In
behalf of two of our most treasured prisoners of war -- Mumia Abu-Jamal
and
Leonard Peltier -- we visited seven European cities in ten days and
spent
our last four days in Paris where a major demonstration happened on
December
2, 2000. A letter from one of the longest held political prisoners
in
the country (37 years!), Hugo L.A. Pinell (Yogi) awaited my return from
Paris.
I thought to myself, if I could travel all over France for Mumia and
Leonard,
I could make it to Pelican Bay to see Yogi again.
PARIS AND THE TOUR
On
November 20, 2000, Yroko Major-Nealy and her son, Omari, age two, met me
at
San Francisco's airport to fly nonstop to Paris where we would join other
activists
to begin our tour of six cities in France plus Geneva,
Switzerland.
I was invited to join the group of five already in Europe by
Julia
Wright, daughter of the famous author, Richard Wright, former
correspondent
of the Black Panther Party, and a leader of COSIMAPP
(International
Support Committee for Mumia Abu-Jamal and All Political
Prisoners)
based in Paris. Yroko, daughter of our distinguished poet/writer,
Devorah
Major, and granddaughter of writer/BPP historian, Reggie Major, a
poet
herself who has lived in Paris and speaks French, kindly agreed to
accompany
and assist me (I'm a disabled wheelchair user.) Omari became our
little
mascot and provided us with comic relief during the long distance
drives
between cities. By trip's end, he had captured everyone's heart,
especially
mine.
The
delegation, which left Paris on November 22, also included Apache-Xicano
Bobby
Castillo from the Bay Area, international spokesperson for Leonard
Peltier;
Sylvain Duez, Alessandrini, co-coordinator of the Leonard Peltier
Defense
Committee in France; Katherine (French) and Lauren Cunningham
(American
resident of Geneva) who handled all the driving, and yours truly,
activist/journalist
and former member of the New Haven Chapter of the BPP.
Local
activist groups in the various towns prepared meetings with the public
and
the press to raise awareness about these two cases, the FBI's
COINTELPRO,
the situation for all political prisoners and prisoners of war,
racism
and oppression in the United States, the struggle to abolish the
death
penalty and other pertinent issues. The panel addressing the various
audiences
included Bobby, Sylvain, Julia, and I, plus interpreters. Sylvain
would
commence in French with a full report on the case of Peltier. Our
Native
American comrade-brother and leader of the American Indian Movement
was
falsely convicted of killing two FBI agents in 1975 at Pine Ridge. Bobby
would
follow Sylvain describing his prison experiences, meeting Peltier at
Lompoc
Federal Prison in Southern California, and raising consciousness re
the
plight of indigenous and Chicano peoples in the U.S.
Julia,
who has lived in France since she was four, would provide audiences with a
detailed report on Mumia's case and the breadth of international support he has
for a
new
trial to prove his innocence. I would speak last and invite questions
from
the audiences to allow the panel to respond and facilitate further
discussion.
Since Mumia and I are on the same page, I tried to represent him
by
painting a global picture of our revolutionary movement and objectives,
in
addition to exposing the spiraling prison industrial complex, death row
and
prison populations, etc.
We
spoke to standing-room-only crowds in Caen and Amiens, in northern
France.
In the former, mostly teachers and other professionals attended,
while
in Amiens and Geneva the interest came largely from a younger audience
of
students and activists. Even with the obstacle of translating between
English
and French, the question and answer periods were lively and fruitful
for
the audience and the speakers.
In
Geneva, a demonstration ended in front of the office of the United
Nations
High Commissioner on Human Rights, Mary Robinson, and in a public
conference.
Unfortunately, Yroko, Omari and I missed the demo, but were
present
at the evening event where our panel plus a guest speaker from
Amnesty
International addressed a very multi-cultural audience. We spent two
days
there and had a successful press conference with reporters from major
dailies
present. Lauren later sent me the newsclippings from Le Courrier,
Tribune
de Geneve, and movement tabloid Aujourd'hui No. 74. Both major
dailies
reported Amnesty International's support for Mumia and Leonard,
citing
a letter dated November 16, 2000 to President Clinton by its
Secretary
General, Pierre Sane, stating "All the legal channels open to
Leonard
Peltier being exhausted, we are firmly convinced that an act of
clemency
is not only opportune, but necessary, in the name of justice." But
of
course we know that Clinton refused to grant the pardon. After all, the
LPDC
didn't contribute millions of dollars to his enrichment.
One
of the highlights for me in Geneva was the opportunity to lunch with a
Libyan
national who answered some hard questions. When I asked him (through
a
translator) about housing in Libya, e.g., he said "If you live in it, it's
yours."
He also noted that there was no evidence against the Libyans then on
trial
in the Lockerbie case, that the evidence pointed to Iran wherein the
motive
is clear. The U.S. had shot down an Iranian commercial jet killing
nearly
300 civilians, numerous children among them, and never compensated
the
families. This could well have been a retaliatory strike. (See Alexander
Coburn's
post-trial editorial.)
A
lack of wheelchair access made the trip very difficult for everyone. In
fact,
I often felt such a burden (had to be lifted in and out of the van), I
wondered
if my participation was worth all the trouble. I didn't miss too
many
opportunities to speak out about the lack of accessibility, touting our
ADA
of '90, and urging them to liberate the disabled in Europe. However, I
must
say that all the cities we visited were immaculately clean and very
beautiful.
I found Amiens especially charming. It was such a pleasure to
walk
and roll through clean city streets with no homeless folks sleeping in
doorways
or pushing shopping carts.
From
Switzerland, we drove to Southern France, Lyons, Montpellier, and
Dijon.
The French/Swiss countryside was surprisingly green and lush for
winter
months, making the scenery that includes centuries' old houses and
castles
very beautiful.
At
the University of Montpellier (20,000 students) we were very well received even
though we arrived late. We ran overtime and had to move from one classroom to
another with considerable delay, which I thought would cause us to lose the
audience. But they all stayed with us and had lots of questions; one of the
most common was on the presidential debacle. I expressed delight that the
UNdemocratic electoral process was finally being exposed; that if Bush won he
would “organize” women, and provide
a
wake-up call to all oppressed Americans to get busy. On the other hand, a
Gore
win might have lulled folks into a false sense of well being.
The
day after arriving back in Paris, Bobby and I were interviewed
separately
by Dennis Brown of Radio France International reaching some 126
stations
worldwide. They were edited into two 24-min. programs. I was asked
to
send back a few samples of my programming here; and I left him a CD I had
with
me of Mumia's commentaries ("Man is the Bastard" that includes
"Black
August,"
etc.) to sample as well. Incidentally, Lauren called me to the
window
at the radio station and there brightly lit with its 2000 flashing
lights
was the Eiffel Tower close by and so magnificent. It really is "all
that."
On
route back to the hotel from RFI, we were stuck in a traffic jam for 2
1/2
hours due to a subway strike. We tuned in to a public radio station
where
Bobby and Julia were to be on live. We heard the DJ stalling, playing
KRS-One,
and other progressive hip hop artists, waiting for them to arrive
because
they were stuck in traffic too. They made it and did a great job. It
was
soooo good to hear advocacy for Mumia and Peltier going out over the
airwaves
of Paris.
December
2nd, the day of the major rally, we were apprehensive about the
turnout
because it was raining off and on, as it had through most of the
tour.
When we finally got to where the march was starting, my mind was
blown.
Thousands of people of all colors from all over France and Europe had
gathered
led by a humungus banner hand-held by some 20 or more people and
stretching
across the wide boulevard. Julia, Bobby, Yroko, Omari, an
Afro-Frenchman,
Andre, in a manual wheelchair, and I (in a motorized chair)
were
positioned in front of the banner and behind two flatbed trucks
carrying
sound and camera people. One woman walked alongside the sound truck
with
a mic leading the chants in complete harmony. I cried tears of joy on
hearing
thousands chanting in cinque, "Liberez Mumia, Peltier and tous les
prisonniers
politiques!" and "Abol le peine du mort" or "Bush, Clinton,
assassins!"
(Free Mumia, Peltier. and all political prisoners; abolish the
death
penalty; and Bush!Clinton! murderers!). I was chanting in French too
after
a few blocks of marching. When we got to the U.S. embassy, our
"panel"
spoke
to the crowd. I shouted the names of as many political prisoners as I
could
recall off the top to the Paris throng: "Liberez Mumia, Peltier, Hugo
Pinell,
Ruchell Magee, Chip Fitzgerald, Warren Wells, Marilyn Buck, Sundiata
Acoli,
Mutulu Shakur, Assata Shakur, et tous les prisonniers." After the
rally
ended, peacefully, a group of young Afro-European men who had come all
the
way from Amsterdam videotaped an interview asking me lots of questions.
Police
kept a very low profile throughout the march; I didn't notice any
until
we got to the U.S. Embassy where we were greeted by an enormous
military
contingent. Several of us had to wait for Sylvain and Lauren to
bring
the van back to pick us up. So we saw the police vans leave and there
must
have been nearly ten vans including an army truck. Talk about overkill!
It
is also interesting to note that the established press in Paris is
similar
to that of the U.S. in that there was absolutely no coverage of the
march.
Imagine! Nearly 5,000 people marching through Paris in the rain
shouting
and chanting in unison and not a word about it in the media.
The
last day, our day of rest, Yroko, Omari and I managed to get to Le
Louvre
and see the Egyptian exhibit and old masters' and French
impressionists'
paintings including the Mona Lisa. The Egyptian sculptures,
artifacts,
jewelry, etc., dating as far back as 3,000 BC, were magnificent
and
testimony to ancient African greatness. This most famous museum is
awesome
-- beyond my wildest imagination. It would take days, perhaps a week
to
see it all. And I ran out of juice just seeing a little of it. On
leaving,
with my wheelchair light flashing, we found the only restaurant
that
was accessible in the area and it was Mexican. With a straight face
they
ask if you want smoking or non-smoking, then put you one table away
from
the smokers. It appeared that every other person in Europe smokes.
In
summary, I learned that globalization is already a fact of international
life.
Traveler's checks are obsolete; I could use my ATM card everywhere in
Paris
and the ATM machines would spit francs right out of my U.S. checking
account.
I saw more people of color in Paris than one normally sees in
downtown
San Francisco, and, needless to say, MacDonald's, etc., are
ubiquitous.
Anti-American feeling is strong, so it wouldn't be too hard to
win
European solidarity for our efforts to transform this
capitalist/imperialist
system. Immigration is as big a problem in Europe as
it
is here, which made me feel more keenly the need for open borders and
revolutionary
globalization. I.e., if the corporations can freely move all
over
the globe, then people (the corporate employees) should be just as
internationally
mobile.
The
11 ½ hour flight home made me never want to fly again. I don't know how
I
would have survived it had it not been for the showing of Crouching
Tiger/Hidden
Dragon, which I saw twice before landing at SFO, December 4.
Pelican Bay
After
sufficiently recuperating from this grueling journey, I resolved to go
and
see about our Yogi Bear, who unlike Mumia and Leonard, has been all but
forgotten.
As some of you know, Hugo Pinell was one of the San Quentin Six
charged
with assault, murder, and conspiracy in the wake of the August 21,
1971,
tragedy. In what is believed to have been a prison administration
setup,
Soledad Brother George Jackson was assassinated in an alleged escape
attempt
during which three guards and two inmate turnkeys were also killed.
Labeled
"the most dangerous prisoner in California," Yogi was convicted of
assault
on two guards in the State's longest trial ending in 1976. The six
prisoners
were forced to bear 30 lbs. of chains at every court appearance,
which
in itself is unconstitutional. Yogi is the only defendant to remain
locked
down. He's been in prison for 37 years now, most of them in solitary
confinement,
the last 11 in the notorious torture chamber in Pelican Bay
known
as the SHU (Security Housing Unit), a hi-tech, windowless monstrosity
designed
to drive people insane.
Ida
McCray and Lesley Phillips helped me rent an accessible van and make the
long
drive to Crescent City on the 27th of January for my appointment with
Yogi
on the 28th. I definitely got my batteries recharged on seeing our
brother
in such great shape. Yogi has lost all his color (11 years without
sun)
but none of his strength both physical and spiritual. He is truly
amazing.
We were all inspired to work harder for his release and that of all
our
POW's. Yogi's lawyer, Lisa Short of Portland, Oregon, is back to work on
his
case and will accompany him to his next Board appearance in April, 2001.
It's
imperative that we struggle hard for the release of our warriors who
put
their lives dead on the line for their people -- us! Although Yogi was
first
incarcerated when he was only 19 for a criminal offense, he came under
the
influence of W.:L. Nolen, George Jackson, Howard Tole, et al., who were
struggling
to transform the criminal mentality into a revolutionary one.
These
soldiers who formed the Black Movement behind the walls, made it safe
for
other Blacks to walk the yard in the Sixties when brothers were commonly
subjected
to stabbing and assaults by racist inmates in collusion with
racist
guards. Yogi saved lives. But by intervening in guard-prisoner
assaults,
he subjected himself to the wrath and enmity of the Administration
as
well as the Aryan Brotherhood and the Mexican Mafia, suffering untold
beatings,
stabbing and tortures, but always fighting back and standing
strong.
He's one of our unsung heroes who has sacrificed so much for our
liberation.
He turns 56 on March 10. Enough is enough and too much is too
damned
much. He has maxed out on all his convictions, and the only thing
keeping
him in prison now -- especially since he has had no infractions for
17
years -- is pure vengeance. ("Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord.") I
urge
you
to write Yogi and let him know you support his release. His address is
as
follows: Hugo L.A. Pinell, A88401, D8-214, P.O. Box 7500, Crescent City,
Ca.,
95531-7500. You may write Leonard Peltier, who is serving his 24th year
in
Federal prison and is in failing health, at 89637-132, P.O. Box 1000,
Leavenworth,
Ks. 66048. Mumia Abu-Jamal, nearly 20 years in prison, can be
reached
at AM 8335, 175 Progress Drive, Waynesburg, Pa. 15370-8089. Mumia
and
Leonard were activists and leaders targeted by COINTELPRO and framed for
murder
We must accelerate our campaign for their release and that of all our
POW's
and political prisoners.
For
more information on Mumia and Leonard:
www.mumia.org
www.freepeltier.org
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