Contact: Glen Milner (206)
365-7865
Mary Gleysteen
(360) 265-1589
Day of the event (206)
979-8319
Local activists will stage a water-based nonviolent
protest against the glorification of weapons of war at the Seattle Seafair festival. Peace activists will meet the U.S. Navy fleet
in Elliott Bay .
Other peace activists will meet on land near Pier 66 and on Pier 62/63 on the
What: Peace activists will meet the U.S. Navy fleet arrival at Seafair. This is the eleventh year for this demonstration.
When: Wednesday, August 1, noon, Peace Fleet in
Where: Elliott Bay, near Pier 66. Demonstration on land near Pier 66.
For the fourth year, the
Coast Guard has established a special “safety” or no-protest zone around Pier
66 during the fleet arrival. The
zone serves no other purpose than to keep peace vessels away from the pass and
review area for the arrival of Navy vessels on the waterfront. Last year, the roof top of Pier 66 was
declared a “private event” and only invited guests were allowed into the area. This year the Coast Guard has proposed
rulemaking for a new regulation with broader definitions for security zones for
the fleet arrival.
Why would we demonstrate for peace at a Seattle maritime festival?
Because the celebration
of warships in our harbor helps bring about the normalcy of modern war.
The fleet arrival at Seafair is a public relations and
recruiting event for the U.S. Navy. Previous years have brought Trident nuclear submarines complete
with nuclear warheads and Navy warships used to launch Tomahawk cruise missiles
in the first and second Wars on Iraq
and the War on Afghanistan .
The fleet is displayed for four days in downtown Seattle at tremendous cost to
taxpayers while crucial social services in education, health care, and
transportation are being cut for lack of funds.
Peace Fleet Flagship, 2010 |
Fact Sheet--Peace
activists to meet U.S.
Navy Fleet at Seafair on August 1, 2012
Since 2000,
anti-war demonstrators have met the Navy fleet arrival in Elliott
Bay only to face “security” restrictions by the Coast Guard, Navy and the Port of Seattle .
The new proposed rule is a
continuation of attempts that began in 2008 by the Coast Guard to limit demonstrations
at the Seafair fleet arrival in Elliott
Bay . The new proposed rule also ignores much
public discussion under the previous rule-making procedures and is an attempt
to gradually reduce areas for demonstrators in Elliott Bay . The Coast Guard’s summary of recent
rulemaking is at http://www.d13publicaffairs.com/go/doc/21/1099339.
The Coast Guard proposes to
establish a new regulation, 33 CFR 165.1333, which states that “no person
or vessel may enter or remain in the security zones… without permission of the
COTP.” This essentially
establishes a 500-yard exclusionary zone in which vessel operators must gain
permission from the Captain of the Port in order to “enter or remain” in the
moving security zones. The proposed rule
is at http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;dct=FR%252BPR%252BN%252BO%252BSR%252BPS;rpp=25;po=0;D=USCG-2011-1126.
Previous
rule-making and the previous final rule restricting vessels during the fleet
arrival is at http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;dct=FR%252BPR%252BN%252BO%252BSR%252BPS;rpp=25;po=0;D=USCG-2010-0062.
On March 2, 2012,
Jeffrey Blumberg of the Office for Civil Rights and Civil
Liberties, U.S. Department
of Homeland Security completed an investigation of the Coast Guard’s rulemaking
procedure in the Puget Sound
region. The finding, in response to Complaint
No. 10-08-USCG-0124, Office for Civil
Rights and Civil Liberties, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, stated:
As a result of our investigation, we recommended that
the USCG work more closely with interested community groups prior to the
implementation of exclusion zones, and that appropriate First Amendment concerns be
carefully weighed before the creation of exclusion zone rules. The Coast Guard has concurred with these
recommendations.
There has never been a known
or anticipated threat for the Seafair fleet arrival. The latest available threat assessment, the Port
of Seattle Police Seafair 2009 Operations Plan under Terrorist Threats and Activity, stated, “There are
no specific threats of violence and no information relating to Seafair that
would indicate an increased threat level.”
A violation of safety zones at Seafair could bring an arrest and a charge resulting in up to six years in jail and/or a $250,000 fine. The Coast Guard, in addition to establishing the rule, is the same agency that enforces the rule, charges, and rules against any perceived violators in a Coast Guard hearing conducted by a Coast Guard Hearing Officer.