> > WW News Service Digest #62 > > 1) Former Black Panther: "I'm Innocent " > by [EMAIL PROTECTED] > 2) NYPD Kills Again > by [EMAIL PROTECTED] > 3) Elian Closer to Home? > by [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >------------------------- >Via Workers World News Service >Reprinted from the Mar. 30, 2000 >issue of Workers World newspaper >------------------------- > >POLICE ACCOUNT RAISES MORE QUESTIONS THAN >ANSWERS: FORMER BLACK PANTHER: "I'M INNOCENT OF >SHOOTING CHARGES" > >By Dianne Mathiowetz > >At an appearance in Federal Court in Montgomery, Ala., on >March 21, Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin--formerly known as H. Rap >Brown--declared that he is innocent of the charges that he >killed a sheriff and wounded a second deputy in Fulton >County, Ga., on March 16. > >Al-Amin, a respected leader in the Muslim community of >Atlanta for close to 25 years, had reportedly fled after >the incident on March 16. He was the subject of a >nationwide hunt led by the FBI until he was captured four >days later in Lowndes County, Ala. > >Al-Amin is being represented by C.L. Chestnut, a famed >Black civil rights attorney and one of the first Black >lawyers in Alabama. Chestnut will fight the order to >extradite Al-Amin to Georgia. > >An army of about 150 FBI and other police agents, aided by >tracking dogs and an infrared radar helicopter, arrested >Al-Amin in White Hall, Ala., a small town between >Montgomery and Selma. > >Al-Amin has a long history with the Black community of >Lowndes and its neighboring counties. That is where, in >1965, he spent his first years as an organizer for the >Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) >registering Black voters. > >At the time, this area was a stronghold for ardent >segregationists who ruled with a violent fist against any >who challenged the status quo. In response, a mass rally of >sharecroppers and farmers formed the Lowndes County Freedom >Organization and took the black panther as its symbol. > >Over the years, Al-Amin has returned many times to Lowndes >County. > >Al-Amin's old civil rights associates, as well as many of >the residents of White Hall, expressed disbelief in the >police charges. He is regarded as a hero for standing up to >the entrenched racist hierarchy 35 years ago and as a >friend who still works to better the condition of the >majority Black population. > >Many of today's Black elected officials, including White >Hall's local sheriff and mayor, credit Al-Amin for making >their elections possible. > >WHAT REALLY HAPPENED? > >With each day since the shooting, the details released by >the authorities in Atlanta have changed, raising more >questions in the minds of many about what really happened >on March 16. > >Officials said that that the Fulton County sheriff and >deputy were serving a warrant on Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin. > >The arrest warrant was issued following the failure of Al- >Amin to appear in a Cobb County court on charges arising >from a traffic stop on May 31, 1999. At that time, police >charged him with driving without proof of insurance, and >theft by taking and impersonating a police officer. > >But these charges would not have been difficult to >address. Al-Amin reportedly had bought the car a few months >before. And the badge that the cop saw in his wallet was >issued to him as an auxiliary police officer in White Hall, >Ala. The badges were given to civilians who assisted at >events like parades or football games. > >The police version of the events on March 16 is as >follows. The sheriff and deputy went to the address on the >warrant at about 10 p.m. The community store that Al-Amin >has operated for years was locked and no one there, so they >got back in their car and drove around the block. When they >returned, a black Mercedes was parked at the corner near >the store. > >Police claim that when they ordered the occupant to get >out of the car and to show his hands the person began >firing a .223 caliber assault rifle. Although the two >sheriffs were wearing bullet-proof vests, each was shot >several times in the lower body and extremities. They fired >their guns at least 10 times. > >Investigators discovered a blood trail leaving the scene >and followed it to an abandoned house a couple of blocks >away. Meanwhile, the Mercedes was reportedly driven away by >an unknown person. > >Police asserted that the shooter had been wounded. Yet >paramedics examined Al-Amin on March 20 and found that he >had no injuries. > >Immediately after the March 16 shootings, the 4-square >block area surrounding the scene was cordoned off. More >than 100 police began a house-to-house search. Helicopters >with search lights circled overhead throughout the night. >SWAT team members and police with attack dogs roamed the >streets. > >This area is home to more than 100 Muslim families who >have settled in the West End community since Al-Amin >founded a mosque there in 1976. > >POLICE, MEDIA DEMONIZED AL-AMIN > >The very first news stories described the incident as an >ambush by a gunman who "had a vendetta for police >officers." Al-Amin, despite being a respected community >leader and Muslim cleric for almost 25 years, was >immediately labeled as violent and dangerous by Atlanta law >enforcement spokesmen. Following the death of one of the >officers, the inflammatory rhetoric escalated. > >Every newscast and newspaper story identifies Al-Amin as a >former Black Panther Party member, complete with 1960s >images of H. Rap Brown in dark sunglasses and black >clothing. > >While this demonizing is an obvious attempt to sway public >opinion against Al-Amin, it makes clear that it is his >central role in the Black Power movement which shook the >racist foundations of this country that has earned him the >undying hatred of the ruling class. > >Born in 1943 in Baton Rouge, La., Al-Amin attended >Southern University from 1960-1964. His experiences growing >up in segregated Louisiana served to fuel his passion to >fight injustice and in 1965, he became an organizer for the >Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee in Alabama. He >later became its chairperson. > >Along with Kwame Toure--known then as Stokely Carmichael-- >and other young Black activists, Al-Amin developed a >revolutionary analysis of both domestic and foreign issues. > >Throughout the colonized countries of Africa, Asia and >Latin America, national liberation movements were fighting >to free themselves from economic and political domination >by the U.S. and European powers. > >During that period of time, the U.S. was actively involved >in suppressing popular struggles for independence and >freedom through military intervention and assassination. >From Guatamala to Iran to the Congo, U.S. foreign policy >was set to preserve the control of the rich few. The >Vietnam War with its daily "body counts" and massive air >assaults was escalating. > >In the U.S., the civil rights struggle against Jim Crow >segregation, led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was being >met by murder, bombings, arson and beatings. Organized >racist thugs, such as those in the Ku Klux Klan, operated >openly--often in collusion with local police authorities. > >It was in this context that Al-Amin and others formulated >the demand for "Black Power" and advocated the right of >armed self-defense against attack. His oft-quoted statement >that "violence is as American as cherry pie" is an accurate >commentary, then and now, about government policy. > >The Black Panther Party for Self Defense had drawn the >wrath of the government with its community organizing >against police brutality, the infusion of drugs into Black >neighborhoods and the low-level of social services provided >for Black people. > >Al-Amin was made an honorary member of the Black Panther >Party in 1968 and named a Minister of Justice. > >Political and social unrest was sweeping the country. Al- >Amin and others were targeted by the police as part of the >infamous COINTELPRO. Thousands of anti-war activists, >leaders of Black, Native, Latino, and Asian liberation >organizations and civil rights advocates were arrested and >jailed, often on bogus charges. False and planted evidence, >coerced and phony testimony, and set-ups tainted their >convictions by police informers and provocateurs. > >Al-Amin was charged with inciting riot and arson in 1967 >in Cambridge, Md. Following a speech he made at a rally, he >was shot and wounded by an unknown assailant. A rebellion >broke out in the community and a number of buildings burned >down. > >Brown went underground before his trial on the incitement >to riot charges. A nationwide hunt was launched. He was >arrested in 1971 in New York City near the scene of a bar >hold-up. > >While serving five years in prison for robbery, he >converted to Islam and took the name Jamil Abdullah Al- >Amin. > >He moved to Atlanta in 1976 after being paroled from >prison. Al-Amin opened a grocery and community store in an >area of Atlanta devastated by poverty and drugs. A leader >of the Atlanta Community Mosque, Al-Amin became a powerful >force in the neighborhood against drug dealers, slum >landlords, brutal cops and neglectful city agencies. He is >widely credited by the residents of having saved the >community from these criminal and anti-social elements. > >Although no longer identifying himself as a political >revolutionary, Al-Amin advocated the teaching of the >Islamic principle that it is righteous to resist tyranny >and oppression. He continued to assert the right to self- >defense. > >In 1995, Al-Amin was arrested by members of the FBI Anti- >Terrorist unit and ATF agents along with Atlanta police for >shooting a man in the leg in West End Park. The case fell >apart after the victim asserted that he had never >identified Al-Amin as the shooter, but that he had been >coerced by the police to name Al-Amin. > >Police have publicly complained in Atlanta about the lack >of cooperation they are receiving from the West End >community. Many neighbors have been quoted as saying the >police version of events does not square with the man they >have known almost 25 years. > >Muslim leaders throughout the city have urged the media >not "to accuse, try and convict Imam Jamil Abdullah Al- >Amin." > >Al-Amin only had a brief moment to speak to reporters at >his Montgomery hearing. He stated that his arrest was the >result of a "government conspiracy." > > - 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: Wed, 22 Mar 2000 22:29:04 -0500 >Content-type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 >Content-transfer-encoding: Quoted-printable >Subject: [WW] NYPD Kills Again >Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >------------------------- >Via Workers World News Service >Reprinted from the Mar. 30, 2000 >issue of Workers World newspaper >------------------------- > >NYPD KILLS AGAIN: PROTESTERS MARCH THROUGH MIDTOWN >STREETS, BLOCK TRAFFIC > >By G. Dunkel >New York > >A police killing of an unarmed young Black man--the third >in 13 months--has led to another political battle with the >pro-cop Mayor Rudy Giuliani who is facing off with >virtually the entire Black community. > >Patrick Dorismond, a 26-year old Haitian worker, died at >the hands of an undercover cop early on March 16. For no >special reason, two undercover cops had approached >Dorismond while he was hailing a cab. > >The cops tried to entrap Dorismond by asking him if he had >marijuana to sell them. Witnesses reported that Dorismond >angrily rejected their request. Moments later, a third >back-up cop shot and killed the young man. > >Mayor Giuliani further inflamed the crisis in the days >after Dorismond's death. At news conferences, Giuliani >tried to demonize Dorismond as having been "no altar boy." >The mayor produced juvenile arrest records that had merely >resulted in two disorderly conduct pleas and a sealed >juvenile arrest made when Dorismond was 13 years old. > >Giuliani stepped up his attack on Dorismond at a March 21 >news conference in which the mayor held up for the cameras >a police complaint resulting from an alleged fight with a >woman. > >Giuliani is holding a kind of public media "trial" to >convict a man who the police have already executed. These >irrelevant and blatant moves to demonize the victim in >order to "justify" the shooting of this unarmed man have >been widely denounced. > >The NYPD killing of Dorismond has generated outrage. > >A thousand people marched through midtown Manhattan and >blocked traffic on March 18 to protest the killing. > >Passersby along the route of march applauded, cheered and >some even joined in. > >At one point the demonstrators blocked traffic in Herald >Square for about half an hour, chanting, "NYPD murders >again." A taxi driver and a van driver, both Black and >caught in their vehicles in the stalled line of traffic, >got out of their vehicles and joined in the chanting. > >The people who came to march-- >Dorismond's family, neighbors, fellow workers, members of >the Haitian community, African Americans, progressive >whites--expressed their grief and anger, as well as their >determination to stop police brutality in New York. > >Phannon, a neighbor of the Dorismond's who had watched >Patrick grow up, said: "I am one angry Haitian woman. This >is the last one. We don't need another. There won't be >another." > >Larry Holmes of Workfairness chaired the rally before the >march. "The only effective way to end police brutality," he >said, "is community control of the police. The people are >going to haunt the NYPD until this happens." > >Monica Moorehead told the crowd: "The verdict exonerating >the killer cops who fired 41 shots at Amadou Diallo was >interpreted as a license to kill by the rest of the NYPD. >Witnesses say the police officers who tried to entrap Mr. >Dorismond into selling them drugs never identified >themselves. His co-workers and eyewitnesses only learned >that these murderers were police officers hours after the >incident." > >Moorehead spoke for Millions for Mumia and the >International Action Center. These groups, along with Ha=8Bti- >Progr=8As/Haiti Support Network, had called the demonstration. > >Marie Dorismond, the victim's mother, and his sister >Nephititi Dorismond spoke. Both made it clear that they did >not believe that the state of New York and its district >attorneys would conduct a fair and impartial investigation >of Dorismond's death. Grief and determination resounded in >the end of both their talks: "No justice, no peace!" > >Pat Chin, from Workers World Party, stressed that "Haitian >people couldn't expect justice under U.S.-backed dictator >Duvalier, they needed people's justice. And the truth is >that working class--especially Black and Latino--people in >this city cannot expect justice from our class enemies. >This is not merely a march, it is a step to build a new, >far-reaching, radical and revolutionary people's movement. >We need people's justice." > >Other speakers included Neilly Bailley and Star from the >Black Radical Congress, Pat Chin from Workers World Party, >Teresa Gutierrez from the Committee to Return Eli=A0n >Gonz=A0lez, Charles King from Housing Works, and Gail Walker >from Pastors for Peace. > >The demonstration began in front of Wakamba Lounge, the >spot where the killing took place a few blocks south of >Times Square. Then marchers moved north to 42nd Street and >down Broadway to Herald Square, in front of Macy's. At >Herald Square the police singled out and attacked >individuals, arresting eight people. > >One of the protesters arrested was released that night. >The other seven were arraigned the next day, mostly on >charges of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Three >pleaded guilty at their hearing and were given one day of >community service; the other four will go to trial in >April. They include the Legal Aid lawyer who was arrested >while serving as a legal observer during the demonstration. > >The Haitian community is actively organizing to mount a >more massive protest. > > - 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: Wed, 22 Mar 2000 22:35:18 -0500 >Content-type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 >Content-transfer-encoding: Quoted-printable >Subject: [WW] Elian Closer to Home? >Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >------------------------- >Via Workers World News Service >Reprinted from the Mar. 30, 2000 >issue of Workers World newspaper >------------------------- > >ELIAN CLOSER TO HOME? RULING SETS BACK CUBAN RIGHT >WING > >By Gloria La Riva > >For nearly four months people have been demonstrating in >both Cuba and the United States demanding the return home >of six-year-old Elian Gonzalez, who was in effect kidnapped >by the Cuban right wing in Miami after washing up on these >shores. Now a federal judge has ruled that the child must >be returned to his father. > >In a 50-page decision, Federal District Judge Michael >Moore wrote that "Each passing day is another day lost >between Juan Gonzalez and his son." He also stressed that >further delay would "bring unintended harm" to the child. > >In doing so, Moore rejected a lawsuit filed by Elian's >distant relatives in Miami, who were demanding that the >judge order the Immigration and Naturalization Service to >grant the boy asylum. > >Moore ruled that U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno was not >bound to consider an appeal filed by the great-uncle, >Lazaro Gonzalez, who is holding Elian in Miami. > >In a March 21 Washington press conference on the decision, >Reno said, "Only Elian's father can speak for his son on >federal immigration matters. . It has been four months >since Elian was separated from his father and lost his >mother. It is time for this little boy to move on with life >at his father's side." > >U.S. GOVERNMENT CULPABILITY > >She failed to say that it has been four months because of >the U.S. government's refusal to do the right thing from >the start. For example, she refused to act on her Jan. 5 >decision that Elian belonged in Cuba. Instead, she openly >invited his Miami captors to pursue their battle in court. > >Given the green light, his greatuncle Lazaro Gonzalez went >to court with the financial backing of the right-wing Cuban >American National Foundation and other forces behind the >scenes. A bank of high-paid lawyers filed suit against the >Justice Department, arguing that Elian should have been >given an asylum hearing to remain in the U.S. > >By federal law, the U.S. government officially designates >every Cuban who arrives in the U.S. illegally to be a >"political exile," and thus entitled to apply for "asylum." >This policy is codified in the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966 >and is designed to encourage illegal migration from Cuba as >one more way to hurt the Cuban revolution. > >No other immigrants in the world are accorded such a >privilege for reaching U.S. shores--certainly not Haitians, >Mexicans or Salvadorans. > >The demand for asylum was a slap in the face to Eli=A0n's >family in Cuba, where he was raised as an obviously happy >and healthy child for six years. The Cuban right wing has >refused to allow him to go home because they say that Juan >Miguel has no right to raise his son in Cuba. > >As opponents of socialism, they've used Elian as an >unwitting pawn to continue a ruthless campaign to undermine >Cuba's sovereignty and independence. These terrorist groups >are also cheerleaders for the U.S. blockade, with all the >hardship it has caused to the Cuban people. > >Who pays the price of the blockade? The people of Cuba, >including children like Elian. So on the one hand these >counter-revolutionaries call for grinding down the living >standards of the people in Cuba, and then use this as a >reason why Elian should stay in the United States. > >In Miami, his great-uncle Lazaro and second cousin >Marisleysis have allowed him to be used by a full array of >Cuban right-wing, terrorist groups like Brothers to the >Rescue and the Cuban American National Federation, and >politicians like Congressmember Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. > >However, the Cuban right-wing is not capable of carrying >its war alone. It is the U.S. government that is the >architect of the blockade. It is the U.S. government that >is the enforcer of economic and military sabotage against >the socialist country. It is the U.S. ruling class that has >created, funded, armed and backed the Cuban fascists. > >There is still the danger that legal appeals by the right- >wing and government inaction could keep the child detained. >His supporters cannot rest until little Elian touches Cuban >soil. > >Every day that Elian remains in the U.S. adds to the >potential for long-lasting emotional harm. Besides the >trauma of losing his mother in a disastrous shipwreck, >Elian does not know why he is being kept from those dearest >to him--his father and grandparents. > >MONTHS OF MASS PROTESTS IN CUBA > >In response to this monstrous kidnapping, the Cuban people >by the hundreds of thousands have demonstrated their >astounding will to march day after day, holding hearings >and rallies on the illegality and outrage of the >kidnapping. > >The Cuban government recognizes the need for cautious >optimism on Judge Moore's ruling. A statement from Havana >said, "We must analyze with serenity and calm the >apparently positive news, without underestimating the >obstacles and difficulties we still need to overcome in >order to achieve the kidnapped boy's return to Cuba." > >Meanwhile, the sentiment of the U.S. public has been >strongly in favor of Elian's return. Even in Miami, a >bastion of reaction, an overwhelming 72 percent polled said >yes to a question put by the Miami Herald, "Do you agree >with the judge's decision?" Only a handful of right-wingers >turned out to protest the judge's decision. > >March 25 marks exactly four months that Elian Gonzalez has >been in captivity. While Judge Moore's decision is >heartening, the struggle is not over. Like the Cuban people >who have fought valiantly for his freedom on a daily basis, >the work of organizations like the National Committee to >Send Elian Home to his Father in Cuba will keep on until >little Elian is finally free. > > - 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) > > __________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki - Finland +358-40-7177941, fax +358-9-7591081 e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.kominf.pp.fi ___________________________________ [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe/unsubscribe messages mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ___________________________________
