Professional Documents
Culture Documents
FEBRUARY 2008: The St. Paul Principles
(adopted for RNC Convention that year)
1. Our solidarity will be based on respect for a diversity of tactics and the plans of other groups.
2. The actions and tactics used will be organized to maintain a separation of time or space.
3. Any debates or criticisms will stay internal to the movement, avoiding any public or media
denunciations of fellow activists and events.
4. We oppose any state repression of dissent, including surveillance, infiltration, disruption and
violence. We agree not to assist law enforcement actions against activists and others.
AUGUST 2009: The Pittsburgh Principles
(adopted for G20 summit protest that year)
1. Our solidarity will be based on respect for a political diversity within the struggle for social
justice. As individuals and groups, we may choose to engage in a diversity of tacics and plans of
action but are committed to treating each other with respect.
2. We realize that debates and honest criticisms are necessary for political clarification and
growth in our movements. But we also realize that our detractors will work to divide by
inflaming and magnifying our tactical, strategic, personal, and political disagreements. For
the purposes of political clarity, and mutual respect we will speak to our own political
motivations and tactical choices and allow other groups and individuals to speak on their
own behalf. We reject all forms of red-baiting, violence-baiting, and fear-mongering; and efforts
to foster unnecessary divisions among our movements.
3. As we plan our actions and tactics, we will take care to maintain appropriate separations of time
and space between divergent tactics. We will commit to respecting each others organizing space
and the tone and tactics they wish to utilize in that space.
4. We oppose any state repression of dissent, including surveillance, infiltration, disruption and
violence. We agree not to assist law enforcement actions against activists and others. We oppose
proposals designed to cage protests into high-restricted free speech zones.
5. We will work to promote a sense of respect for our shared community, our neighbors, and
particularly poor and working class people in our community and their personal property.
(NOTE: In all cases, bold-text emphasis added by me. SD)