Mainer faults convention’s free-speech zone

BOSTON – Fences, barricades and razor wire keep protesters away from delegates outside the FleetCenter, site of the Democratic National Convention.

But on Wednesday, some delegates crossed the chain link fence and joined demonstrators to oppose the designated protest zone. About 15 delegates, many from Washington state, gathered in the so-called “free-speech zone” by the convention center, telling reporters that while they appreciate the need for security, the zone goes too far.

Shlomit Auciello, a Dennis Kucinich delegate from Warren, Maine, said the controlled protest area is “no way to encourage democracy.”

“It sends the message to people that their words aren’t important,” she said.

The protest zone has been a target of criticism throughout the week, with some protesters refusing to enter it and others calling it a safety hazard.

Jason Sawatzki, a 28-year-old delegate from Seattle, said the protest zone makes the Democratic Party look foolish.

“It’s Tom Ridge. He’s been doing a lot of things to use the Office of Homeland Security toward political ends. We need to call him on it,” Sawatzki said. “We need to get the message out that this isn’t part of core Democratic Party principles.”

At a briefing Wednesday, Boston police commissioner Kathleen O’Toole defended the fenced-in area as a necessary precaution and said police had worked with protest groups and civil liberties organizations for months before the convention to reach an accommodation.

She said the zone allows protesters to get within five feet of delegates as they arrive at the FleetCenter.

Boston police reported one convention-related arrest Wednesday. An intoxicated man, who was not a protester, was ranting about President Bush and was charged with disorderly conduct at about 6 p.m., police said. He was expected to be arraigned Thursday.

O’Toole said she believes the protests have gone smoothly in part because police have tried to monitor demonstrations with the lowest possible level of force.

“Sending 24 bicycles to escort a march through the city is far less intimidating than police in riot gear,” she said.

Wednesday evening, police broke up a confrontation between a group of anarchists and veterans marching against John Kerry. The anarchists refused to move when the march arrived. The two groups exchanged words and jostled each other but police intervened and the anarchists danced away.

Police Superintendent Robert Dunford also stepped in Wednesday to defuse a heated exchange between a pro-Bush veteran and a Kerry supporter. Dunford said it’s up to the protesters to keep their civility and up to the police to keep their sense of humor.