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Police and protesters prepare for the Democratic National Convention in Chicago

2024-07-06 19:33:21, Kosova & Bota CNA

Police and protesters prepare for the Democratic National Convention in Chicago

The National Assembly of the Democratic Party. Source, LSA

In a few weeks, the Democratic National Convention will return to the city of Chicago, in the same place where the bloody clashes in 1968 between police and anti-war protesters left an indelible stain on the history of this party. Now that the conflict between Israel and Hamas continues and protesters are calling on President Biden to act to stop the war, concerns are growing for similar protests.

Police and protesters are preparing for the four-day Assembly, to be held from August 19 to 22, which is expected to be attended by around 50,000 visitors. Police forces are conducting exercises to manage the security situation while 50 organizations are planning protests against President Biden's administration and its stance on the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

The city of Chicago has not issued a permit for protests near where the Assembly will be held, but activists say that won't stop them from expressing their displeasure.

"We want to march to be seen and heard in the National Assembly of the Democratic Party, because we believe that it is extremely important to present these demands to people who can have influence. We want Joe Biden to listen to us", says Liz Rathburn from the organization "Students for a Democratic Society".

According to the leader of the organization "Coalition for the March", Kobi Guillory, it is the responsibility of the Americans to protest against the American government, which, according to him, is offering support to Israel.

"The Democratic administration, led by Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, is enabling genocide in Palestine. "I grew up in South Africa... and I think it is the responsibility of those who live here to end American support for genocide, apartheid and the occupation of Palestine in general," he says.

Chicago's police force, the second largest in the United States, says it will protect the city.

"We want people to exercise their rights and we will protect them. But we will not tolerate crime, violence and vandalism. We will always protect our city. We are ready and we will be ready for the month of August," said Larry Snelling, Director of the Chicago Police Department.

The tensions resemble those of 1968, when during the National Assembly of the Democratic Party that was held in this city, the police reacted with force to the protesters who were demonstrating against the war in Vietnam.

The then-protests against the convention of the Democratic Party were in the series of many riots in American cities that came in response to the assassination of the activist Martin Luther King, just a few months earlier.

"Protesters were being treated as protesters, which means they could be attacked. They could be arrested. To be beaten. We were the bad guys and the police had a free hand," says Judy Gumbo, 1968 protester.

According to Northwestern University history professor Kevin Boyle, the police response to the protests was too violent, but the parallel between the two assemblies lies in the context surrounding them.

"The two assemblies are held at a time when people think that the Democratic Party is supporting a war that they do not support, and this is one aspect of the comparison," he says.

But Professor Boyle hopes the police response will be restrained and far less violent than in 1968.

Authorities in Chicago say that their goal is to provide security during the Democratic Party Convention and that the use of force and arrests will be their last options./ VOA