Stop the Wars! End the Torture! The U.S. wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Haiti and elsewhere around the globe are only possible because of the colonial war the US wages inside its own borders against oppressed people. The torture exposed in Iraq at Abu Ghraib and elsewhere is a reflection of the torture practiced by prison guards and police agencies here inside the U.S. In a glaring manifestation of the same strategy of Bush and Alberto Gonzales to legitimize torture of "enemy combatants" in the so-called "War on Terror," the FBI and police in CA arrested 8 aging former Black Panthers this week, charging them with an alleged conspiracy to kill cops 35 years ago. The truth is there was a real conspiracy by the cops and the FBI to kill Black Panthers! Known as COINTELPRO, this clandestine 'dirty war" was carried out inside the US through assassinations, frame-ups, mass arrests and military-style assault against the Panthers. Now, as the Black liberation movement is pushing the new Democratic majority in Congress to reopen hearings into COINTELPRO, Bush's prosecutors trot out a totally-discredited case, already thrown out of the courts once because it was based on documented torture of the Panthers carried out by the New Orleans police under the supervision of the San Francisco police and federal authorities. Several of the defendants were themselves tortured, and the only testimony against them comes from another torture victim who told the police what they wanted to hear.
We need to recognize the critical role the Black Liberation Movement and the Panthers played in the movement against the Vietnam War and in the struggle inside the US, to understand why they were targeted then, and why these charges are being resurrected now. From the Black students who originated the chant "Hell, no! We won't go!" to Black Muslim Muhammad Ali, heavyweight champion who refused induction, saying "No Viet Cong ever called me n*gg*r!" to Huey P. Newton who offered Black Panther militants to fight in Vietnam alongside the NLF, the Black struggle led the way in resistance to the Empire. Come to a film showing of the new documentary "Legacy of Torture: The War Against the Black Liberation Movement" on Friday February 17 at 4:00 PM to learn more about the cases of local residents Hank Jones and Ray Boudreaux and the other defendants in this unjust frame-up. The anti-war movement must also be an anti-racist movement, because war is rooted in racism. colonialism and exploitation. The anti-war movement must resist the government's headlong rush to a police state, detentions without charge, mass incarcerations, anti-immigrant sweeps and racial profiling, and struggle to free all political prisoners and detainees! "LEGACY OF TORTURE: The War Against the Black Liberation Movement" Saturday, February 17, 4-7:00 PM Southern California Library, 6120 S. Vermont, L.A. FREE ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS! Join the Jericho Amnesty Coalition - L.A. in the struggle to free political prisoners! Next meeting tomorrow, Sunday January 28, 2 PM, 333 S Alameda #323, Los Angeles For more information call 310-495-0299 or check www.geocities.com/jerichoamnestycoalitionla --------------------------------------------------------------------------- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Digest: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Help: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive1: <http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive2: <http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
