City of Providence seeks injunction to push Occupy Providence out of Burnside Park

On-Line Petition asks for permission to stay
The Providence Journal reported this afternoon that Providence Public Safety Commissioner Stephen Pare has decided to seek a court injunction to evict the Occupy Providence protesters from Burnside Park just off Kennedy Plaza in downtown. However, the city has not actually gone to court and has not said when it will do so.

Occupy Providence issued the following response, including a request for supporters to sign their on-line petition asking the city to let them stay in Burnside Park.

TODAY (10/24) AT 3PM: Press Conference to Defend Occupy Providence

by Occupy Providence on Sunday, October 23, 2011 at 7:52pm

**PLEASE FORWARD WIDELY***

Greetings from Occupy Providence!

We write to you because it has come to our attention that in the coming days the City of Providence intends to take legal action in an attempt to end our non-violent occupation. Occupy Providence will host a press conference tomorrow (Monday, October 24th) at 3PM in Burnside Park to address the city's plans and to restate our intention to remain in the park for as long as it takes to build a society by, for and of the people. Following the press conference, we will march to city hall to deliver our message to city officials. You can read our official statement below.

We ask those who are able to join us in solidarity-- show Mayor Taveras and Police Commissioner Paré that the people of Rhode Island stand with Occupy Providence, and demand that they let us remain in Burnside Park!

For those who can't be there tomorrow (and for those who can!), you can show your support by signing our petition to Mayor Taveras and Commissioner Paré:

http://www.change.org/petitions/providence-mayor-angel-taveras-public-safety-commissioner-par-allow-the-occupy-providence-movement-to-stay-in-burnside-park-indefinitely?mid=50

Thank you for your love and support, we look forward to seeing you soon!

In solidarity,

Occupy Providence

***

October 23rd, 2011

To Mayor Angel Taveras and Commissioner Steven Paré:

We, the people of Occupy Providence, would like to express our gratitude and appreciation for the continued respect shown to our just and legal gathering. We have found the welcome of the City of Providence to be warm and cordial, and the support of the people of Rhode Island to be firmly on the side of justice with regards to our grievances. We are both humbled and grateful to those whose outpouring of goodwill has been of benefit to our cause.

We assembled on the 15th of October, 2011 in order to redress our grievances and commit to one another in support of liberty and the free exercise of speech by all manners of people. Since then, the Occupy Providence movement has become a living symbol of how, through the commitment of members and officials alike, a peaceful assembly can gather non-violently to address complex and pressing issues of injustice.

We have recently learned that the city seeks to take legal action against our assembly in Burnside Park. We believe that our presence is a legitimate exercise of our Constitutional rights to free speech in protesting the abuses of authority and the failures of inaction that have marked our era. To this end, we respectfully restate our intention to remain in Burnside Park for however long it takes to build a society by, for and of the people.

With this understanding, we welcome a dialogue between city officials and our General Assembly about our continued presence in the park and ways in which we can facilitate the maintenance of a safe and clean public space for all.

Occupy Providence