AMY SHERMAN
ebolstad@herald.com

A federal judge ruled Fort Lauderdale's controversial new protest ordinance too strict, even as the city wrapped up final security preparations for its debut on the international stage.

The ordinance was drawn to regulate protesters and activists, who are expected to hold at least one formal protest and a parade when the annual meeting of the Organization of American States opens Sunday.

Police shut down the 17th Street bridge Friday and installed eight-foot and five-foot metal crowd barriers along the causeway leading up to it, effectively walling off protesters from the OAS participants.

More than 2,100 diplomats, their delegations and families will attend the annual conference, hosted by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. The conference, in the United States for the first time since 1974, is expected to focus on strengthening democracy.

Monday, it will feature a speech from President Bush.

''They're here to do some very important business, and we're just here to make sure they enjoy Fort Lauderdale and South Florida,'' said Nicki Grossman, president of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureau. ``We're not worried about anything.''

With the president, the secretary of state and leaders from 34 member nations on the way, security preparations have overshadowed nearly everything for the three-day event that ends Tuesday.

''Our plan is fluid and we're prepared to handle any situation, however major or minor it is,'' said Sgt. Andy Pallen, a spokesman for the Fort Lauderdale Police Department.

On Thursday, a federal judge outlined conditions for demonstrations and parades that will limit protesters to a specific ''free speech'' area, but blocked enforcement of a new city ordinance that would have prohibited them from carrying large sticks, stones, weapons and other items to protests or parades.

PROTESTERS' RIGHTS

In May, the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Lawyers' Guild sued the city and Broward County on behalf of people who plan to protest the OAS, including Florida Alliance for Retired Americans, Broward Anti-War Coalition, Broward County Green Party, Green Party of Florida, Haiti Solidarity and Lake Worth for Global Justice.

'I think it is huge victory for protesters' rights,'' said Zeina Salam, an attorney for the ACLU.

In a four-page ruling, Judge K. Michael Moore granted the temporary restraining order, saying the new ordinance ''provides city officials with an unconstitutional amount of discretion to decide which groups fit within the definition of ``parade'' and ``public assembly.''

Trained legal observers will attend a demonstration Sunday afternoon to document any violations of protesters' rights. Activists plan to ask the court to permanently strike down the city's recently passed ordinance, which was modeled after laws passed in Miami in 2003 for the Free Trade Area of the Americas summit.

No one expects the volume of protesters at the OAS event to match the numbers during the Miami FTAA conference, a more controversial event that drew anti-globalization activists.

Pallen said the court's ruling won't affect the law enforcement plans drawn up by the city and U.S. State Department security, but said protesters could find themselves at risk.

''That ordinance was passed for a reason,'' Pallen said. ``It was drafted to ensure public safety as well as officer safety. The safety of legitimate law-abiding protesters could potentially be at risk.''

The nature of the security has made hoteliers like the Hyatt Regency Pier 66 -- usually eager to promote their accommodations -- hesitant even to acknowledge that they will be the temporary home of VIPs such as the secretary of state.

OAS organizers won't let the hotel say anything about their guests, or even whether they've given their staff special training, said Kimberly Flaig, a spokeswoman for the hotel. Flaig could not even acknowledge that her hotel has frequently hosted big names and even bigger events during its storied history as a Fort Lauderdale landmark.

But the staff has clearly been prepped for a big weekend, fully aware that these visitors are government wage-earners, not free-spending vacationers.

''Presidents don't tip,'' sniffed one parking attendant, when asked whether he was ready for the big event.

GRIDLOCK LIKELY

Most Fort Lauderdale residents won't be touched by the intense security, but they will probably be annoyed by traffic problems, Pallen said. The 17th Street bridge will remain closed through the duration of the OAS conference, forcing people to use the Las Olas and Sunrise Boulevard bridges.

''The biggest problem we're going to deal with is traffic,'' Pallen said. ``It's definitely going to be an inconvenience to the businesses and residents in that area.''

The city sent 19,000 postcards to area businesses and residents warning them of the closure, put up electronic warning signs in the area, and plan to warn people on the flashing ''Amber Alert'' signs on Interstate 95.

Many businesses, such as Dough Boys Pizzeria on 17th Street, had posted one of the cards on the front door this week.

Herald staff writer Nikki Waller contributed to this report.

Police shut down the 17th Street bridge Friday and installed eight-foot and five-foot metal crowd barriers along the causeway leading up to it, effectively walling off protesters from the OAS participants.

More than 2,100 diplomats, their delegations and families will attend the annual conference, hosted by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. The conference, in the United States for the first time since 1974, is expected to focus on strengthening democracy.

HOW DARE THEY!! Foreigner's FAMILIES get preference over AMERICANS????

This is bad, very bad stuff going on all for the Socialist Elites in the ORGANIZATION OF THE AMERICAS? Who wants to dismantle our BORDERS? Condoleeza Rice is a blight on our Constitution!! As is the ENTIRE CFR!! {Rice is by no means the only one to earn our distain}

I wish the City of Fort Lauderdale and the State of Florida an outstanding and safe conference.

I also wish all the protestors the best of success in getting their message across at the convention.

I also encourage the MSM (MainStreamMedia) to do a better job covering the protects than they did on the FTAA.

If they had done a better job on the FTAA, then I and about 200,000,000 other Americans would have know what this rotten government has been up to, you know, like TRYING TO END OUR NATION!