South Central Farm to be returned to the same LA community from which it was taken, and all other vacant and distressed land be open for the community use, and money to the tune of 1 million dollars – taken from Skid Row and given to the multi million dollar NFL firm – to be returned to Skid Row.
http://occupylosangeles.org/?q=nov2011response Submitted by OLA Web Team on Thu, 11/24/2011 - 6:15am THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY’S RESPONSE TO THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES Para Todos Todo, Para Nosotros Nada: For Everyone, Everything, For Us, Nothing History: passed with full consensus at GA on Wednesday 11/23/2011. The language, ideas and grievances contained herein were culled from the minutes of 2 special City Liaison Committee Meetings, 2 General Assemblies devoted to the issue, one meeting with the Demands & Objectives Committee, consultation with Media and PR, and widely circulated and amended by the online community of occupiers, and adapted into its current form by the General Assembly on 11/23/2011. As a collective, Occupy Los Angeles would like to express their rejection of the City of Los Angeles’ alleged proposal that we leave City Hall by November 28th, 2011, in exchange for an apparently now rescinded offer of a 10,000 square foot building, farmland and 100 SRO beds for the homeless. Occupy Los Angeles believes that as part of a global movement advocating direct, participatory democracy, and challenging economic and social injustices, our position is such that we cannot, in all good faith, accept further material benefit from City Hall at the taxpayer’s expense without seriously compromising our beliefs, our desire for global change, and our commitment to our inherent human rights to free speech and assembly protected in this country by First Amendment Rights. The 1 percent should be paying for any services used by the Occupy Movement, not taxpayers. In the spirit of inclusivity and transparency which is so dear to our movement, Occupy Los Angeles extends an invitation to Mayor Villaraigosa and the City Council to attend our General Assemblies at the City Hall Occupation if he wishes to discuss these and other matters in a direct, democratic and horizontal way. Mayor Villaraigosa must speak out against the violent actions towards our brothers and sisters, declare the actions of other cities to be unjust, and stand before us equally at a General Assembly. Occupy Los Angeles believes that until this happens, we should have no more closed-door discussions regarding our continuing occupation of City Hall. The City Council – in line with government in general – is an authority which is more accountable to developers and corporations than the public. The very act of the Los Angeles City Council requesting the physical removal of Los Angeles Occupiers without redressing the grievances which were specifically referenced in the inclusion of our adopted ‘Declaration of the Occupation of New York City’, and in the City Council’s ’1st Amendment Rights / Occupy Los Angeles / Responsible Banking Resolution’ — is in effect supporting the removal of all Occupations from public space by any means. We cannot negotiate with such an institution without undermining our sister occupations across the globe who are suffering from oppressive force and attacks upon their inherent human rights to free speech and assembly, protected in this country under the First Amendment. We refer here to episodes in Oakland, Boston, New York, Portland, UC Davis and San Francisco, to name but a few. We refer to those further afield, in Tahrir Square in Egypt, in Madrid, Greece, London and more. Teargas, pepper spray, beatings, jail, suppression and intimidation have been used as a coercive method of silencing our movement and our desire for global change. We reject outright the City’s attempts to lure us out of City Hall and into negotiations by offering us nebulous, non-transparent and unconfirmed offers which fail to even begin to address our local grievances. We will continue to occupy this space, in solidarity with our global movement, until the forces of the few are forced to capitulate to the power of the people. When the following grievances have been addressed – grievances which we have agreed upon as a movement through our General Assembly as advancing our cause and providing for the people of Los Angeles – we as a movement will be happy to initiate dialogue with the Mayor and Los Angeles City Council. An office space of 10,000 square feet would not have addressed these grievances. While the grievances listed below are localized, we believe that they promote the underlying foundations and principles of our movement, which include, but are not limited to: providing for basic, fundamental and inalienable human rights such as shelter, food, healthcare, freedom of choice, sexual orientation, gender equality and education — and the right most paramount to a free and democratic society — the right to self-govern. Detailed demands which encompass our greater world view will be released at a later date by our Demands and Objectives Committee through the General Assembly.
GRIEVANCES NOT ADDRESSED A moratorium on all foreclosures in the City of Los Angeles. The City of Los Angeles to divest from all major banks, and money to be removed from politics.
A citywide effort undertaken to solve the homelessness problem which has led to 18,000 homeless people sleeping on Skid Row every night. Rehabilitation and housing must be provided for all homeless people.
South Central Farm to be returned to the same LA community from which it was taken, and all other vacant and distressed land be open for the community use, and money to the tune of 1 million dollars – taken from Skid Row and given to the multi million dollar NFL firm – to be returned to Skid Row. Los Angeles to be declared a sanctuary city for the undocumented, deportations to be discontinued and cooperation with immigration authorities be ended – including the turning in of arrestees’ names to immigration authorities. All forms of weaponry used by multiple law enforcement officials – including, but not limited, to rubber bullets, pepper spray, verbal abuse, arrest, foam batons, long-range acoustic devices and more – are not to be used on those exercising their First Amendment Rights to petition our government for redress of grievances. We do not accept interference with freedom of the press and the public to document police actions in public spaces. We will not tolerate brutality. We assert our right to an open plaza on the South Side of City Hall for people to peacefully assemble, voice grievances, speak freely, hold our General Assembly and come to the people’s consensus 24 hours a day if needed. The City of Los Angeles to pressure the State to start a convention, as provided for in the Constitution, to remove corporate personhood and money from politics at a national level. The City of Los Angeles to begin a dialogue at the State and Federal level on the issues of student debt and tuition hikes. No cutbacks in city services or attacks on the wages, work conditions and pensions of city employees. A world class transit system which addresses our debilitating traffic problem and restores the quality of life in Los Angeles.
We conclude, as a General Assembly, by hereby renaming City Hall Park - SOLIDARITY PARK Support The Occupy LA
URGENT SUPPORT FOR OCCUPY LOS ANGELES Please Send Emails of Support to Mayor Villaraigosa & the City Council Occupy LA Is Being Threatened With Eviction!
Dear Frank,
I have been involved with Occupy LA since its inception almost two months ago. Being there and partaking in creating a far reaching vision via participatory direct democracy has been one of the most rewarding and inspiring experiences of my life. Today (day 54) we are threatened with eviction. Only a massive act of support from the LA community at large can stop the eviction. Please sign and send the petition below to Mayor Villaraigosa and the City Council. Time is an essence and this petition must go viral to become effective. Emails of the Mayor and the Members of the City Council are below.
PETITION:
To the Mayor and City Council Members:
I pledge my support for Occupy Los Angeles' right to encamp on the city hall lawn. Those participating in the encampment are exercising a fundamental form of expressive speech, protected by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. The Occupation itself is a protected form of expression that effectively calls attention to our need for economic change, social justice and political accountability. The Occupation will carry on its mission on the city hall grounds, where it can be seen, heard and felt, until such wrongs are addressed.
Signed,
Name:
Zip Code:
Email:
Emails of the Mayor & Council Members:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Here’s a Letter from Emily Wilt about what is happening at Occupy LA:
Happy Holidays!
I hope this message finds you well, and that you are able to enjoy this time of year among family and friends. In this season of peace, charity, and heightened good will, the City of Los Angeles and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa have presented the participants of Occupy LA with a very thoughtful gift: An ambiguous yet firm eviction notice. In a meeting yesterday, 11/23/11, and in a public announcement given shortly thereafter on the South Steps of City Hall, LA City Representatives informed us that they will be closing the park sometime next week. During that meeting, a representative from the LAPD backed the closing of the park, saying that once the park is closed, Occupiers will be in violation of the law, and that the use of force to remove Occupiers would be determined by the actions of the camp. No definite time was given, but we are considering this our notice. We are an open, participatory, democratic, horizontal, peaceful, and non-violent movement. And we are asking for your support in continuing to exercise our First Amendment right to peaceably assemble and petition our government for a redress of our grievances. We ask you, if able, to come to City Hall to stand with us when the park is closed, and that you come armed with love, courage, and a video recording device if possible. Please be aware that, while we are non-violent, we cannot predict what tactics may be used against us. We appreciate the support of all, but we also want to ensure the safety of the children and elderly among us. Please encourage their absence from the premises. We ask you, if able, to provide a safe space for housing Occupiers who are unable to be arrested. We ask you, if able, to contact our Bail Fund Affinity Group with donations to support Occupiers who are able to be arrested. karo.helena@gmail.com - 818-645-1654 We ask you, if able, to call Mayor Villaraigosa ‘s office, the LAPD, and your City Council member to voice your support for Occupy Los Angeles. And we ask you, if able, to help us spread the word. We’re going to need all the support we can muster- let’s show the city, the country, and the world that We Are the 99%. Emily Wilt: http://www.southcentralfarmers.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=530&Itemid=66 |
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