Month after month, a coalition of police forces trained and prepared for serious troublemaking at a globalization meeting in Miami. But when the long-awaited gathering of hemispheric trade ministers convened, neither violent protests nor terribly unruly demonstrations materialized.
South Floridians should breathe a sigh of relief that the meetings were held in an orderly atmosphere. Perhaps the strong police presence at the Free Trade Area of the Americas summit deterred more extreme behavior.
That said, the FTAA ministerial meeting was not entirely peaceful. During sporadic skirmishes between protesters and security forces, a number of protesters were detained and arrested, sometimes after being squirted with pepper spray.
Now a number of organizations that gathered to voice their disapproval of the FTAA allege they were mistreated and their rights trampled by overzealous police officers. They also decry the overwhelming police presence last month, saying it amounted to a "police state" in downtown Miami.
The rights to peacefully assemble and express opinions are among the most cherished American freedoms. Suggestions that the authorities barred anyone from exercising those rights must be investigated. An independent review of police preparations, presence and responses would be welcome.
Because the federal government provided the money to assemble the FTAA police force, and because trade negotiations are a U.S. government responsibility, Congress should create a bipartisan committee to conduct this appraisal. The review should probe accusations of abuse, as well as questions about the extent of the police presence and the security perimeter around the meeting sites.
The scrutiny, however, must consider the context. This trade meeting was the first globalization conference since 1999 that did not degenerate into violence. And judging by the World Trade Organization gathering in September in Cancun, the threat of mayhem was real, very real.
It is unfair to accuse FTAA organizers of turning Miami into a "police state." The relative quiet on the streets of Miami during the FTAA summit was a good thing. It focused attention where it needed to be: on the FTAA itself, and its benefits and disadvantages.
In fact, on the evening of Nov. 20, the calm and quiet permitted several of the FTAA negotiators to venture beyond the security perimeter to attend a fruitful, earnest town hall meeting with FTAA opponents. That would not have happened had there been violence on the streets.
Instead, the overall tranquility in Miami promoted rather than squelched debate, and that served both the FTAA proponents and opponents well.
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