Protesting in the "age of terrorism"

The Group of Eight (G8) economic summit begins Tuesday on Sea Island, Georgia, a retreat for the very wealthy. In addition to Prez Bush, the summit will host Britain's PM Blair, Canada's PM Martin, France's Prez Chirac, Germany's Ch. Schroeder, Italy's PM Berlusconi, Russia's Prez Putin, and Japan's PM Koizumi. The port city has a pop. of 16,000 people, some are leaving temporarily afraid to get mistakenly arrested. Protesters are expected, as in most recent G8 meetings. And more than 10,000 local, state and federal officers will flood the area "to protect the summit and maintain order". Attorney General John Ashcroft said next week’s summit could be one of several high-profile U.S. events targeted this summer by al-Qaeda. This just goes to show there is fine line between terror alerts of international terrorist networks and mobilization against largely non-violent protesters against war or economic globalization. It might seem reasonable to think events at which protesters will be present are also likely targets for terrorism, but terrorism would hardly justify the size of the law enforcement contingent. al-Qaeda has no precendent in attacking meetings of this nature. Security is predictably at high alert, making it a less attractive target, despite the high terror "return". The "security army" is aimed simply at dissuading protesters and guaranteeing these to not disrupt the meetings as in Seatle 1999.
This will be a mere prelude to the security mobilization that is mounting to hinder the protests at the Republican National Convention (RNC) at the end of August. " The Department of Homeland Security has designated the convention a National Security Event, freeing up federal funds for it. The Secret Service and FBI are reported to be working with the New York Police Department to coordinate security. New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly has said he is concerned about the possibility of disruptive protests." (MSNBC May 4th)
" Security costs for the Republican National Convention this summer will hit $76 million, says police Commissioner Ray Kelly. (...) the police department, which has about 36,500 members (...) will use 6,000 to 10,000 officers to handle the convention. "
The NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his Parks Department have tried to prevent a large demonstration by refusing a permit a rally on the Great Lawn in Central Park, filed by United for Peach and Justice (UFPJ), that is planned for Sunday, August 29th and count have over half a million participants. Bloomberg has used bogus arguments to defend his denial, as editorials have argued, "other large groups have used the Great Lawn in the past to no ill effect." (Newsday May 12th), " critics have a right to gather in the same borough as the conventioneers they are protesting. Making a parade route available in Manhattan is not enough. The demonstrators have a right to a central rallying place in which they can speak and be heard." (NYT May 11th), "For the first time in recent memory, the New York Times and New York Post editorial boards took the same side of an issue -- the local equivalent of Jupiter aligning with Mars. 'Keep Off The Grass' appears nowhere in the First Amendment. Former mayor Koch advises Bloomberg to let the marchers post a bond and be done with it." (Washington Post May 17th)