(Forwarded) > Mumia Activist and Revolutionary Journalist C. Clark Kissinger Jailed for 90 > Days > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Stop the Persecution of C. Clark Kissinger! Step Up the Struggle for Justice > for Mumia Abu-Jamal! > ================================================ > On December 6, 2000, C. Clark Kissinger is a contributing writer for the > Revolutionary Worker, a founding member of Refuse & Resist! and a leading > organizer in the movement to win justice for Mumia Abu-Jamal-was sentenced in > a Philadelphia courtroom to 90 days in jail! > > His crime? Giving a speech during a protest at the Republican National > Convention in Philadelphia. A speech that exposed the "Executioners' Ball" > then gathered in Philadelphia... that called on people to step up their > efforts in defending Mumia... and that boldly set out Clark's revolutionary > Maoist convictions. > > Such speech, according to Judge Arnold Rapoport, violates the terms of Clark > Kissinger's probation. Such speech must be punished and Kissinger must be > silenced, according to this judge. So he sentenced Clark to 90 days, ordered > him immediately taken to prison, extended his probation for another year, and > then for good measure unleashed US Marshals against Clark's supporters in the > courtroom, arresting two people and manhandling others. > > Clark's probation was an outrage in itself. For the "crime" of refusing to > cop a plea for the July 1999 protests around Mumia at the Liberty Bell in > Philadelphia, Clark and six other people were given a year's probation for > refusing to obey a lawful order. In Clark's case, the probation conditions > forbade him from traveling without permission and from contact with felons; > both conditions being calculated to cripple his participation in the movement > to win justice for Mumia. > > Now the powers-that-be have made clear the political point of these > conditions. For the crime of daring to speak in a venue not approved by his > probation officer, for the crime of bringing the issue of Mumia and Clark's > own revolutionary politics into the politically charged situation of the > Republican convention, Clark Kissinger is to be imprisoned for 90 days. > > This is an outrage and it must not be tolerated; it must be resisted and > defeated. If this goes down without a major political stink, it will remove a > key activist at a crucial time in the fight for Mumia Abu-Jamal, and it will > have a chilling effect on others stepping forward in this movement and on > dissent and resistance in general. Justice-minded people need to get the word > out everywhere and activate your organizations. > > Why have they made this move against Clark Kissinger? > > Not because he is a danger to the community. No, the main reason for this > attack has everything to do with his activity in the battle for justice for > Mumia. Clark has fought to bring the battle for Mumia to the broadest > sections of people, without ever watering down either Mumia's stance as a > revolutionary or the high stakes of this battle for the people. He's fought > to not only bring Mumia's case to the people, but to bring the people to the > caseto involve and to activate individuals and organizations from the most > diverse viewpoints and backgrounds in this hugely important struggle. > > To get a sense of this, read this excerpt of the speech for which Clark is > now serving 90 days: > > "Why [speaking of the police intimidation at the convention] do they have to > bring out this intimidation, the mounted police, the helicopters, the clubs? > Why do they have to stage boycotts of performers who come out and help Mumia? > Why are we constantly subjected to these kinds of threats? Are they afraid > that the people will actually learn what happened in Mumia=s trial? Are they > afraid that people will learn what was said between the judge and the lawyers > in the secret meeting in the judge's chambers to which Mumia was not invited? > Are they afraid that people will learn about the phony confession story? Are > they afraid that people will learn what Mumia actually stands for? And are > they afraid that people will see in Mumia a champion of the oppressed as well > as a victim of the system? Do they worry that their whole reactionary agenda > may be put at stake? Yes, I think they do worry about that. . . > > "Dare to struggle, dare to win! We have defended Mumia and we have learned > from him. We do not intend to let the executioner's hand take him from us. As > far as we are concerned, this is one execution that will not happen. We are > going to fight this fight to win, and unite with people of all different > viewpoints from all different communities, expanding our broadness, our > diversity and our determination. We are going to continue to escalate this > struggle using whatever means are necessary and needed to do that. And we vow > to make every outrage they throw at us yet another nail in the coffin of > their vicious system." > > Now is a crucial time in the movement to win justice for Mumia Abu-Jamal. The > very important hearings on Mumia's motion for habeas corpus in Federal > District Court could be set at any time. This will be the last chance to > enter new evidence in Mumia's case. The movement has important plans to > mobilize thousands for that first day of hearings, and to shine a worldwide > spotlight on Philadelphia. The outrageous sentence of Clark Kissinger is both > a general attempt to silence Kissinger and prevent him from playing his > overall role in the struggle for Mumia, as well as a particular effort to > hamstring the ability of the movement to mobilize for that crucial juncture > in Federal District Court. > > We must go all out to make that attempt backfire. We must build opposition to > this jailing and defeat it, and we must do that as a springboard to take the > issue of Mumia's case to millions--to broaden the ranks of those who oppose > Mumia's execution and to build up the core of those who are determined that > it MUST NOT happen. > > --Revolutionary Communist Party, New York Branch > ===================================== > Literature of the RCP is available at Revolution Books, 9 West 19th Street, > New York, NY (212) 691-3345 Store hours: M-Sat 10-7:00, Sun. 12-5:00. Read > the Revolutionary Worker online at www.rwor.org > > BOX: The issue of the rights of revolutionaries to speak their views has been > at the heart of Mumia's case in many ways--from the attempts to silence > Mumia's revolutionary journalism to the imposition of the death penalty based > on a statement made by Mumia when he was a member of the Black Panther Party > that "political power grows out of the barrel of a gun." The police-state > atmosphere at the conventions and the political repression of activists for > Mumia have only underlined that reality, and the unjust jailing of Clark > Kissinger has brought it home all the more clearly. > > To keep up with the latest developments and plans for action, contact Refuse > & Resist! at: 212-965-9030 305 Madison Ave., Suite 1166, New York, NY 10165. > Website: www.refuseandresist.org > >==================================================
