------------------------- Via Workers World News Service Reprinted from the June 20, 2002 issue of Workers World newspaper -------------------------
BLACK, ARAB, WHITE SAY NO TO GOV'T REPRESSION By Sharon Black Baltimore Community activists at a June 6 meeting here gave a resounding "yes" to mobilizing for the June 29 Washington, D.C. ,protest against the FBI. The local meeting, organized by the All Peoples Congress, was called to discuss civil rights for Arab and Muslim people. The APC has announced plans to become a mobilizing center for the June 29 protest called by the International ANSWER coalition and to bring buses filled with activists to D.C. Dr. Hasan Jalisi spoke to the June 6 meeting. He is director of Baltimore Muslim Community Support Services, which has helped many of those falsely imprisoned after Sept. 11. Jalisi gave a moving account of the plight of many of those he visited in jail. He described prisoners forced to endure continuous solitary confinement, daily body cavity searches and denial of commissary items. But perhaps the worst hardship these prisoners face is the lack of information or any concrete charges. Prisoners are left with the possibility of unending jail terms with no rights of any sort. Many of those in the audience were shocked and outraged by this information. Mary Morant, a bus driver and member of the Amalgamated Transit Workers Union, exclaimed, "We must do something." Mara Verheyden-Hillard and Carl Messineo, civil rights attorneys from Washington, D.C., who represent the Partnership for Civil Justice Legal Defense and Education Fund, reviewed the "Patriot Act," the recent strengthening of the FBI and how it all impacts on everyone. Messineo explained that many elements of the "Patriot Act" predated Sept. 11. He discussed how government repression has been historically used and how the best antidote is struggle in the streets. Activists cheered as he discussed plans to oppose any new Cointelpro by the FBI. Many in the audience had endured the period when the Black Panther Party was under attack. The group became even more determined to oppose government repression after one of its victims, Yusuf Alim, took the floor. He had heard about the meeting through a friend. Alim is an African American carpenter and construction worker who many years ago converted to Islam and adopted its style of dress. He described to the audience a terrifying experience he had with police in Ohio immediately after Sept. 11. He had been traveling from Detroit to Baltimore with his wife and children. When he left his car for evening prayer, police helicopters swooped down. Police surrounded him and his wife and children. All were taken to jail. None were charged with any crime. Alim then spent six weeks in jail for "looking suspicious." - END - (Copyright 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] Subscribe [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe [EMAIL PROTECTED] Support the voice of resistance http://www.workers.org/orders/donate.php) ------------------ This message is sent to you by Workers World News Service. To subscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To switch to the DIGEST mode, E-mail to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Send administrative queries to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
