PRESS RELEASE
Nonviolent civil disobedient actions on December 19, 1998
in support of Native American political prisoner, Leonard Peltier
Contacts: Leonard Peltier Support Group
P.O. Box 1999
Wendell Depot, MA 01380
Jonathan Mark 978-544-7862
Paul Burton 413-625-8420
Leonard Peltier Defense Committee
Attn: Gina and Keith
P.O. Box 583, Lawrence, KS 66044
Tel: 785-842-5774, Fax: 5796
http://members.xoom.com/freepeltier/index.html
Greenfield, Massachusetts
Supporters of American Indian Movement activist Leonard Peltier hope
to win Peltier's release from federal prison after 22 years of
incarceration. As part of an International effort to spur the Clinton
Administration to grant Peltier a Presidential Pardon, a group of local
supporters has organized a nonviolent civil disobedience action for December
19th in Greenfield.
Leonard Peltier is a well-known victim of human rights abuses by the
U.S. judicial system. Convicted in 1976 of murdering two FBI agents on the
Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota, Peltier has maintained his innocence
and human rights groups and civil rights leaders have cited his case as a
grave injustice. Amnesty International cited the Peltier case as a glaring
example of FBI tampering with the judicial process in a political trial;
Federal prosecutors have admitted that they cannot prove that Peltier was
responsible for the agents' deaths and an appeal's court judge who upheld
Peltier's conviction later called for Peltier to be freed, saying the FBI
was equally responsible for the agents' deaths. Despite evidence of witness
tampering by the prosecution and a lack of direct evidence of Peltier's
guilt, he remains in prison after 22 years. Meanwhile, Leonard Peltier's
health is deteriorating and many people around the world are concerned for
his life.
More than five years ago Leonard Peltier applied for Executive Clemency,
citing his support among such leaders as Reverend Jesse Jackson, 55 members
of Congress, European Parliament, Nelson Mandela with about 35 million
signatures written on his behalf. Usually the process for the review of
clemency takes six to nine months. However, Peltier has only received a form
letter response that states his application is still under review. With his
appeals through the courts exhausted, Peltier holds out the hope that
President Clinton will do the right thing and reverse generations of
injustice to American Indian people by granting Leonard Peltier freedom this
holiday season.
Local supporters hope their action will build awareness of the case and
highlight the importance of justice for Peltier for all Americans.
One organizer of the Leonard Peltier Support Group in western
Massachusetts, Jonathan Mark, said, "What better way can I support my
Country, family and freedom this holiday season than by supporting Leonard
Peltier? Sure, getting arrested is a hassle, but it is really minor
compared to the suffering of this man in prison for decades."
Besides Main Street in Greenfield, MA, more than thirty other nonviolent
civil disobedient actions are planned, including in Washington, D.C.,
Lawrence, KS, San Francisco, Boston, Melbourne, Australia, Brussels, Belgium
and New York City. Each support group plans to hold nonviolent training
workshops and will decide how they plan to be arrested by consensus. The
Greenfield group's training session begins Sunday, December 13 at 1:00 P.M.
at the Green Fields Market. "After that meeting," says Mark, "we should have
a better idea about our plans." Mark mentions that they would be available
for answering questions at their December 17 meeting in the loft at the
Green Fields Market from 5:00 to 7:30 P.M. and the group plans to hold a
press conference at a legal rally preceding the nonviolent civil disobedient
actions on December 19 beginning at 11:00 A.M. in front of the Court House
on Main Street in Greenfield, MA.
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