PART ONE ______________________________ ANTIFA INFO-BULLETIN News * Analysis * Research * Action ______________________________ - AFIB No. 257, July 2, 2000 - FREE MUMIA ABU-JAMAL! FREE LEONARD PELTIER! FREE ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS & PRISONERS OF WAR! By the late 1960s the CIA was promoting greater coordination among South America's security forces. According to Hidden Terrors, a study of U.S. police training in Latin America, it was a CIA operative who put a top Argentine Justice Ministry official in touch with authorities in Uruguay to talk about monitoring political exiles in both countries. The agency also brought Brazilian death squad members to meet with Argentine and Uruguayan police. ... The agency's involvement was not limited to arranging meetings; American field officers offered hands on help as well. When intelligence officers from Brazil's U.S.-backed regime began using field telephones in electric torture, American advisers told them how much shock the body could withstand. Uruguayan police received improved torture equipment in Buenos Aires--wires, generators and electric needles so thin they could be slipped between teeth--from the CIA's Technical Services Division office. - Martin Edward Andersen, Dossier Secreto [Boulder, Westview Press, 1993] pp. 113-114. * * * Contents: Number 257 01. MUMIA ABU-JAMAL: Killing for a Job: Lynching Sankofa. 02. REFUSE & RESIST [US]: Crashing the Party at the Executioners' Ball. 03. ANTI-FASCIST ACTION-STOCKHOLM [Sweden]: Last Neo-Nazi Bunker in Sweden Closed Down. 04. ANTI-FASCIST ACTION [Ireland]: The Only Good Nazi... 05. RED ACTION [UK]: London Socialist Alliance Reality Check; LSA Reality Check (Part 2). 06. GERMANY ALERT [Berlin]: CDU Fixed Kohl Probe; 'Über Alles' Fails to Stir Condemnation. 07. THE BETHUNE INSTITUTE FOR ANTI-FASCIST STUDIES [Canada]: Sovereign Citizens: Eldon Warman and the Detax Movement. 08. LA VOZ DE AZTLAN [US]: Racists Plan July 4th Rally in Los Angeles. 09. MAD BUTCHER RECORDS [Germany]: Out Now! The Benefit CD for Our Antifascist Network. 10. WORLD SOCIALIST WEB SITE [UK]: US Green Party Candidate Ralph Nader Courts Buchanan Supporters. 11. THE NEW YORK TIMES: F.B.I. Watched an American Who Was Killed in Chile Coup. 12. REUTERS: 700 March in Rome Against Gay Festival. 13. LOS ANGELES TIMES: Germany: The Nazi Past Underlying Politics Today. * * * ____________________________________________________________________ KILLING FOR A JOB: LYNCHING SANKOFA ____________________________________________________________________ By Mumia Abu-Jamal Column Written 6/22/2000 Source: Mark Clement, [EMAIL PROTECTED] - Tuesday, 27 June 2000 - On the evening of June 22, 2000, at approximately 8:49 p.m., the life of Shaka Sankofa (né Gary Graham) was snuffed out by the state of Texas. With a sweaty-lipped smirk and a nod, Texas Governor George W. Bush cleared the way for the state's killing of a young Black man. The legalized lynching of Sankofa, the 132nd in recent Texas history, was but the latest in a long line of state killings. All of these have but one objective: to propel Bush, the younger, into the White House. With serious questions about his guilt, and equally serious questions about the competency of his original, court-appointed trial counsel, the Graham (Sankofa) case posed serious questions about the entire Texas death machine. Sankofa's trial lawyer has the dubious distinction of having a subsection of Texas death row unofficially named for his: the "Mock Wing." The wing is so named for Harris County defense attorney, Ronald G. Mock, whose twelve clients were shuffled to the Texas death row. With the legalized lynching of Sankofa, seven of his clients have been killed by the state, and five now await death. Sankofa's trial took 2 days, and the lawyer (Mock) called no witnesses during the guilt phase of the trial. In a recent interview Mock told reporters, in a boast, that he flunked criminal law at Texas Southern University's Thurgood Marshall School of Law. He never called, nor interviewed, two eyewitnesses, that would've cleared Sankofa of the May 13th, 1981 killing of a 52-year old white man. One of his former colleagues, Attorney Chester L. Thornton, was quoted in a recent interview describing Ron Mock as the kind of "lawyer who play[s] along with the rules" (New York Times, 6/11/2000). He served the interests of the judges, perhaps, by rushing cases through the trials, but it can hardly be said that he served the interests of his clients, most of whom are dead. The strong, rebellious spirit of Sankofa drew hundreds of supporters to the city of death, Huntsville, Texas, to protest in favor of life. The Sankofa case, which poses the spectacle of the broken Texas death machine killing an innocent young man, is an indictment of a system that is, in essence, one built upon the most premeditated of murders. Politicians, and their corporate media mouthpieces, make much of the kinds of crimes that rock major U.S. cities, like rapes, robberies, and murders. But, usually, poor folks commit crimes for money. Politicians kill poor folks for their own political advantage: for a promotion; for a job. Which one is worse? Who will condemn a criminal political system? Remember Shaka, and like his mighty namesake (of the Zulu Empire), let us build an army, dedicated to life, and to the destruction of the death machine. On this, one of the most important issues of our time, let us understand that there would've been no difference if there was a democrat at the death-switch in Huntsville. Shaka Sankofa was killed by a deadly political system; not a political party. Let the movement grow! Copyright 2000 Mumia Abu-Jamal. All rights reserved. ***** REFUSE & RESIST! 305 Madison Ave. Suite 1166 New York, NY 10165 Tel: 212-713-5657 Fax: 212-822-8535 E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: http://www.mojo.calyx.net/~refuse - Wednesday, 28 June 2000 - ----- ____________________________________________________________________ Call for August 1 actions at the RNC: CRASHING THE PARTY AT THE EXECUTIONERS' BALL! ____________________________________________________________________ The execution of Shaka Sankofa has been a wake-up call for us all. What follows is a call to make August 1 a day of actions at the RNC, concentrating on opposition to the death penalty in general and the execution of Mumia Abu-Jamal in particular. Organizations supporting justice for Mumia are urged to endorse the call and join in supporting the various actions planned for Philadelphia on Aug 1. Responses can be sent to Jeff Garis at [EMAIL PROTECTED] or Clark Kissinger at [EMAIL PROTECTED] * * * Crashing the Party at the Executioners' Ball! The Republican National Convention, July 31-August 3, 2000 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania August 1: A Day of Resistance to the Death Penalty and the Execution of Mumia Abu-Jamal We call on all people of conscience and resistance to join us in Philadelphia to confront the executioners at their gala Executioners' Ball -- the Republican Convention 2000. The previous decade has witnessed a resurgence in the use of executions, spearheaded by leading Republicans such as presidential candidate Gov. George W. Bush (more than 130 executions), including the unconscionable execution of Shaka Sankofa (Gary Graham). The convention host is Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge (over 200 execution warrants signed in five years), and delegates include numerous others who are intent on using body counts as stepping stones to positions of greater power. In solidarity with the many progressive forces who will be expressing their outrage on many issues during this whole convention, we are dedicating August 1, 2000, as a special day to expose these executioners. When the national spotlight is on Philadelphia, let us also expose this city -- with a death row larger than 37 states and nearly 90% people of color -- as the "Capital of Capital Punishment," presided over by "America's Deadliest D.A." - Lynne Abraham. The death penalty is the spearhead of a bi-partisan agenda that has led to an explosion in prison building and the incarceration of 2 million people in the U.S. The death penalty has always been the special friend of inordinate wealth and power, and is used overwhelmingly against people of color, almost exclusively on the poor, frequently executing people who are innocent, and in targeting political dissidents. The executioners view any limitations on their power and any demands for due process and fairness as obstacles to be eliminated. These Republican executioners have been highly successful in pursuing this violent agenda with the cooperation of their Democratic Party colleagues, most notably in the implementation of the Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 which ties the hands of the Federal Courts in reversing death sentence cases on appeal. It is under these severe new limitations that the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal, sentenced to death in a Philadelphia court by a judge who has presided over more death sentences than any other sitting judge, heads into Federal Court in Philadelphia this summer. When this Executioner's Ball is at the center of the international stage, join us in crashing the party and denouncing the deadly deeds of the hosts and the guests of honor! Join with us in Philadelphia, in our unity and diversity, to make Tuesday, August 1, a day of city-wide communication, outreach, protest, audacity and action against the death penalty in the United States and against the execution of Mumia Abu-Jamal! Conveners: [list in formation] Academics for Mumia Abu-Jamal; Campaign to End the Death Penalty; Herman Ferguson; Jack Heyman, International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 10 Executive Board member; International Action Center; International Concerned Family & Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal; Bob Mandel, Executive Board, Oakland Education Association; Robert Meeropol; MOVE; National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty; Pennsylvania Abolitionists; Refuse & Resist!; Solidarity; Western PA Committee to Free Mumia; Rev. S. Michael Yasutake, Executive Director, Interfaith Prisoners of Conscience Project [Organizations listed with individuals may be for identification only] ***** ANTI-FASCIST ACTION - STOCKHOLM Box 38196 100 64 Stockholm, Sweden Tel: +46-739 98 01 59 E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.motkraft.net/afa - Wednesday, 28 June 2000 - ----- ____________________________________________________________________ LAST NEO-NAZI BUNKER IN SWEDEN CLOSED DOWN ____________________________________________________________________ During the 1990's many Swedish nazi spaces were closed down by active anti-fascists - both through militant actions and public opinion campaigns. Some of the more spectacular "shut downs" occurred in Stockholm in the successful "Nazi free Södermalm" campaign. The lack of nazi gathering places has seriously undermined their attempts to hold the Swedish nazi movement together. However, one of the sore spots in every Scandinavian anti-fascist's eyes has long been the Swedish city of Gothenburg. Nazis have been an unusually strong force to reckon with there and the different leftist factions have previously not been able to collaborate in order to achieve any lasting results. Attempts at militant confrontation have even sometimes lead to dismal defeats for anti-fascists in this city of 550 000. But this is no longer the case. A successful campaign and cross-organisational networking has finally brought down the last nazi bunker in Sweden, the infamous boutique "Midgård". Several large demonstrations of up to two thousand participants held last winter finally opened up the eyes of local politicians to the problem. Political pressure was then applied on the owner of the space who has finally decided to oust the nazis. On 30 September 2000 Midgård is history. The chance of them finding a new space to rent in the city is equal to zero. GBG 2001 Gothenburg, is not nazi free, but their days are now numbered! 350 days left to the EU Top meeting in Gothenburg, June 2001! Amsterdam, Cologne, Gothenburg... we'll see you on the barricades! Antifascistisk Aktion-Stockholm Mot sexism, rasism, kapitalism och homofobi. ***** ANTI-FASCIST ACTION - IRELAND PO Box 3355 Dublin 7, Ireland E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: http://www.geocities.com/irishafa - Thursday, 29 June 2000 - ----- ____________________________________________________________________ THE ONLY GOOD NAZI... ____________________________________________________________________ * * * Irish Times Thursday, 29th June 2000 Right Wing Dowager Dies London - Dowager Lady Jane Birdwood, who has been described as 'probably the most right wing person in England', has died at the age of 87. The veteran anti-immigration campaigner died at a nursing home in Hounslow, West London this morning at about 5am. Last year she was diagnosed as suffering from cancer and Alzheimer's disease. Controversial Lady Birdwood last hit the headlines with her Neo Nazi beliefs two years ago when she came close to being prosecuted for distributing racist material. Proceedings were halted as she was found to have an unreliable short term memory. Although professing that 'I don't hate anybody', it was the multiculturalism which she saw on her own doorstep in Acton West London that she used as evidence of Britons being crowded out by ethnic minorities. * * * Other info on Birdwood Lady Jane Birdwood was an avid follower and friend of Oswald Mosley, the leader of England's pro-Hitler movement prior to World War II. An aristocrat through marriage, Birdwood, had a long history of involvement with fascist groups, and operated two extreme-right organizations herself. She also ran for public office on the openly fascist British National Party ticket. She distributed literature claiming that Jews drink Christian blood, have no right to be in England, and ought to be expelled. Birdwood was arrested and convicted twice of spreading white racism and anti-semitism; at the second trial she was found guilty on ten counts of distributing and possessing thousands of anti-semitic leaflets. In the 1970's she was a frequent speaker on NF platforms and provided a link between fascist organisations and smaller local anti-immigration campaigns and fringe groups on the Tory Right [she was a Tory member and prominent in the Monday Club faction]. She was also General Secretary of the British League of Rights, a spokesperson for which once said in an interview "I want to see a Fourth Reich and we all want the blacks and the Jews out of this country". Good Riddance! *****
