http://au.news.yahoo.com/050115/21/sli2.html
Saturday January 15, 01:00 PM
Pacifists sue to stage anti-war protest at Bush inauguration
A coalition of pacifists filed a lawsuit trying to get more space along the
US presidential inauguration motorcade route on January 20.
The group also is seeking, it says in the name of freedom of expression,
permission to display signs along the route between the Capitol and the
White House on the day President George W Bush is due to be sworn in for a
second term.
They have been denied permission due to purported security concerns.
"Not allowing signs is illegal, there is no security basis for denial of
signs, it's a violation of people's rights. We are seeking an emergency
action to obtain public access and equal access, and also the sign issue,"
the group ANSWER said in a statement.
ANSWER, which protests against the Iraq war, charges the "US Government is
engaged in political screening to grant exclusive access to financial and
political supporters of the administration and to curtail freedom of speech
and assembly along Pennsylvania Avenue on Inauguration Day".
"The Bush administration is trying to stage-manage democracy," the group
added in a statement.
The suit was filed by attorneys from the Partnership for Civil Justice and
the National Lawyers Guild, on behalf of the ANSWER Coalition and others.
Group members complain they are limited to about 60 metres of bleacher space
for the big event.
- AFP
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