[Peace] FYI: charges against arrested journalists

[Belden Fields]

I urge others to write, and perhaps the people in Minneapolis-St.  
Paul to visit the mayor, as well.
Belden Fields

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Belden Fields <a-fields at uiuc.edu>
> Date: September 18, 2008 1:09:46 PM CDT
> To: mayor at ci.stpaul.mn.us
> Cc: john.choi at ci.stpaul.mn.us
> Subject: charges against arrested journalists
>
> Dear Mayor Coleman and City Attorney Choi,
>
> 	I am writing to you to ask that you drop the charges against  
> Democracy Now Journalists Amy Goodman, Sharif Kouddous, and Nicole  
> Salazar.  I am a political scientist at the University of Illinois,  
> Urbana whose speciality is human rights.  The arrest of these  
> people is a clear violation of freedom of the press, as was the  
> raid on four houses where other journalists were preparing to cover  
> the demonstrations, and as was the arrests of over 40 other  
> journalists.  Where in the world did you get the idea that it was  
> permissible to arrst journalists.  Not only is this a violation of  
> the freedom of the arrested journalists, it is also a violation of  
> the right of the public to know about the demonstrations.
>
> 	On Monday and Friday I gave two lectures at the University of  
> Illinois in which I dealt with  these arrests.  Yesterday, I did it  
> in response to a question from a Korean-American student who asked  
> if if police have the right to arrest peaceful demonstrators as the  
> South Korean police had done in the demonstrations over the   
> imports of US beef to Korea--even if the government had signed the  
> International Covenant on Political and Civil Rights.  He asked if  
> this happens in such countries other than Korea.  I responded that  
> indeed it does, in the United States, and that's not the end of  
> it.  In St. Paul they even try to prevent the press from covering  
> such things by raiding and harassing them prior to the  
> demonstrations and then arresting them during the demonstrations.   
> You have made yourselves a wonderful case study.
>
> 	By the way, I have send the video of the raid on one of the houses  
> where journalists were preparing to cover the demonstrations to  
> colleagues around the world, including to China.  The actions taken  
> by your police force, in conjunction with many other national and  
> state agencies, has disgraced this country beyond what perhaps you  
> can imagine.
>
> Sincerely yours,
>
> A. Belden Fields
> Professor Emeritus of Political Science
> University of Illinois, Urbana

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