>The events in Philadelphia show that capitalist democracy >means democracy for the capitalists and repression for >those who resist the rule of capital. > >As of Aug. 9, the R2K Network reported, 323 prisoners of >the 456 or more arrested remain in Philadelphia jails. The >prisoners are subject to beatings, hog-tying and inhumane >crowding; sexual threats and abuse; denial of food, water >and medicine; inadequate legal representation, illegal >arraignments and incredibly high bails; and numerous other >outrages. > >Many were arrested away from the demonstrations because >they had been "profiled" as demonstrators, legal observers >or sympathizers. Many were surrounded by police while on >the streets, beaten and dragged off to jail. Others were >stopped while driving, arbitrarily arrested and had their >vehicles confiscated. > >`CIVIL RIGHTS CATASTROPHE' > >An Aug. 6 Philadelphia Inquirer article circulated by the >New York City Direct Action Network quoted Rita Glazebnik, >a 22-year-old protester from Union City, N.J., who was >released from jail. "The people that did not comply were >tortured," she said. "They were pulled by the hair, they >were kicked. A girl that weighed 96 pounds--she was weighed >in front of me--was thrown on the ground and they stepped >on her head." > >The Inquirer also interviewed Joseph Rogers, executive >director of the National Mental Health Consumers' Self-Help >Clearinghouse, who was arrested while trying to stop an >illegal arrest. "I was locked up for two nights myself, and >at one point I was hog-tied by plastic restraints from my >right arm to my left ankle and told to hop back to my cell. > >"When I told the guard I had a bad knee on which I had had >surgery, they made me crawl back to my cell. They did this >to me because I raised my voice in protest about another >prisoner who was being tortured." > >Jimmy Graham, an R2K Network legal observer, told the >Inquirer that when he was photographing a woman's arrest, >"an officer knocked the camera out and stomped on my face, >wedged my skull against the sidewalk. . The officer said, >`I've been watching you for three days.' " Graham was >arrested and suffered abrasions all over his face. > >According to an Aug. 3 R2K Network report, published on >the Internet by the Independent Media Center of >Philadelphia, bail for protesters practicing jail >solidarity by refusing to give their names was set between >$15,000 and $450,000. > >"To my knowledge, bail has never been set so high for >misdemeanor charges in the history of this country," >declared Ron McGuire, an R2K legal representative. "I >consider this a civil rights catastrophe of the first >order," he added. > >While John Sellers of the Ruckus Society eventually had >his bail reduced from $1 million to a "mere" $100,000, Kate >Sorensen of ACT UP Philadelphia is still being held on $1 >million bail. Sorensen is charged with 10 felonies. > >There were numerous undercover operations mounted against >the demonstrators. An Aug. 4 release by the IMC reported on >what happened to a Texas delegation from the Dallas County >Green Party and Dallas Progressive Action League. Nineteen >people filled their van. They were supposed to meet a group >outside the Greyhound bus terminal in Philadelphia and give >support to a particular planned activity. > >The van's owner, Scott (he would not release his last name >for obvious reasons), told the IMC that "there were >actually three undercover police officers in our affinity >group." > >"One was driving Scott's van," the IMC reported. The >driver was supposed to drive a certain route. He passed his >turn and "drove right instead into a crowd of 15 >Pennsylvania State Police officers." The driver hopped out, >got into a police car and drove off. Everyone else was >arrested. > >WAREHOUSE CENTER RAIDED > >Another IMC dispatch on Aug. 7 reported that Lt. Jeffrey >Herold of the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police >Department was "on the scene in the warehouse raid in >Philly. He also participated in the April 15 raid on the >puppet building, convergence space, the preemptive strike >on the World Bank/IMF demonstrators" in Washington. Herold >is in charge of Special Operations of the D.C. Metro Police >and was part of a disinformation project on April 16. > >The raid on the warehouse, the arrest of 70 people and the >destruction of the large puppet displays exposing the >racist and criminal injustice system were key to the >government disruption. The warehouse was a vital organizing >center for the activity. The shredding of the puppets >showed the police fear of the anti-racist political message >getting out. > >Ever since the Seattle demonstrations against the World >Trade Organization, the capitalist government has been >trying to figure out how to defeat the new movement. Tear >gas, pepper spray, rubber bullets and arrests only spurred >the movement on in Seattle. A massive police presence, mass >arrests, preventive detention and a media campaign of >vilification in Washington on April 16 did not deter the >movement from trying to shut down the International >Monetary Fund and World Bank. > >MOVEMENT TAKES BIG STEP FORWARD > >The Philadelphia direct actions and demonstrations of Aug. >1 were potentially a major political threat to the ruling >class. Not only were the protests directed at the >Republican National Convention, but their demands struck at >a fundamental pillar of U.S. capitalism--racism and >national oppression. > >The call for a day of resistance was initiated by the Aug. >1 Direct Action Coalition, Continental Direct Action >Network, the CD Committee of the New York Free Mumia Abu- >Jamal Coalition and the Student Liberation Action Movement >at Hunter College in New York. It was strongly supported >nationally by the International Action Center. The >Philadelphia Direct Action Group played a vital local role. >International Concerned Family & Friends of Mumia Abu- >Jamal, ACT UP, Refuse and Resist! as well as the Black >Block and other organizations also participated. > >Despite the repression, the fighting spirit of the >movement has not been contained. This is illustrated in the >"Letter from John Does at CFCF"--Curran-Fromhold >Correctional Facility. The letter from 24 male prisoners >was reprinted by the IMC on Aug. 6. > >"Our actions in the streets of Philadelphia were intended >to shine a light on the incarceration of 2 million people >in the U.S.," says the letter, "on the systematic use of >police brutality to terrorize whole communities, on the >racism and cruelty of the death penalty, on the many >political prisoners, including Mumia Abu-Jamal, who are >caged for their commitment to social justice. Our actions >were aimed at disrupting the Republican Convention to the >best of our ability. While we're sorry for any >inconvenience we may have caused the people of >Philadelphia, we are proud of what we did to expose this >rotten system." > >It is because of this spirit of resistance to the system >that the billionaires are so afraid of the new movement and >seek to destroy it. It is for that reason that everyone >must come to the defense of the prisoners and defendants in >Philadelphia and those who may come under attack in Los >Angeles. > >There were undoubtedly tactical setbacks in Philadelphia >based upon the new level of repression. But the bigger >victory was putting forward the struggle against racism and >national oppression as a natural extension of the struggle >against capitalist global exploitation. > >Ultimately the movement must find a way to combine its >militant, combative spirit with an approach to the mass >movement of the workers and the oppressed, for they can >truly shut the system down. The working class has the >ultimate class power to destroy capitalist exploitation. > > - END - > >(Copyleft Workers World Service. Everyone is permitted to >copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but >changing it is not allowed. For more information contact >Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: >[EMAIL PROTECTED] For subscription info send message >to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: http://www.workers.org) > > >From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Date: Thu, 10 Aug 2000 01:23:58 -0400 >Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII >Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT >Subject: [WW] Philly: Supporters Aid Jailed Activists >Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >------------------------- >Via Workers World News Service >Reprinted from the Aug. 17, 2000 >issue of Workers World newspaper >------------------------- > >PHILADELPHIA: SUPPORTERS AID JAILED ACTIVISTS > >As of Aug. 9, some 323 protesters against the prison- >industrial complex and the death penalty were still >imprisoned in Philadelphia, according to the R2K Network. >City officials claimed there were only 152 still being >held. > > The activists were arrested during Aug. 1 protests >against the Republican National Convention. Groups of >supporters are camped out at three local prisons, ready to >aid protesters as they are released. > >About 80 protesters who were willing to give their names >and addresses to the police were released by Aug 4. More >have been released since then after paying high bails. But >most could not afford the outrageously high bails--up to $1 >million--for misdemeanor charges. > >The International Action Center demanded a meeting with >Mayor John Street and American Civil Liberties Union >representative Stefan Presser. Both men claimed they did >not believe police brutality had occurred against >protesters kept in the Roundhouse police station for >several days after the Aug. 1 protests. > >More than a dozen released protesters signed a letter >asking for a face-to-face meeting to tell them what really >happened. Media reports have attempted to whitewash police >actions during the imprisonment. > >In related news, the most serious charges against Thomas >Jones were dropped June 7, including attempted murder of a >police officer. District Attorney Lynne Abraham conceded >that forensic evidence proved a wounded police officer was >shot by another cop, not Jones. Jones' beating by a mob of >cops made international news after it was filmed by a TV >helicopter July 12. > >--Joe Piette, story and photo > > - END - > >(Copyleft Workers World Service. Everyone is permitted to >copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but >changing it is not allowed. For more information contact >Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: >[EMAIL PROTECTED] For subscription info send message >to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: http://www.workers.org) > > >From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Date: Thu, 10 Aug 2000 01:23:58 -0400 >Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII >Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT >Subject: [WW] Socialist Candidates: "Organize ...to Free Mumia!" >Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >------------------------- >Via Workers World News Service >Reprinted from the Aug. 17, 2000 >issue of Workers World newspaper >------------------------- > >SOCIALIST CANDIDATES: "ORGANIZE MILLIONS TO FREE >MUMIA!" > >By Monica Moorehead > >[Workers World Party 2000 Candidates Monica Moorehead and >Gloria La Riva issued the following statement to protesters >at the Democratic National Convention] > >In February 2000, the prison population in the United >States--which was under 300,000 in the early 1970s--reached >2 million inmates. This makes the United States the >greatest prison house on the planet. > >The U.S. establishment has expanded the repressive state >apparatus over the past few decades in three main areas-- >capital punishment, police aggressiveness, and by >establishing what has been called the "prison-industrial >complex." > >This growing repression has aroused resistance. This year >thousands of people defied police to take the streets in >New York to protest the acquittal of four white cops who >shot and killed Amadou Diallo. Hundreds more in Washington >and San Francisco took civil-disobedience arrests to demand >a new trial for death-row inmate and political prisoner >Mumia Abu-Jamal. > >Meanwhile, a movement is gaining momentum around the >country to declare a moratorium on executions. > >THE FIGHT TO FREE MUMIA > >There are more than 3,000 political prisoners in the >United States. These heroic women and men, the majority of >them from nationally oppressed communities, either entered >prisons as activists during the 1960s and 1970s or became >political in jail--like the murdered Black Panther leader >George Jackson. > >They all have at least two things in common: they stand >against racist repression and other forms of injustice, and >the capitalist state wants to silence them. > >Many political prisoners are well known, like American >Indian Movement leader Leonard Peltier, the MOVE 9 and the >Puerto Rican independence fighters remaining in prison. > >The most recognized prisoner on death row is Mumia Abu- >Jamal, "the voice of the voiceless." > >Mumia is more than just another innocent man, like so many >who languish in apartheid-like dungeons. > >In the eyes of the U.S. government, he is "guilty" of >being an uncompromising, unwavering revolutionary who has >helped to expose police brutality, the death penalty, and >other forms of racist atrocities since he became a member >of the Black Panther Party as a teenager. > >Mumia's fight for a new trial has stimulated unity among >progressives and revolutionaries of all nationalities and >ages. The struggle to free Mumia and all political >prisoners is tied to the overall struggle against a class >system that persecutes the poor, workers, the oppressed, >and all who resist the tiny clique of parasitic bosses and >bankers. > >DEMAND A NEW TRIAL > >Marxists continue to search for an opening to struggle. >They reach out to both the existing political movement and >to new layers of the masses on these issues. The opening >right now with the most potential is the struggle to free >Mumia Abu-Jamal. > >By demanding the right to a new trial, the movement can >explain how Mumia got railroaded to death row in the first >place. It can also generalize to explain the role of the >capitalist courts. These courts railroad not only >revolutionaries like Mumia, but all poor people. > >We can not only show how Mumia was a victim of a police >frame-up and brutality, but also link his situation to >millions of others who have been brutalized by the cops and >will never receive real justice through the courts. > >And Mumia would be the first to say that yes, this is the >right thing to do--this is not about me but about the whole >rotten, capitalist system that is quick to oppress and >repress the majority of humanity to make a lousy buck. > >URGENT TASK FOR MOVEMENT > >The most powerful factor that can win a new trial for >Mumia, the one capable of making the government step back >from a "fast track" execution, is the organized force of >millions of outraged people from every community. This is >the urgent task of the progressive and revolutionary >movement in the United States at this time. > >The state--and especially the police force--wants to >execute Mumia as a vehicle to strengthen their repressive >apparatus and to strike a blow against the movement. To >save Mumia and free him, the movement has to help create a >dynamic atmosphere that will make the ruling class worry >about the threat to its stability if the state tries to >murder Mumia. > >A victory in this case will be a strong first step toward >fighting for all the oppressed against the repressive >capitalist state. > > - END - > >(Copyleft Workers World Service. Everyone is permitted to >copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but >changing it is not allowed. For more information contact >Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: >[EMAIL PROTECTED] For subscription info send message >to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: http://www.workers.org) > > >From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Date: Thu, 10 Aug 2000 01:23:59 -0400 >Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII >Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT >Subject: [WW] Protesters Unmask Democratic Convention >Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >------------------------- >Via Workers World News Service >Reprinted from the Aug. 17, 2000 >issue of Workers World newspaper >------------------------- > >AS RICH PACKAGE CANDIDATES: PROTESTERS UNMASK >DEMOCRATIC >CONVENTION > >Street Actions Challenge Racist Repression & War > >By Richard Becker > >Why do they need two parties? > >Why is Corporate America sponsoring--to the tune of $42 >million--two political conventions, two weeks apart on two >coasts, each rivaling the other for glittery >meaninglessness? > >Why all this hoopla to nominate two rich-born white men >whose shared dedication to racist repression, militarism >and a system based on exploitation far exceeds their >relatively small differences of opinion on a few issues? > >Why bother? > >There are, in fact, very real reasons for this exercise in >demagoguery and deception. The fraudulent choice that the >two conventions offer is what the ruling class and their >media spin masters call "democracy." > >Every four years, an ever-smaller fraction of the >population walks into voting booths and selects which >representatives of their class enemy will preside over >their oppression for the next four years. > >It's no secret that the Republicans are the party of Wall >Street and big capital. What is less openly acknowledged is >that the Democrats are too. > >DEMOCRATS' FALSE IMAGE > >But the Democrats have a carefully cultivated image as the >party of labor, African Americans and other oppressed >nationalities, women, lesbian, gay, bi and trans people. > >It is this image that gives the Democrats a special and >indispensable role in the U.S. elections--a farce that is >held up to the rest of the world as the very pinnacle of > __________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. 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