It is fairly well known among "activist"circles that on Oct. 16 there are two planned immigrant rights marches and rallies in L.A.

Now some say that it is just two rallies and marches supporting the same issue. However there is the ugly ugly ugly rumor (UNTRUE I am sure - yea right) that says that each rally and march is competing for leadership of the immigrant rights issue.

Now one rally and march is starting at "Five Points" in East L.A. which is at Cesar Chavez Avenue and Lorena and marching to First and Spring St. in L.A. Then the other rally and march starts at Olympic and Broadway and marches to (SAY WHAT!) the same place as the first march to First and Spring Street.

And the rallies are not cooperating on having a joint rally at First and Spring Street at the very same time and at the very same place. HOW IS THAT GOING TO WORK? Will the two rallies fight it out for who gets to speak. Will there be two stages and two sound systems at the very same intersection at the very same time? And no the two rallies and marches are not cooperating one bit - at least so far.

Right now there are permits and plans to have two marches and two rallies going to the very same place at the very same time and having two stages and two sound systems and two sets of speakers - at the very same place and at the very same time. A bit of a conflict to say the least.

The LAPD is trying like crazy trying to end the East L.A. March. But the East L.A. march applied for their permit in March of this year and the permit was granted on May 14 of this year. The Olympic and Broadway march did not even apply for its permit until August 19 of this year.

WHY DID THE POLICE COMMISSION ISSUE A MARCH AND RALLY PERMIT TO A SECOND MARCH AND RALLY GOING TO THE VERY SAME PLACE AT THE VERY SAME TIME?.

And why is the LAPD trying to revoke the permit of the East L.A. march when the East L.A. march was issued its permit a full five months before the Olympic and Broadway march?

Hey it could not be that the LAPD is trying to revoke the East L.A. march permit because the East L.A. march is a mainly East side and Latino march and the competing Olympic and Broadway march is a mainly Westside liberal march could it?

It is also interested to know that IAC has been pretty active in the East L.A. march (but by no means has been the major organizing force) and that A.N.S.W.E.R. has been one of the major organizing forces in the Olympic and Broadway march. And John Parker (Workers World Presidential Candidate and IAC organizer) is scheduled to speak at the East L.A. march. Could that be relevant?

And groups and members of the L.A. "progressive" community are being forced to chose which march and rally to support and to attend.

Can't we all be friends?



Jim DeMaegt

Latinos, Arabs, Muslims, Philippinos, Koreans, South Asians: Are all of these immigrants "Westside liberals?" These various communities have all endorsed the Oct 16 march on Olympic & Broadway.

According to this above article these immigrants are all just a bunch of white liberals. "Westside liberals" can only connote "white people." I have heard this upsetting slander before.

I am a South Asian immigrant not from the "Westside" of Los Angeles and I support the Olympic & Broadway march because it has reached out to include my immigrant community in the march. The other march is no doubt worthy, and I wish it success, but has not worked to include our community.

It is utterly racist and divisive to label the October 16 demonstration that was called nearly 3 years ago by 2 large Latino organizations a march organizaed by "Westside liberals." This author (although I don't know him) is either ill informed or working activly to sew further disunity by publicizing an issue he clearly knows nothing about. Who is he really working for?

In addition to the many untruths in this "article" cloaked in the false spirit of building unity is an omission about the role of the IAC. The author believes the police are fooling around with permits because the IAC is active in the East LA march. However, I see that the IAC is also an endorser of the Olympic & Broadway march. From the information available on the internet about these marches, it seems the author's facts are not to be trusted. The article seems bent on further exacerbating divisions he sees in the movement. This kind of behavior does not help anyone--certainly not ANY immigrant communities--by the police themselves.

I do not know whether the author is a recent immigrant or not. It really does not matter. Either way, he should think twice about pushing for discord rather than unity.

Here is a list of many of the organizations endorsing the Olympic & Broadway march from a flyer I received in my community:

Latino Movement USA, Hermandad Mexicana Nacional, Dolores Huerta, Asociacion Nacional de Salvadoreños Americanos, Alianza Hondureña de Los Angeles, Casa Nicaragua, Alliance for a Just and Lastin Peace in the Philippines, Ecuadorians Residing Abroad, Frente Civico Zacatecano, South Asian Network, National Lawyers Guild, Federación de Clubes de Jalisco, Familias Unidas de Lynwood, Centro Azteca, A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition, Free Palestine Alliance, Pro-People Youth (KMB), National Committee to Free the Cuban Five, Hispanos Unidos, Latin Armst, Fuerza Revolucionaria Salvadoreña, GABRIELA Network-Los Angeles, Dr. John Fernandez, Roosevelt H.S., Campaign for Social Justice, Pacific Palisades Peace Vigil, Palestinian American Congress-LA and National, Union of Palestinian American Women, Green Party LA, Muslim Student Association-Cal State Long Beach, Santa Monica College Coalition in solidarity with Cuba, Association of Latin American Students-SMC, Tendencia Revoluci onaria El Salvador, Apostolic Church, Jóvenes Inc., Coalición Latinoamericana, Mindullae, Moviemento Popular Inmigrante, Fundacion Pro-Inmigrante, Club Ancon, Union Campesina, Jornaleros del Valle de San Gabriel, Union Sin Fronteras, National Network on Cuba, California Congreso of U.S.-Mexican Women Voters, IAC, Casa del Sinaloense, Zacatecanos en Marcha, Federación de Zacatecanos, Movimiento Politico Exterior Mexicano, COMACC, American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, Palestinian American Women’s Association (PAWA), CSUN Students Against War, Americans for Just Peace in the Middle East-OC, People of Color Against Globalization, One Korea LA Forum, Immigration Equality-LA, Ordinary Dharma, and many more.

As the commentator above recognized, this is a divisive tactic being used by infiltrators to provoke disunity among the immigrant rights movement. True, eastside activists can be snooty and provincial when it comes to recognizing other communities west of the l.a. river, but westside activist movments are more often co-opted by white liberals who usually don't speak up for the immigrant community when they should. It is significant that the individual who commented above is Southeast Asian, because other than CARECEN and El Rescate, it is primarily the Southeast Asian and Korean communities that do speak up for immigrants west of the river. But with that out of the way, lets keep in mind that eastside activists also conceived of their march as also a commemoration of the 1994 march in ELA, and I believe they are leery of it being co-opted by the IAC. The downtown march is just as legit and the Southeast Asian and Korean communities know how to keep it under their terms and not be just a patronizing gesture by the IAC (which, by the way, needs to come up with newer strategies in challenging the occupation of Iraq as well--where are the consumer boycotts and other constructive campaign's ya'll?).

A two pronged attack is just what the powers that be don't want to see, so lets put it in their face and dare the mass media to ignore us.

SEE YA'll ON THE 16th!!!

Perhaps you should both continue to march over the cliff.

"the immigrant rights movement"

...if by this you actually mean ILLEGAL immigrant rights, which of course, don't and shouldn't exist.