International Prisoners Justice Day.
Tuesday 10 August 1999.
"Prisoners are part of the community"
For International Prisoners Justice Day (IPJD) this year we will focus on
'prisoners are part of the community'. Earlier this year, prisoners' right
to vote was successfully defended, recognising prisoners' social and
political rights in Australia. For IPJD the extension of that success to
protect their inherent citizen rights in practice is well stated in the
Australian Prisoners Union list of issues.
Additionally we call for an amnesty for prisoners for the new millennium.
This would be a goodwill statement of hope recognising the need for
community-building and reconciliation. It would release funds to help
resettle prisoners and their families for a fresh start in the new century.
We will celebrate outside the MRRC and Mulawa Jails, Holker st,
Silverwater, NSW Sunday August 8, at 11am with a picnic lunch. All are invited.
On Tuesday August 10 at 3pm there is a limited numbers function in the
Presidential Dining Room of NSW Parliament House hosted by Meredith
Burgmann to commemorate the day.
Australian Prisoners Union issues:
In July 1999, the Australian Prisoners Union was launched to campaign on a
range of issues including legal aid, communication generally,
re-introduction of remissions, proper employment entitlements, freedom of
association, visiting rights including privacy rights, access to computers,
control of prisoners' services including post-release services, and
improved education and rehabilitation services.
The History:
International Prisoners' Justice Day August 10, marks the anniversary of
the 1974 death of Eddie Nalon, a prisoner who bled to death in a solitary
confinement unit at Millhaven Maximum Security Prison, Canada, when the
emergency call button in his cell failed to work. An inquest later found
that the call button in that unit had been deactivated by the guards. The
following year prisoners at Millhaven marked the anniversary of Eddie's
death by fasting and refusing to work. By May, 1976, the call buttons
had not yet been repaired. Bobby Landers was the next to die in one of
those cells. With no way to call for help, all he could do was scribble a
note that described the symptoms of a heart attack. What started as a
one-time event behind the walls of Millhaven Prison has become an
international day of solidarity.
August 10 has been the day officially set aside for prisoners and their
supporters to honour the memory of those who have died unnatural deaths in
prison and express solidarity with the millions of people on the inside of
prisons who are demanding changes to a criminal justice system that
dehumanizes and brutalizes them.
In 1997 a group celebrating the day handing out balloons and gifts to
visitors entering the new MRRC 900 prisoner jail, NSW, Australia were
assaulted by prison officers. The officers had two dogs, almost pushed over
a man with a 20 month baby and strangled a 17 year old woman with a camera
strap. Police refused to charge the officers. However the next year an even
larger support group was permitted to remain there without interference.
justice
ACTION
PO Box 386, Broadway, NSW 2007 Ph: 02 9281 5100 Fx :02 9281 5303
[EMAIL PROTECTED] www.justiceaction.org.au
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