TITLE: January 20 Counter-Inaugural Organizers Expect Thousands To Protest

AUTHOR: By Brian Becker and Larrt Holmes

ORG: International Action Center

DATE: January 5

Press Contact: Brian Becker, Larry Holmes (212) 633-6646 The International Action Center (IAC) reports that more than 40 cities are organizing buses and car caravans to bring demonstrators to the Washington DC counter-inaugural demonstration on January 20. More than 450 groups and prominent individuals have endorsed the call to action. The demonstration will assemble on January 20 at 14th St. and Pennsylvania Ave. NW at 10 am. The lawyers for the International Action Center and other protesters sent a letter to the chief of the Washington DC police force, the U.S. Capitol Police and the National Parks Service insisting that people who oppose the Bush administration have the right to express their opinion, to obtain permits and to demonstrate their point of view in the area of the inaugural event. The police agencies, working in tandem with the new Bush administration, are deliberately trying to dissuade the public from attending this mass demonstration. As a result of the pressure campaign, the police agencies have finally scheduled a meeting to discuss permits on Tuesday, January 9. "We intend to obtain a permit so that thousands of people can participate in the mass rally on January 20. The inaugural event and Pennsylvania Avenues between the Capitol and the White House are not the private property of those who support the death penalty and oppose affirmative action. WE have a right to demonstrate and thousands will. January 20 will be remembered as the next step in the evolution of a new movement for social justice. This movement fights on many fronts, but the underlying issue of racism is a central theme," according to the IAC. For a list of the organizing centers in the 40 cities, a complete endorsers list or to obtain more information about the demonstration, including a new brochure entitled "Fourteen Reasons to Demonstrate Against the Bush Administration," go to the IAC web site. International Action Center 39 West 14th Street, Room 206 New York, NY 10011 email: iacenter@iacenter.org END top