This list of five demands seems to clear the way for Occupy Seattle to move from its Westlake Park location to City Hall at Mayor McGinn's suggestion.
Occupy Seattle protesters submit list of demands to mayor
Organizers said they'd been told to submit the list by 8 p.m. Tuesday or face eviction from Westlake Park the following morning. Because the protesters submitted the list on time, they were given another 24 hours at Westlake Park.
The list includes five conditions under which the protesters would agree to move to City Hall Plaza for long-term occupancy as the mayor has suggested.
The protesters have demanded the approval of four large tents at the new location for use as a kitchen, an infirmary, a supply storage, and an information center.
They also want at least one guaranteed parking space near City Hall Plaza that allows for around-the-clock parking, as well as permission to occupy their tents around the clock at teh new location.
Also on the list of demands is 24-hour access to the first floor of City Hall for restroom access, and a written statement from the mayo approving the protesters' long-term occupancy of City Hall Plaza.
Seattle Police have been intensifying a campaign of harassment and what might be described as a campaign of psychological intimidation.
The Crazy Times Never Stop at Occupy Seattle
posted by PAUL CONSTANT on TUE, OCT 11, 2011 at 2:19 AM
...Suddenly, a fourth announcement about trespassing in the park came from a parked police car. That's when things almost turned very bad.
Protesters started circling the police car, screaming at the officer inside to either arrest them or shut up already. Listen: These kids are tired from sleeping on concrete in a noisy downtown environment for days on end, and they've been rained on for a great deal of that time. Of course some of them started to lose their minds a little bit; if you're honest with yourself, you know that you would, too. I thought one angry young man was going to punch the windshield of the police car before his friends, preaching nonviolence in gentle voices, talked him down from his rage and away from the car. I found the mayor's representative, but he shuddered and refused to talk to me when I identified myself as being from The Stranger.
It became clear to all but the most sleep-deprived of the protesters that all the police were doing was making intermittent announcements just to keep them from getting a good night's sleep. It's an escalation of infinitesimal, ever-more-annoying steps: First they took the tents away and made them sleep on the ground. Then they took even their most primitive structures away from them and told them they could lie on the ground with tarps directly over them. They took away their umbrellas. They refused to allow them to sleep in the one dry spot in Westlake Park. And now they were trying to heckle them into dissolution. What a bunch of passive-aggressive bullshit. What a shameful lack of respect they're showing these protesters. To their credit, Occupy Seattle realized the SPD's gambit and refused to take the bait. In their general assembly, which many conservative sites are mocking as a useless way to make decisions, they all agreed to get some rest in order to be refreshed for tomorrow. Many of them tucked in under their tarps and went to sleep. Others stood in front of police cars, blocking the headlights with their bodies so that the rest of their friends could sleep without the direct light shining on them, and sang a happy song. They seem to have survived another night.
Then earlier today the Mayor issued what I would consider a boilerplate statement implying a forced eviction.
Mayor Mike McGinn: Update on Occupy Seattle – Oct. 11
The rule prohibiting camping in parks is a long-standing provision of the Seattle Municipal Code, which has previously been communicated to event participants. We continue to make City Hall available, which is an appropriate facility for camping associated with protests.
We have been patient with Occupy Seattle because we have been giving event participants the opportunity to respond to our offer of City Hall. We also wanted to ensure public safety for the large scale free speech activities planned for the long weekend.
This is consistent with our approach from the first day. We wish to support valid free speech activities, while working to bring Occupy Seattle into compliance with applicable city rules and regulations. Those efforts will continue. The Mayor’s Office and other city representatives are communicating with participants in the Occupy Seattle protests with the goal of resolving these issues.
I hope these 5 modest conditions are acceptable to the City and the Mayor and Occupy Seattle will soon no longer be faced with to possibilities of eviction and or arrest.
UPDATE: Now up Occupy Seattle Live Stream
Apparently the General Assembly was split on whether to move.