I N T E R N E T ' S M A O I S T M O N T H L Y = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = XX XX XXX XX XX X X XXX XXX XXX XXX X X X X X X X XX X X X X X X X V X X X V X X X X X X X XX XXX X X X X X X XX X X X X X X X XXX X X X V XXX X XXX XXX = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = THE MAOIST INTERNATIONALIST MOVEMENT MIM Notes 104 September 1995 Get MIM Notes 104 from the Maoist Internationalist Movement (MIM), and get the latest in Maoist news and analysis - put a revolutionary weapon in your hands. In MIM Notes 104, read about MIM's continuing effort to build public opinion on behalf of prisoners in Amerikkka's gulags. Letters from unknown revolutionary prisoners accompany MIM's article of unity and criticism of the mass movement to save the life of Mumia Abu-Jamal. MIM Notes 104 contains a letter from Jose Maria Sison, founder of the Communist Party of the Philippines, sending his support to Mumia. Read about MIM's efforts to bring a revolutionary, Third World feminist perspective to the annual Michigan Womyn's Music Festival, as well as an expose on a police murder of a Latino youth in East Los Angeles. MIM Notes speaks to and from the viewpoint of the world's oppressed majority, and against the imperialist-patriarchy. Pick it up and wield it in the service of the people. Support it, struggle with it and write for it. MIM Notes is available to subscribers of New York Transfer (nyt@nyxfer.blythe.org). Or get a subscription from MIM via e-mail or in print for $12/year for 12 issues. Write: MIM Distributors, PO Box 3576, Ann Arbor MI 48106-3576. (Send, stamps, cash, check or m.o. made out to "MIM Distributors".) Send questions, letters or submissions to: mim@nyxfer.blythe.org. For a free issue mailed to your Internet address (a large text file), send a message explaining your interest to: mim@nyxfer.blythe.org. MIM Notes 104 includes: IN THIS ISSUE: 1. MASSES PROTEST MURDER IN LINCOLN HEIGHTS 2. LETTERS TO MIM 3. NDFP CONDEMNS RAMOS GOVERNMENT FOR UNILATERAL SUSPENSION OF PEACE TALKS 4. RAMOS IS LAME DUCK PRESIDENT, NDFP CAN NEGOTIATE WITH NEXT PRESIDENT 5. ZAPATISTAS ATTEMPT LIBERATION THROUGH FIRST WORLD REFERENDUM 6. AT A CROSSROADS: MOVEMENT TO SAVE MUMIA WINS TEMPORARY VICTORY 7. ANTI-PRISONS FORUM DRAWS DEDICATED CROWD, SOLID DEBATE ON THE NATIONAL QUESTION 8. INFANT MORTALITY: NATIONAL OPPRESSION IS NOT IN OUR HEADS 9. CAN THE SPARTS EXPLAIN WHO KILLED VINCENT CHIN? 10. QUE VIVA PUERTO RICO LIBRE! 11. PSEUDO-FEMINISTS STRENGTHEN PATRIARCHY 12. MIM PRESENTS REVOLUTIONARY FEMINISM AT MICHIGAN WOMYN'S MUSIC FESTIVAL 13. PEOPLE'S PICNIC RALLIES IN SUPPORT OF PRISONERS 14. NEWSPAPER EMPLOYEES STRIKE FOR PIE 15. PARASITE MERGER: UNIONS MERGE TO NEGOTIATE CUSHIER DEALS 16. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA REGENTS ABOLISH AFFIRMATIVE ACTION 17. UNDER LOCK AND KEY: LETTERS FROM PRISON * * * MASSES PROTEST MURDER IN LINCOLN HEIGHTS: PIGS EXECUTE 14-YEAR-OLD *** This article was written for Notas Rojas, MIM's Spanish-language newspaper. To subscribe, contribute to or distribute Notas Rojas write to MIM Distributors, PO Box 29670, Los Angeles, CA 90029-0670. *** Los Angeles, July 30 - Before the eyes of his mother, 14-year-old Antonio Gutierrez was shot four times by the police - the army of imperialist invasion. Gutierrez was just one victim of the police readiness and apparent authority to execute anyone, anywhere, especially Latinos, Blacks and members of First Nations. Gutierrez's mother and other witnesses to the execution say that Antonio was not armed, and that after he was shot and handcuffed, the police shot him again. When the community of Lincoln Heights found out about the murder, people were soon confronting the pigs with rocks and fires. This type of rebellion demonstrates the oppressed nation masses' spontaneous anti-imperialism, and MIM supports the people in their righteous anger against the state. But we call on the masses to turn their anger into organizing energy: work with MIM to expose brutal murders like this one, build public opinion against the state and for the oppressed. Most importantly, use your anger to build a movement that can destroy this system definitively, rather than allowing arrests and injury in your community with no strategic benefits. A "PROBLEM" OFFICER The rebellion lasted for two days, at which point the bourgeois media - public relations servants of the pigs and the state - reported on it. They wait until there's an event they can try to blame on the oppressed and then they start writing. These vultures will never report on a murder like this one to expose the state, which is why MIM builds independent media so that we can publicize the truth about imperialism. The media and the pigs say that the officer who murdered young Antonio, Michael Falvo, was a "problem" officer, since he had a violent record of abuses and brutality. To that MIM responds: the whole police is a filled with "problem" officers because the police exist in order to assault and take advantage of Latinos, of Blacks and Indigenous people. In cooperation with the FBI, the CIA, and the U.S. army abroad, the police defend and perpetuate imperialist aggression. Falvo is not an exception, he is just a concrete example of the police fulfilling their role. THE WAR ON GANGS & DRUGS For the Amerikan imperialists and their allies in the white nation, all Latinos and Blacks are suspected of being gangsters. The "war on gangs," "the war on drugs," "the war on (so-called) illegal immigration," "the war on crime" - these are all deceptive names for the war on the oppressed nations within U.S. borders. The Amerikan pigs have absolutely no right to apply justice to anybody, because their presence in Aztlan and in all North America is the product of murder, robbery, genocide, betrayal and all types of injustices. The white man arrived in this hemisphere and stole the land of the First Nations and exterminated their people; they constructed their empire with the work of Black slaves; they expanded their empire by attacking everything that got in their way. The imperialists are the real criminals. Their abuses won't stop until they are defeated. TRUE JUSTICE REQUIRES REVOLUTION The family of Antonio Gutierrez has filed a lawsuit against the police. Together with those who protested the murder, MIM demands justice for young Antonio, just as MIM demands justice for the more than one million prisoners trapped in the dungeons of the U.S. empire. MIM believes true justice will only be possible once Amerikan imperialism and its pigs have been defeated and political power is in the hands of the people. That's why we work for socialist revolution. There are many groups that say that Latinos should unite with whites and fight for white demands. These groups fail to see that the interests of the oppressor white nation are fundamentally opposed to the interests of the oppressed nations. Other groups say that the best way of improving the situation of Latinos is voting. Voting for whom? The Democrats and the Republicans are all racists; they are the leaders of imperialism. Latino politicians who are Republicans or Democrats have the same intentions as their white comrades. Some people only want to advance their political careers on the backs of the oppressed. MIM says that Aztlan is a legitimate nation that must be freed from the claws of the United Snakes, and we warn the masses against those that say there are no internal colonies within U.S. borders. The fight for reforms is also deceiving, for those reforms could disappear whenever the white nation wants. There are no guarantees. The only real long term improvement of the life of the oppressed can come from revolution. In Aztlan (the territory which Amerika stole from Mexico) we are talking about national liberation with the goal of self determination, and of socialism. The people of Aztlan should liberate Aztlan, to later rule Aztlan, in order to have a police that truly serves the people: a police that will protect the poor from the abuses of the rich. A police that is not corrupt or racist. To try to improve the relationship between the current police and the Latino community is a deceiving lie that can only perpetuate suffering. Power must be seized from the oppressor. Revolutionaries in Aztlan will eventually need to take up arms against the invaders - not just spontaneously in response to individual police actions, but organized as a Maoist Party. It is only through national liberation and socialist revolution that we can get to a society in which guns and political power of groups over groups are relics of this dying system. DOWN WITH INTEGRATION! DOWN WITH TRAITORS! DOWN WITH THE PIGS AND THE GOVERNMENT! ALL POWER TO THE PEOPLE! Note: We use "United Snakes" as a translation of "Estamos Hundidos," which is a pun on "Estados Unidos," or "United States." "Estamos Hunidos" literally means "we're doomed," and is often used in the context of, "Look what they've done to us: We're ruined." * * * SISON SAYS: SAVE THE LIFE OF MUMIA ABU-JAMAL! by Prof. Jose Maria Sison, Founding Chairman, Communist Party of the Philippines July 22, 1995 On my personal behalf and in representation of anti-imperialist and democratic forces in the Philippines I join the great number of people and organizations in the United States and throughout the world in the outcry to save the life of the African-American journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal and to set him free. It is unjust and outrageous that, because of his fearless and tireless defense of his fellow victims of racial persecution and brutality, Mumia Abu- Jamal has been framed up by the Philadelphia police in 1981, he has been imprisoned for 14 years under the most cruel conditions and he is being rushed to his death on August 17 by a warrant of execution calculated to pre-empt his appeal for a new trial. Mumia Abu-Jamal is a dedicated revolutionary fighter in the service of the African-Americans and all other peoples. He has used his speaking and writing skills as his weapons so effectively that the coercive apparatuses of the U.S. monopoly capitalism and the brutality of the state have been applied on him by the worst elements in the most malicious and arbitrary ways in the attempt to silence and put him away. Mumia Abu-Jamal became a member of the Black Panther Party in 1969-70. Undaunted by the brutal state repression of this party and other African- American organizations, he has persevered in standing up and speaking for the African-American people. As a journalist and radio commentator, he has relentlessly exposed the racist nature of U.S. monopoly capitalism and the brutality of the state. In this connection he is an award-winning journalist. Despite prohibitions and retaliations by the prison authorities, he has courageously continued to speak and write the truth against oppression. He has recently come out with his book Live from Death Row which exposes conditions on death row, reveals his thoughts on the state "correction" system and the death penalty and unfolds his views on social and racial oppression and the liberation movement. The plight of Mumia Abu-Jamal exemplifies the lot of the great majority of African-Americans who suffer racial discrimination, exploitation, and oppression. The system that has subjected him to racial hatred and persecution, that has deprived him of his liberty for so long and is bent on taking away his life is a system of cruelty and injustice that deserves worldwide condemnation by the people. It is the duty of the broad masses of the people and everyone with a sense of justice to demand that the life of Mumia Abu-Jamal be saved and that he be set free. Should the capitalist and racist authorities be unheeding, the African-American people and the rest of the people in the United States and throughout the world can go into a storm of rage against the unjust capitalist system. MIM RESPONDS with some trepidation that as MIM Notes goes to press, there is an indefinite stay of execution in place in Mumia's case. As Mumia pointed out in response to this stay, however, while he is no longer under and active death warrant, he lives under an active death sentence. We must remain ever-vigilant in Mumia's case until this death sentence is overturned. AZANIAN REVOLUTIONARY SPEAKS OUT ON MUMIA Revolutionary greetings. Thanks so much for responding to my mail in such a short space of time. The background you gave about Mumia was quite informative and soul-searching. I was particularly touched (though not completely surprised), by the fact that Black churches are not strongly coming out in support of the brother. It is generally the case. Even here in Azania, no church leader has raised a finger in condemnation of Mumia's pending execution. The activities [supporting Mumia] I told you about are mainly by our Black Consciousness Movement, i.e. the Azanian People's Organization and its formations, viz Azasm (Azanian Student Movement, a high school student wing), Azasco (Azanian Student Convention, a tertiary student wing), Azanian Youth Organization, etc. Yesterday (Thursday), the chairperson of Wits region of Azapo, Cde Lybon Mabaso, led a march to the United State consulate in Pretoria. The same day, Azasco branch at Wits University organized a meeting which was addressed by Mathatha Tsedu, a Sowetan journalist and a leader of Media Workers Association of South Africa (MWASA). Last week MWASA went on record after declaring Mumia its honorary member. Another tale of surprise here is the silence on the part of the ANC [African National Congress]. The irony is that not so long ago, the ANC-led "gnu" has abolished death penalty. One would then have expected ANC to add its voice in condemning Mumia's imminent execution. They have adopted a wait and see attitude. Anyway...I'll keep in touch and inform you of new developments, I'll appreciate it if you do the same. I'll hear from you. Keep Strong. - Azanian Revolutionary July 28, 1995 *** MIM has seen a letter from the ANC regarding Mumia's case in the Worker's Vanguard 7/28/95. *** SECTARIAN ANARCHISTS REFUSE EXCHANGE WITH STUPID MIM MIM wrote the group I'm in, called Neither East Nor West, asking for an information exchange. We are an anti-authoritarian group that opposes both capitalism and "Soviet-type" systems which includes Mao's China. We see all of those systems as exploitative and against freedom. We propose a true cooperative/self-management economics. Seeing the world in only two ways - as MIM-type Stalinist groups do - as either "bad capitalist" or "good communist" is not historical nor too intelligent. Humans are adept enough at coming up with third and more paths to a good society. If you're interested in us, please send $1.00 and a SASE to Neither East Nor West, 339 Lafayette St., Rm. 202, New York, NY 10012. - Agent for NENW-NYC MIM RESPONDS: This letter is a perfect example of why activists should exchange publications, ideas and struggle. The NENW-NYC agent doesn't even recognize the similarities in ideology between Maoism and anarchism and is ready to scrap discussion of the best path toward achieving our mutual goals. MIM shares your goals and your support for "true cooperative"s and "self- management." But you offer no way of getting from here to there, Maoists do. You will find the furthest progress of collectivization anywhere in the history of China. It wasn't perfect like your idea, it was superior because it existed. If you compare an idea to a practice, the idea will always look better because it never has to face the challenge of implementation. If you compare a practice to a practice, Maoism will win. What has anarchism ever done to improve the lot of the oppressed? MIM has no use for the dichotomized "bad capitalist" and "good communist." Unlike Trotskyists, we maintain that bourgeois democratic national liberation is progress over neo- colonialism. Revolution to create an independent capitalist economy in an oppressed nation would be something that MIM would support. We still don't think the battle should end there - if national self-determination is to last, it must move on to socialism. But our line on national self- determination is an example of some anarchists' misconception of Maoism. We support national self- determination because history and the real-life application of theory and ideology to practice has taught us that we must. Good things (bourgeois democratic revolution) are good - we want the best (communism). We are interested in seeing NENW-NYC's explanation of how Maoists with this line are dichotomizing and idealizing the world, while anarchists who have yet to make a successful revolution anyplace are innocent of this sin. MIM is ready for dialogue with anarchists or other groups and encourages them to write. Ask for a subscription exchange with MIM Notes. If you want a challenge, send us five bucks and read our latest theory journal: "The Anarchist Ideal & Communist Revolution." ALL PRISONERS? I was wondering if you could explain something to me. Do you support all prisoners in the world no matter what their crime, say, murder (you know like shooting some guy on the street for no other reason then shooting him, something of that nature). I ask this, for I was reading some of the back issues of MIM Notes and I saw a lot of support for prisoners and a lot of prisoners writing you, asking for literature. Now, we totally agree with you (MIM) that prisoners of a political nature should be supported no matter what (usual political prisoners, except China, are supporters of socialist revolution in Imperialist countries, or just people against some sort of oppression). Of course there are other types, but we do have a problem with supporting cold blooded murderers and rapists who have absolutely nothing to do with the fight for political/social/economic revolution in their particular niche in the world. We truly don't feel that a rapist gives any sort of help or furtherment of any Anti-Imperialist cause. - a reader who wants to start local RAIL, July 1995 MIM RESPONDS: It is excellent that you are getting involved and doing anti-imperialist work through starting RAIL. We look forward to working together and building the anti-imperialist movement. Working in RAIL means being led by MIM line, and we hope that through dialogue we can bring you closer to our understanding of prisons as an instrument of national oppression. In the USA, we say all prisoners are political prisoners. But we don't use the slogan "free all prisoners!" Is this a contradiction? No. We say this to point out that crime itself is a political thing. Who decides what is a crime? The rulers of the society. "Murder" is supposed to be illegal, but cops kill people all the time, migrant workers die from pesticides, children die lacking medication, and the USA kills hundreds of thousands of Iraqis with no talk of "murder." "Rape" is supposed to be illegal, but proletarian women who work as prostitutes are raped all the time. All sex in this society is governed by patriarchy, which makes it all rape. Yet the state (which imprisons a grossly disproportionate number of Black men for rape) doesn't do anything to criminalize gender hierarchies. Who is imprisoned for what crimes is a function of who has power in a society. That is why we say all prisoners are political prisoners. There are some people in prison who have done truly bad things (although most people in prison have not). The random killing you mention, while very rare, is a good example. That's one reason we don't say "free all prisoners!" We recognize that if we had socialism today, the masses would not want to just let everyone go. Some people might have new trials and end up doing reform labor or something. But, we say unequivocally that no Black, Latino, or First Nation person should ever be tried in a white court. No matter what that person has done, this is an act of national oppression. Their nations are occupied by white Amerika, and that trial is part of the illegitimate exercise of national domination. Even many white people in prison deserve to have their cases heard by a fair court. You also mention China and other places. We would say that all prisoners everywhere are political, as described above. In China today, the government is state-capitalist or even fascist. We don't support its prison practice at all. Prisoners everywhere do hard, forced labor, whether in China or in [your state]. To read about the way China handled crime and prisons when it was socialist (1949-1976), write to us for a copy of Prisoners of Liberation, an account by two Amerikans who were imprisoned in China from 1950-54 and began to publicize their own stories as soon as they returned home. * * * CORRECTION The article "U.S.-Ramos regime betrays peace in the Philippines" in the August 1995 issue of MIM Notes claimed that the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) broke off negotiations with the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) after the GRP violated existing agreements with the NDFP. While it is true that the GRP violated existing agreements by arresting the NDFP's political consultant, Sotero Llamas, it is not true that the NDFP broke off the talks. It was the GRP which unilaterally suspended talks on June 27 1995, the day after talks opened. At that time, the NDFP was willing to continue the formal peace talks as soon as the GRP released Sotero Llamas from prison and allowed him safe passage to Brussels, where the peace negotiations were taking place. This only underlines the fact that it is the NDFP which is willing to carry on peace negotiations in the framework of national sovereignty, social justice and democracy, while the GRP uses these negotiations to get the revolutionary forces to capitulate by cloaking itself in the rhetoric of peace without actually taking the steps necessary to ensure a just and lasting peace. MIM apologizes to its readers and the NDFP for the error in our earlier article. The following two articles are press releases from the NDFP which we received several days after the last issue of MIM Notes went to press. * * * NDFP CONDEMNS RAMOS GOVERNMENT FOR UNILATERAL SUSPENSION OF PEACE TALKS The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) hereby condemns the unilateral and indefinite suspension of the GRP-NDFP peace negotiations by the Ramos government. We hold the GRP solely responsible for a series of deliberate acts done in bad faith and calculated to scuttle the Hague Joint Declaration and the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG). For more than a month, Mr. Ramos has failed to abide by the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) and has willfully violated it by refusing to respect the safety and immunity guarantees of Comrade Sotero Llamas and allow him to perform his role as political consultant of the NDFP in the peace talks with the GRP. Going from bad to worse, Mr. Ramos himself has proceeded to unilaterally declare the indefinite suspension of the peace negotiations, as if he were not satisfied with trampling down on the rights of Comrade Llamas and violating the JASIG. In sharp contrast, the NDFP Negotiating Panel has demonstrated its good faith by going to the opening session of the peace negotiations and expressing its eagerness to continue post-opening talks upon the arrival of Comrade Llamas in Brussels despite already apparent moves of the GRP to prevent his release and travel. It is an open fact that some military officers represented by Gen. Renato de Villa have exerted all-out efforts to keep Comrade Llamas under detention and thereby sabotage the GRP-NDFP peace negotiations. At the same time, there are clear manifestations of a scheme among highly-placed agents of imperialism and reactionary institutions to undermine and discard the five agreements already signed by the GRP and the NDFP and replace the framework of peace negotiations established in The Hague Joint Declaration since 1992. The GRP Negotiating Panel, headed by Howard Q. Dee, is increasingly obsessed with the tactics of maneuvering the NDFP into a position of capitulation and with the line of liquidating the revolutionary armed struggle of the people through sheer deception. The GRP proposal for a ceasefire ahead of the comprehensive agreements on human rights and international humanitarian law, social and economic reforms and political and constitutional reforms is calculated to put off the people's basic demands of national liberation, democracy, and social justice and to simply undermine the people's resistance to their increasing exploitation and oppression. How can the GRP ever comply with the more complex requirements of a ceasefire agreement when it cannot comply even with the simpler ones now in the JASIG? Compliance with JASIG, in the case of Sotero Llamas, is now a test of how much further the GRP can go in peace negotiations with the NDFP. As always, the NDFP is committed to the pursuit of a just and lasting peace through the solution of the problems that have caused the civil war. There can never be a just and lasting peace without first addressing the roots of the civil war. - Luis G. Jaladoni, Chairperson, NDFP negotiating panel, 27 June 1995 * * * RAMOS IS LAME DUCK PRESIDENT, NDFP CAN NEGOTIATE WITH NEXT PRESIDENT The unilateral declaration of indefinite suspension of negotiations by the GRP and its continuing willful violation of the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) are clear manifestations the Ramos regime is hellbent on terminating the peace negotiations. Related to these manifestations is the attempt of the regime to change the framework of peace negotiations with a framework of capitulation at the expense of the NDFP. The Ramos regime is cynical, callous and wanton in trying to throw away the five documents that have been mutually agreed upon by the GRP and the NDFP negotiating panels and approved by their principals since 1992, starting with The Hague Joint Declaration. As it tries to disregard these documents, the Ramos regime is in effect wasting the effort and expense that have gone into the making of these documents. If the regime wants to terminate the peace negotiations because it cannot change the framework, the NDFP has no choice but to look forward to the next president of the GRP for the possibility of resuming peace negotiations in accordance with the aforesaid documents. Mr. Ramos is a lame duck president, limping on the second and last leg of his six-year tenure. He has his own peculiar scheme of priorities which now rate peace negotiations as extremely low. Mr. Ramos is more than ever preoccupied with reaping the personal rewards of his political power. He and his cronies are busy accumulating private assets as a result of contracts arising from foreign and local overborrowing, foreign speculative capital, sale of state assets and the so-called military modernization program. The rampant official and unofficial criminality under the Ramos regime is exacerbating the socio- economic and political crisis of the ruling system. The ever rising level of oppression and exploitation is inciting the people and the revolutionary forces to intensify the armed revolution. - Jose Maria Sison, Chief Political Consultant of the NDFP Negotiating, Panel 13 July 1995 * * * ZAPATISTAS ATTEMPT LIBERATION THROUGH FIRST WORLD REFERENDUM July 26, Northampton, MA - El Comit¼ Pro Democracia en M¼xico organized a small video presentation and informational meeting about the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN). The EZLN and the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) Mexican government have been engaged in negotiations since April; little besides a ceasefire has come out of the negotiations. The Zapatistas' demands include land, housing, jobs, food, health, education, culture, information, independence, democracy, liberty, justice and peace. The EZLN is fighting the single-party rule of the PRI which is pro-imperialist, fascist, and unconcerned with the plight of indigenous Mexicans. The Zapatistas have invited people across Mexico as well as abroad to vote in a five-question international plebiscite about the future of the EZLN as a political force. The questionnaire reflects the Zapatistas' approach of using spontaneous mass insurrections and sporadic violence as a prod for negotiations. The Communist Party of the Philippines criticizes this strategy of subordinating military struggle to elections and negotiations extensively. First World activists may be flattered at being asked to decide internal Mexican issues, but this is a Mexican matter, to be decided by Mexican activists and not by people in the First World who lack the knowledge to make informed recommendations. The international referendum approach is less successful than a protracted, self-reliant people's war which creates a committed, mass base for revolution. The Zapatistas should stop polling First Worlders for their opinions, and apply the strategy of people's war as it was successfully implemented by the Communist parties of China and Vietnam and as it is being used today in the Philippines and Peru. Note: Rebolusyon 1/1/93. - a member of the Revolutionary Anti-Imperialist League (RAIL) * * * AT A CROSSROADS: MOVEMENT TO SAVE MUMIA WINS TEMPORARY VICTORY by MC12 August 18 - With the execution of Mumia Abu-Jamal postponed "indefinitely," the movement to save him is at a crossroads. The stay of execution granted by Judge Albert Sabo allows time for appeals to be considered, and it is likely the process will drag on for months or maybe years, although that is not certain. Thousands of activists all over the world have united under the narrow banner of stopping this execution. Where do they go from here? Mumia was framed for the righteous killing of a police officer. His show trial exemplified the sham of the Amerikkkan injustice system. Saving him requires public pressure and legal maneuverings. But revolutionaries have to understand that Mumia's case is not isolated, that the entire injustice system daily oppresses millions of members of the oppressed nations in North America. Mumia himself said, "There are hundreds of thousands of Mumia Abu-Jamal's on death row and doing life bits in this country. These people are not well known."(1) Many of them are well known to MIM and readers of MIM's Under Lock & Key section, which appears in every issue of MIM Notes (pages 10 and 11 in this issue). The question for those who have struggled to save Mumia's life is: What about all the others? What about the system that perpetuates their oppression? A BROAD MOVEMENT The movement of people to save Mumia has been very broad. It includes most self-described socialist or communist groups in the U.S. Empire, including MIM; broad sections of progressive masses in Europe, Africa and elsewhere; celebrities and academics; student groups; mainstream Black politicians and some church groups. Outside of saving Mumia's life, these groups have very disparate agendas. Hundreds of prisoners in Amerikan gulags have rallied to stop the execution, including some 200 in Lewisburg Maximum Security prison in Pennsylvania. In Europe and the U.S. Empire, many prisoners engaged in public hunger strikes. Jose Maria Sison, the founding chairperson of the Communist Party of the Philippines, declared: "It is the duty of the broad masses of the people and everyone with a sense of justice to demand that the life of Mumia Abu-Jamal be saved and that he be set free." Academics for Mumia Abu-Jamal rounded up more than 200 members. Calls went out to Asian- descended communities from the David Wong and Yu Kikumura support committees. Under consistent pressure, the National Association of Black Journalists finally filed a brief in support of Mumia's right to free speech in jail. The United Church of Christ's Commission for Racial Justice issued a statement opposing the execution.(2) The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the Nation of Islam spoke out for Mumia as well. Rallies or protests were held in more than 50 cities of the U.S. Empire. In Washington D.C., successive protests turned out increasing numbers of people. They culminated in a rally and march of several hundred people on August 7th. Marchers, organized by the anarchist-led D.C. Coalition to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal, walked through poor areas of the city passing out flyers and educating community members, some of whom emerged from their tenements to raise clenched-fist salutes. At a big rally in Philadelphia on August 12, thousands of supporters listened to many speakers and raised hell outside the Philly City Hall. Uniformed cops kept back, but one organizer reported rather obvious police infiltrators: "One sister even had some braid/dredlocks thing and a clip-on nose ring, but I saw 'Phila. Police Dept.' on her camera." Former prisoner Dhoruba Bin-Wahad addressed the crowd, pointing out that Congress had long hearings on the Waco massacre, and never had hearings into the bombing of MOVE members and their neighborhood in Philly in 1985. A week later, the (In)Justice Department gave $3.1 million to white supremacist Randy Weaver as payment for the lives of his wife and child, killed by the FBI.(3) MOVE members - and the rest of the Black nation - are still waiting for their reparations. Organizers were glad to see the stay of execution. But they know that the state hopes to diffuse the movement by stalling, lessening the political cost of killing Mumia. Not that it's all costs. The pro- death-penalty white majority wants to see more people just like Mumia executed, not less. On the Internet, one white supremacist lamented: "I was hoping mass riots would break out, so we would be forced to unload our stockpiles. Sniff Sniff." As the movement to save Mumia tried to do some mainstream fundraising, it came up against roadblocks set by the Fraternal Order of Pigs (FOP). A benefit concert featuring progressive Black bands was refused the use of Club Vegas. A bookstore canceled a public reading from Mumia's book after getting calls from the FOP. And a rage against the machine benefit concert had to move from Philly to Washington D.C. after, according to a band spokesperson, "For some reason or another, nobody wanted to touch the show."(4) All these are examples of why MIM always stresses the need to develop independent media that doesn't have to kowtow to imperialist whim. SO WHERE DOES THE MOVEMENT GO NOW? In an interview, Mumia's defense attorney Leonard Weinglass said that the defense hopes to "get a court that will look at this case, and loot at it with an open mind, and objective mind, that's all we ask." As the defense attorney, it's his job to do this through legal appeals. But revolutionaries cannot get too hung up on the difference between one judge and another or between one trial and another. There is no justice for the oppressed in the Amerikan injustice system, and fostering illusions about a better trial or better judge is a politically dangerous game. A new trial is a tactic to get Mumia out; it's not about getting justice from a system that exists to deny justice to the oppressed by any means necessary. An Azanian friend of MIM, following the case from afar, had this perceptive comment: "I've been thinking about it, asking myself whether judge Sabo's decision should be celebrated as victory for us. I couldn't get myself to celebrate it. ... When I thought about the fact that Mumia has been in jail for 13 years, I told myself that our radical demand should be that the Comrade must be set free. ... In my view, anything less is just a lip service which, as a matter of fact, does not remove a shadow of death over Mumia's head. ... I don't see the possibility of a fair trial." FIND STRENGTH IN THE MASSES There is a crucial distinction between appealing to the masses and appealing to the state. Tactically, the legal appeals must continue. But politically it is more important to influence the masses than the state, which is a lost cause. For example, the D.C. rally that went through neighborhoods of the oppressed was more progressive than a rally in Burlington, Vermont, where protesters foolishly charged a hotel where governors were meeting and got arrested, to little effect. Anyone who wants to end the injustices of Amerika needs to see clearly the political nature of crime itself. It is vital to understand, as Mumia and MIM say, that there are hundreds of thousands of people unjustly incarcerated. According to a recent Bureau of Justice Statistics report, there are now 1.5 million people in Amerikan prisons. In MIM's daily prison work - organizing prisoners, distributing literature to them and building public opinion for them on the outside - we don't mess around with categories of prisoner. The system is illegitimate; it exists to protect the power of the power- holders. Even people who commit crimes against the people deserve a trial by the people and punishments with a chance to rectify their crimes. In the coming months, the thousands of people who have participated in the struggle to save Mumia Abu-Jamal should remain vigilant and active. The state remains poised to take Mumia's life on short notice. But the organizers and the masses must also take up the cause of ending the oppressive injustice system, and the imperialist power structure that runs it. Anything less strikes only glancing blows against the legitimacy of the system. To do justice for Mumia, for the oppressed in the U.S. Empire and around the world we must continue the fight to build both public opinion against this brutal system, and the power to destroy it. NOTES: Uncited accounts are from individual Internet reports or MIM eye-witness accounts 1. NYT 8/13/95, p. A14. 2. Washington News Observer 8/5/95. 3. Washington Post 8/16/95. 4. Philadelphia Daily News 8/7/95. * * * MIM NEWS ANTI-PRISONS FORUM DRAWS DEDICATED CROWD, SOLID DEBATE ON THE NATIONAL QUESTION Boston, August 19 - RAIL and MIM held a forum on political prisoners and repression with speakers from the National Committee to free Puerto Rican POWs and Political Prisoners, the Revolutionary Anti-Imperialist League, Freedom Now Coalition, Prison Legal News, the North American Indian Center and Latinos for Social Change. A Puerto Rican comrade performed revolutionary music (to a loud and lasting ovation), and letters were read from comrades behind bars who could not be with us to participate in the forum in person. A dedicated crowd of about 30 or 40 people took part in this forum that lasted 3 hours and included some heavy political debate over the questions of national liberation, electoralism, and the role of the working class. A local radio station taped the program for use in several upcoming news programs and we collected more than $120 in donations for MIM's Books for Prisoners Program. VARIED LINES DEBATE THE NATIONAL QUESTION RAIL's speech opened the forum by broadening the question of political prisoners beyond individuals like Mumia Abu-Jamal and pointing out that we need to struggle for and end to the entire Amerikan injustice system. The comrade from the National Committee to free Puerto Rican POWs and Political Prisoners took this point further, arguing that the Amerikan courts should have no jurisdiction over people from Amerika's internal colonies. He focused on the need for national liberation struggles and talked about the failure of many "left" organizations to rally behind political prisoners from oppressed nations. The comrade from the North American Indian Center discussed the long history of repression Indigenous people have faced in this country. He talked about the difficulty of publicizing Indigenous political prisoner issues when everyone believes that the First Nations were all killed off. Amerikan schoolchildren are fed lies about the history of First Nation history that leave out the national struggles against imperialism that have lasted hundreds of years and do not realize that the struggle continues. The comrade from Prison Legal News read a speech from PLN's editor, Paul Wright, who is currently serving a prison sentence and could not attend. He spoke about the oppressive system of that the puts more than just a few individuals behind bars as political prisoners. This was followed by a letter from a comrade in a New York prison. This comrade pointed out the torture, beating and constant repression faced by prisoners and called on comrades outside the bars to fight the whole prison system and take part in work on the outside both against prisons and for national liberation struggles. A representative of the Freedom Now coalition spoke about her history in the Black Panther Party and the repression that she and her comrades faced both on the streets under constant surveillance and in prison being tortured and beaten by the prison pigs. She called on people to get involved in electoral struggles although she added that she did not think we could win true liberation and equality until we undertook a revolutionary struggle. She also focused on the need for working class unity, a unity that included the white working class even though the oppressed and exploited people that she talked about were mostly the oppressed nations. She asserted that many working people in this country have been pacified by the concessions they have been given by the imperialists but still considered these people potential revolutionaries. MIM responded to this position on the working class by pointing out that these workers have been pacified such that it is now in their material interests to support imperialism. The pay-offs they have been given have created a large labor aristocracy. While in practice we have unity with the work that this comrade does because she correctly focuses on the oppressed in this country, it is important that comrades understand who, as a group, has the potential to be an ally of the revolution and who will not be an ally based on their class interests. Finally, the comrade from Latinos for Social Change took the opportunity of speaking last to disagree with the strategy of electoralism even in the interim while we are also fighting for revolution and to disagree with those on the panel who were arguing for national liberation struggles, instead arguing that class is the principal contradiction in the world and in Amerika. While all comrades on the panel had the strategic unity of working to free political prisoners and end the criminal injustice system, the disagreement over national liberation struggles turned into a lively debate which involved many members of the audience. While MIM does not see the question of the principal contradiction as a dividing line question for communists today, we do think it is important that comrades have a firm grasp of the principal contradiction in order to engage in the most effective organizing. WHAT'S WRONG WITH AMERIKANS? STUDY THE LABOR ARISTOCRACY! The discussion with the audience turned to the question of how to organize students around revolutionary issues when one person raised the question of why he has been unable to organize the various cultural centers on his campus for progressive activities. The comrade from RAIL responded that there is a material basis for these cultural centers to feel an allegiance with the school administration since that is where they get their funding even though many of them were founded by progressive struggles of the students. This turned the discussion to a question of how to organize people around prison issues and why groups like Progressive Labor Party, Workers World, CPUSA and others will not do more than give token lip service to this important issue. A number of people on the panel praised MIM as one of the few organizations doing serious work around prisons issues and one of the few dedicated enough to put on and take part in forums such as this one. MIM encouraged people to study the history of the labor movements in this country and the history of the pseudo-left organizations to understand why they will not support political prisoners and why they are not fighting for real revolutionary change. An understanding of the large labor aristocracy in this country is crucial to the effective fight for revolutionary change. Repeatedly revolutionary organizations and labor organizations have fallen into reformism and social democracy because they sought to organize the Amerikan workers in their own interests only to end up organizing in the interests of imperialism. (To learn more about this read J. Sakai's book Settlers: the Mythology of the White Proletariat, available from MIM for $10). It is also important to study the real revolutionary organizations like the Black Panther Party, the American Indian Movement, the Young Lords Party and others to understand why the most progress for revolutionary change has been led by organizations fighting revolutionary national liberation struggles. HELP US DO THIS AGAIN; CONTRIBUTE TO MIM'S PRISONS WORK Participants on the panel expressed interest in holding this event again in October when more students are in town as we try to get our message out to an ever wider audience. Stay tuned for information about this upcoming event if you missed it the first time. To contribute to MIM's Books for Prisoners Programs which provides revolutionary educational material free to prisoners, send check or money order made out to MIM Distributors, P.O. Box 29670, Los Angeles, CA, 90029-0670. * * * INFANT MORTALITY: NATIONAL OPPRESSION IS NOT IN OUR HEADS In July, an article on Infant Mortality Rates (IMR) in the American Journal of Public Health demonstrated that the rate has been declining faster for whites than for Blacks, and that the disparity between whites and Blacks has increased since 1950. Puerto Rican, Hawaiian, Indian and Black infants all had mortality rates much higher than whites. Blacks in Amerika are oppressed as a nation, and that the division between the Black and white nations is growing. The study used National Vital Statistics data and other national surveys. As countries become more developed and their health care advances, infant mortality rates fall, especially in categories of death that are preventable such as prematurity and low birth- weight. Overall the infant mortality rate for Blacks fits this pattern and is falling. But Black infants are dying more from prematurity and low birth-weight: almost 9% more in 1991 than in 1981. So even while in general IMR is declining across nations within U.S. borders, Black infants are dying more from preventable complications. Prematurity and low birth-weight were the leading causes of death among Black infants in 1991; prevention of these problems depends on good pregnancy health care and good health of the mother. Black infants die at a rate of 269.9 per 100,000 live births from short gestation and unspecified low birth weight; white infants die of the same causes at a rate of 66.1 per 100,000 live births. This ratio of 4:1 can only be explained by national oppression. There is nothing "racial" about this issue of survival, it is not a "characteristic" Black people have to die as infants. The high IMR among Blacks indicates a systematic lack of health care which can only be understood as a national problem. It would not be possible to enforce such thorough institutional inequality through anything other than a division between nations: white and Black. For whites the leading cause of IMR in 1991 was congenital anomalies, which are not easily preventable. More proof that the Black IMR is a product of national oppression is the fact that while higher education for mothers lead to lower infant mortality, this association is stronger for whites than for Blacks. "The Black-white disparity was greater at higher levels of education and ... the racial disparity had generally increased across all educational levels during 1964 through 1987." So even among Blacks of wealthier classes (as measured by mother's education and household income), national oppression ensures higher infant mortality. Even Blacks who join the petit bourgeoisie do not match their Amerikan counterparts. The systematic lack of health care in the Black nation is fueled by multinational corporations' greed in pushing smoking, drinking and other dangerous opiates through a market in genocide: these are habits that contribute to the problems of infant mortality that Blacks face. MIM's response to high Black infant mortality is to build public opinion in favor of the liberation of the Black nation and all of Amerika's internal and external colonies. A self-sufficient Black nation will have the authority to provide universal health care to all its people. MIM works for revolutionary nationalism and socialism. Following their liberation from imperialism, oppressed nations all over the world will arrange their own state economics to prioritize the people's health and well-being, and smash the profit-driven militarism that defines imperialism and sacrifices the health of entire nations. Note: "Infant Mortality in the United States: Trends, Differentials, and Projections, 1950 through 2010." Gopal K. Singh, and Stella M. Yu. American Journal of Public Health, July 1995, Vol 85, No. 7, p. 957-964. * * * CAN THE SPARTS EXPLAIN WHO KILLED VINCENT CHIN? In Los Angeles, MIM hosted a showing of Who Killed Vincent Chin?, a video which exposes the deadly alliance between the settler labor aristocracy and the imperialists. The video details the murder of Vincent Chin by white working class auto workers who were out to avenge the loss of auto jobs to the Japanese (Chin was Chinese, but to these racists there was no difference). The labor aristocracy strongly supported the murderers, while a pan-Asian movement campaigned for justice, exposing the national contradictions between the privileged white working class and the oppressed nationalities inside Amerika's borders. Supporters of the Spartacist League showed up at the film and helped to underscore the importance of MIM's clear line opposing the labor aristocracy. The Trotskyist presence at the film showing also reminds MIM of the importance polemicizing about our line on the labor aristocracy. The Spartacist League promised to write to MIM years ago in response to our critique of labor aristocracy politics. Advancing the debate in writing is the best way for both parties to be accountable to the masses for our politics. The Sparts tabled outside before the film started, but then packed up the literature and came to watch the movie. When the video ended, a MIM supporter read excerpts from an unpublished MIM essay on Who Killed Vincent Chin? This essay connects the Chin case to MIM line on the white working class. The excerpt read by the MIM activist ends: "Those Marxists such as in the Spartacist League who have told us that the U.S. working class is the most advanced or tied for most advanced working class in the world - they should explain that to Vincent Chin's mother." As the event was drawing to a close, the Sparts initiated a struggle with the MIM activists. Only MIM and Spartacist League supporters remained at this point. The two groups held a freewheeling discussion for about an hour, in which MIM made it clear that if the Spartacist League really wants to struggle with MIM, it should do so in print as it once did briefly, as a party's organ is a forum in which both parties are held accountable to the masses for their respective lines. MIM encourages the Sparts and other Trotskyists to write to us, as this will help demonstrate the failures of Trotskyism to the masses. The Trotskyists' dogmatic idealism makes them incapable of considering the reality of labor aristocrat fascism, even when faced with the blatant demonstration given by the auto workers who murdered Vincent Chin and then justified the killing in openly fascist terms. Note: For more on the ideological and theoretical failures of Trotskyism, see Kostas Mavrakis, On Trotskyism, available from MIM for $10. See especially Chapter 3, "Trotsky's Incapacity for Concrete Analysis." * * * QUE VIVA PUERTO RICO LIBRE! July 30 - An annual Puerto Rican parade was held in Boston on this beautiful Sunday and a People's Contingent, composed of several progressive Puerto Rican organizations, joined in the march. Carrying banners that said "Free Mumia Abu-Jamal, Free All Political Prisoners," and other messages about political prisoners, this contingent brought up the issue of Puerto Rican POWs and political prisoners while pointing out that this is not just a Puerto Rican problem. In a leaflet distributed by members of the People's Contingent, the marchers explained "This year this contingent is composed of several groups that fight for social justice. Each group will be carrying their own banner. We dedicate this parade to Mumia Abu-Jamal an Afro-American political prisoner and former Black Panther. The governor of Pennsylvania has scheduled August 17, 1995 as his execution date. We condemn that they want to execute him." The contingent ended up behind an Amerikan army contingent, a positioning that was symbolic of the contradictions between the politics present at the parade. The parade was a mixture of revolutionary and bourgeois nationalism, with a small contingent of reactionary comprador nationalists represented in the army cars. In response to the banners carried by the People's Contingent, many people watching the parade raised their fists and shouted solidarity slogans such as "Que Viva Puerto Rico Libre," which translates as "Long Live a Free Puerto Rico." This is different from shouting "Long Live Puerto Rico," and it represents the difference between nationalist consciousness and revolutionary nationalist consciousness. Puerto Rico is not currently free as it is a colony of the United States. The people of Puerto Rico have many reasons to be proud of their national heritage and its long history of revolutionary resistance. But Puerto Rico in its current colonial status deserves only a very short life: until the revolutionary struggle for national liberation is successful. Alongside the revolutionary consciousness of the People's Contingent, this parade featured many symbols of bourgeois nationalism including proud youth showing off their fancy cars with the names of their home cities in Puerto Rico written on the windows. Some featured other slogans such as "Respeta mi Bandera," ("respect my flag,") showing the national political consciousness that is a potential ally of the revolutionary national liberation struggle under the leadership of the proletariat. This comrade marched with the National Committee to Free Puerto Rican Prisoners of War and Political Prisoners banner. Although the People's Contingent was small relative to the size of the parade and the number of people who joined in to show off their fancy cars, the response of the crowd was encouraging. Actions such as this one are important to show the youth of our many oppressed nations that true pride does not come from owning a pretty car, it comes from fighting with the struggle to liberate the oppressed of the world. * * * PSEUDO-FEMINISTS STRENGTHEN PATRIARCHY by a member of the Revolutionary Anti-Imperialist League (RAIL) Pseudo-feminist groups like Refugee Women and Development, Amnesty International, and assorted legal groups, recently convinced the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) to recognize gender-specific forms of persecution in political asylum cases. "The new guidelines...formally recognize rape, domestic violence, domestic abuse, genital mutilation, slavery, forced marriage, and other forms of violence against women as potential grounds for protection."(1) Previously, the INS saw violations such as rape as private acts or street crime, not as forms of political torture or persecution. REFORM STRENGTHENS PATRIARCHY Supporters of this new gender reform are lending mountains of credibility to the U.S. government as a champion of women's rights. They attempt to hide the fact that the way to overturn the patriarchy is to organize women to defend themselves against violence and to organize oppressed women and men to overturn the comprador and imperialist regimes that sanction violence against the people. Approximately 3% (about 5,000 out of 144,000 last year) of all applicants are granted political asylum, and the majority of political refugees are men. The pseudo-feminists touting the gender reform in political asylum standards ignore the obvious inefficacy of trying to ease the burden of patriarchy through the INS. They are not trying to address systemic violence against women, they only want a a superficial internationalist flavor for their movement. The reform will be useless for women trying to escape Amerika's allies, as protection will not likely be extended to women who oppose politics Amerika upholds. The political manipulation of this policy is clearly evident in the case of a Haitian woman raped in retaliation for her support of Aristide who was recently granted political asylum. Amerika needs to rebuild its credibility regarding Haiti because it allowed the anti-Aristide military so much freedom there. This woman was a convenient piece of public relations propaganda for Amerika, yet it is clear that the INS did not seek out other Haitian women in the same position. Patriarchy, left intact, continues to define violence against women. Women seeking asylum must be able to prove that "...their personal political beliefs made them a specific target of state persecution"(1). So if a woman refuses to tolerate culturally acceptable violence, the INS may find her political beliefs out of order and reject her application. Forced marriage is necessarily defined by both partners' willingness to marry. How does a woman prove that she's opposed to a specific marriage or marriage in general and therefore was forced to marry? THERE IS NO SOLUTION SHORT OF OPEN BORDERS Rightist opponents of the gender reform claim that it will "open the floodgates" for refugees. Yet an INS commissioner admits that the new guidelines are only a way to "...sensitize immigration service officers..." Third World women don't need sensitive INS pigs reviewing their applications for asylum, the Third World proletariat demands open borders and an end to Amerikan domination of its economic and political life. NOTE: Sojourner 7/95, p. 20. * * * MIM PRESENTS REVOLUTIONARY FEMINISM AT MICHIGAN WOMYN'S MUSIC FESTIVAL The Michigan Womyn's Music Festival is a week-long gathering of several thousand women, mostly lesbians, for music, socializing and (identity) politics. Workshop topics range from "recovering" from racism 12-step style to the Lesbian Avengers. This year MIM held two workshops of its own to advance revolutionary politics in the struggle for women's liberation; MIM stressed that patriarchy cannot be abolished without the destruction of capitalism through the fight against imperialism. Women at the festival supported MIM's analysis of gender short of the actual practice of national liberation for internal colonies and support for Third World Revolutions. The first workshop focused on a Maoist Revolutionary Feminist Perspective. MIM opened the discussion by explaining that when we talk about gender, we are talking about power, not genitalia. The speaker said that throughout the talk, she would use the un-sisterly words of "right" and "wrong," unabashedly declaring that those who favor the continued oppression of women are not "valid," and this set the tone for a lively debate. MIM pointed out that gender oppression is relative. Biological women can wield oppressive gender power based on their nation and class. MIM emphasized the importance of looking at the appropriation of sexuality - instead of just reproductive labor - for an analysis of how lesbians fit into the analysis. The women at the discussion seemed to agree that lesbians are not outside the patriarchal paradigm as they recognized that lesbian battering, sado-masochism, and pornography are obvious manifestations of the eroticization of power among women. UPHOLDING PSYCHOLOGY WITH THE MYTH OF THE BLACK RAPIST To illustrate some of the power that First World women have, MIM pointed out that white women have the power to put Black men in prisons by crying "rape." A member of the audience asked the MIM speaker what she would do if she was raped by a Black man. To the questioner's great annoyance, the speaker prefaced her response with a qualifier as to how preposterously unlikely that was. MIM pointed out that Black men are not all lurking behind bushes looking for a woman to rape - and that this is an insidious myth used to justify repression against the internal colonies by Amerika. The audience member insisted on knowing what the individual MIM member would do in that case however hypothetical it was. MIM members work to abolish the disgusting society that makes rape routine - not to get individuals locked up in a prison system that does nothing to change acts that are harmful. MIM pointed to the book Prisoners of Liberation and the way that China dealt with criminals prior to 1976 as good examples of a correct practice. Thought Reform coupled with criticism and self- criticism is a way for people to see what they have done and why it is wrong. The discussion focused primarily on psychology. One woman said that MIM had a contradictory line because MIM does not advocate sending men to jail for rape while at the same time we say abolish psychology. She said that psychology is the only way to ensure that the Black man does not rape again. MIM disagrees. People commit crimes under capitalism for material reasons and these reasons must be addressed in order to find the solution. Reformists who advocate therapy for Black rapists of white women want only one-sided change - they want continued privilege for white women while Black men endure oppression in a more "civilized" manner. And if they advocate therapy for the white women as well, it is just a way to feel better about nation, gender, and class privilege while not changing the constant rape inherent in patriarchy. The audience asked whether 12-step programs were also in the objectionable realm of psychology. MIM talked about our own experiences in addressing problems among Maoists in our circles such as substance abuse and depression. MIM maintains that it is superior to deal with such problems in the context of independent power. MIM directed the audience to the upcoming issue of MIM Theory, which will focus on psychology. Another woman pointed out that you really have to look at who brings the drugs into the ghetto - the CIA - and punish those people instead of those addicted. The discussion turned to reproductive rights and MIM upheld its support of abortion on demand without apology. One audience member was not satisfied with this because she thought that she should have control over women who have "too many" children. Another audience member correctly pointed out that the flaw in the logic was that a rich woman could have 10 kids but that the woman is putting down a poor woman having 10 kids. She pointed out that you have to look at and understand the reason why poor women have many children. The problem is not "too many" children per se, but unequal distribution of wealth and gender, class and national oppression. Overall this first workshop got a very positive response from the women in attendance. FESTIVAL AUDIENCE REJECTS REVOLUTIONARY FEMINIST PRACTICE The second workshop that MIM facilitated, focusing on revolutionary feminism as applied in Peru, was less welcomed by the women at the festival. MIM started out explaining how it is important to work from the vantage point of the International Proletariat. In this, women's liberation is not true liberation if it is gotten off the backs of women from the Third World. A good example is how birth control First World women use to control their own reproductive lives is tested on women in the Third World and Peru specifically who do not control their own reproduction. One woman MIM would label a pseudo-feminist said that there was no reason for her to look at struggles outside Amerika. MIM agrees with this woman's assessment of her own objective interests and explained that First World women, who as a group are part of the gender aristocracy, can achieve relative gender privilege by fighting within the system. But true liberation for women of the world is not going to come through First World women climbing the capitalist ladder and continuing to support oppression of Third World women. If women want real equality instead of imperialist patriarchy then we need to fight a subjective battle as well. First World feminists must struggle to understand that overthrowing imperialism is a correct and necessary feminist goal, and they must be convinced to commit gender suicide and renounce their gender privileges to help achieve this goal. Patriarchy cannot be abolished without overthrowing capitalism through the fight against imperialism. Peruvian women are currently engaged in that battle. MIM explained the history women's importance and power in Peru to illustrate the necessity of overthrowing imperialist powers. Gender stratification and military repression in Peru are products of imperialism. The Spanish, English and the Amerikans have all forcefully changed the indigenous culture and power structure. (MIM recommends and distributes Carol Andreas's book When Women Rebel for more on this.) Women were very sympathetic to MIM's assessment of the travesties of imperialism and Amerikan economic domination. But when it came to what to do, women asked if MIM's idea was to kill other people. They showed a complete inability to grasp materialism as a measuring stick of gains for Third World women. They could see no difference between women starving with no autonomy and women being in command of the local people's committee and able to feed their children. The essence of the matter seemed to be that if PCP Chairperson Gonzalo himself did not change into a biological woman or was not replaced by one, the PCP could not really be feminist. The women in the audience made the same mistake that women in Peru made in their earlier stages of struggle: they drew the lines based on biological sex as opposed to material interests. It is important to understand the significant role that imperialism has played in exacerbating the contradictions between indigenous men and women and also to understand that relative to both men and women in oppressor nations, indigenous men are gendered female. The fight for liberation must not set gender aside and reduce all struggles to class or nation, but this does not make gender the principal contradiction. This faulty analysis obstructs discovery of the real principal contradiction and serves a reactionary purpose. One woman said that she has never seen Maoists that did not oppress women within the organization. She scoffed at the fact that the PCP leads the revolution in Peru with many women leaders and ignored the biological gender of the MIM facilitator. MIM encourages women hold this line to stop complaining about the lack of power that women have in revolutionary parties, engage in struggle and seize leadership in organizations and parties that work to abolish patriarchy. MIM tried to elicit from these women some kind of response as to whether revolutionary violence was ever justified, or if, in fact, they believed that it was "just as bad" as reactionary violence waged against Third World women and men every day under imperialism. The women at the workshop professed that they wanted something "new," but didn't propose anything specific. MIM upholds the PCP as the best thing going in Peru. Advocating a non- existent idealist alternative to revolutionary violence amounts to siding with reactionary violence. MIM hopes that the many women who took copies of MIM Notes and took notes at our workshops will continue to study the ideas that we discussed and join the struggle for women's liberation on a global scale. * * * PEOPLE'S PICNIC RALLIES IN SUPPORT OF PRISONERS by member of the Revolutionary Anti-Imperialist League (RAIL) July 4, St. Louis, Mo. - As U.S. imperialism celebrated its birthday this year, more than 130 people gathered at Tower Grove Park in support of political prisoners and prisoners of war being held hostage by the U.S. government. The Second Annual People's Picnic was organized by the Coalition Against U.S. Imperialism (CAUSI), a coalition based on the agreement that Amerika is an illegitimate nation built on the stolen land, labor and resources of captive nations. Revolutionary politics dominated a festive atmosphere of food, games and music. A representative of the Revolutionary Anti- Imperialist League (RAIL) hosted the rally: "Welcome to the only patriotic picnic in town today on behalf of those who work and fight for freedom. Those who are now imprisoned because they oppose the U.S capitalist-imperialist state which invaded this land, killed and enslaved its indigenous people, kidnapped and enslaved Africans to build its economic base, invaded and annexed northern Mexico and Puerto Rico and dictates to other nations what types of government they will or won't have. While Amerika celebrates its treacherous acts today and dares call it freedom, we say "no." Instead, we celebrate the fact that freedom loving people have always resisted Amerika. Today there are hundreds of political prisoners in the U.S. because they dared to oppose imperialism and support self-determination and socialism. They are Puerto Rican freedom fighters, native amerikan Indians fighting for self-determination, members of the Black Panther Party for self-defense and proponents of the Republic of New Africa." One of the featured speakers, a representative from Citizens United for the Rehabilitation of Errants (CURE), pointed out that not just political prisoners, but all prisoners deserve our support and consideration. Prisons, the courts and the pigs are politicizing many prisoners by exposing them to the class struggle. The speaker noted that "there are prisoners being denied their basic human rights in these concentration camps. My husband is imprisoned at the Potosi correctional facility, a control unit prison which is nothing but a legal torture institution. This government is not fighting crime but committing the crime of repression and genocide against poor and working people." This RAIL representative, following MIM leadership, organizes around the line that all prisoners are political prisoners. People in Amerika's penitentiaries have been judged by an outlaw state that has no authority to determine "criminality." Just as the RAIL speaker listed Amerika's treacherous acts against all people who lived on this land before Europeans came here, RAIL demands Amerika correct its own injustices before it sets out to place people in its department of corrections. A sister from the Eastern Missouri Coalition to End the Death Penalty spoke about Missouri's last two executions. In May, the state executed a man by lethal injection at the Potosi control unit prison. It took over 35 minutes for him to die. To most civilized people, this is torture or "cruel and unusual punishment;" but to the state of Missouri it is a common way of intimidating and controlling Africans, people of color and the poor. "The u.s. is the only industrialized country to use the death penalty...it has proven to be a weapon by an elite ruling class against people of color and the poor. It must be abolished." On June 20, the state executed William Griffin, accused of murder for a drive-by shooting in 1980. The defense had 4 witnesses testify that Griffin did not do the shooting, and was not in the car. The prosecution had one witness who was given a deal to testify. The prosecution witness admitted in private that he perjured himself, but he feared the wrath of the court. Governor Carnahan, a Democrat chose not to pardon Griffin because he feared political reprisal from voters. Speaking for the All-African People's Revolutionary Party, an enthusiastic sister brought revolutionary greetings explaining that the fourth of July is "...a lie! All of Amerika's actions run against freedom and liberty." Referring to Pennsylvania Governor Ridge's signing Mumia Abu-Jamal's death warrant she charged "They use sacred dates from the people's movement to carry out their diabolical actions. They used Martin Luther King's birthday to start bombing Iraq. Now they are using the birthday of Marcus Garvey, August 17, to murder Mumia Abu- Jamal. But listen, struggle is a two-way street. A people's tribunal was recently held where people from all over the world condemned the u.s.a. for its repeated use of genocide against the world's people. The u.s. government was sentenced to death at a date which WE will choose! Death to imperialism! Death to capitalism!" CAUSI provided all participants at the picnic with postcards to send to Governor Ridge demanding an end to all executions and a new and fair trial for Mumia Abu-Jamal. More than 100 were collected and mailed the next day. A meeting was planned to build a huge local demonstration on behalf of Mumia calling for a stay of execution and his release from prison. Revolutionary greetings and statements of support were sent from the Crossroad Support Network in Chicago, a group which works with New African political prisoners and prisoners of war; and the Maoist Internationalist Movement, the revolutionary communist party whose line and leadership RAIL follows. Additional speakers presented statements of support including: the Midwest Anti-Fascist Network, the Gateway Greens, Anarchist Youth Federation, Industrial workers of the world, the Organizer and the Organization for Black struggle. All the statements and greetings were greeted with enthusiastic applause and cheers. Despite a bout with rain, people stayed to hear local hip hop group "Eleven-fifty-five" and to eat, talk and have a good time. When the rain stopped, the sun came out and someone mentioned that the rain is considered cleansing in Indigenous cultures. Like the rain, a truly revolutionary movement led by the proletariat will cleanse the world of imperialism and establish communal unity of the peoples of the world. MIM ADDS: This sounds like an excellent event and we appreciate the opportunity to publish a report on it in our newspaper. There are a couple of discrepancies between this article and MIM line; as MIM Notes goes to press, we have not had time to get a response from the author as to her/his agreement with these points: MIM does not call Indians "native Amerikans" because this is a misrepresentation of who they are. They are not native Amerikans because the Amerika with a k is used to connote the piggish, imperialist state we currently live under and there is nothing about Indians that is native to that. It is more accurate to say that Indigenous people got to this continent first, which is why MIM calls them First Nations rather than natives. We made a mistake about this in the review of Pocahontas in MIM Notes 103, so we're sorry if that contributed to confusion on this point. MIM does not call Black people Africans when talking about the Black nation here. People whose ancestors were brought to this country and torn from their language, culture, land and nations 400 years ago are no longer Africans. To call them that is to deny the history that created the Black nation and made it impossible for members of the Black nation to return to their ancestral homes as Africans. MIM also does not refer to "people of color" because color is not the issue. The people referred to in this article are oppressed nationals, members of internal colonies. As groups, these people are defined by their national differences from, and their national oppression by Amerika. * * * NEWSPAPER EMPLOYEES STRIKE FOR PIE Two thousand five hundred employees of the Detroit News Agency (DNA) have been on strike since July 13th. At least one Trotskyist front group, the National Women's Rights Organizing Committee (NWROC), is organizing to help the strikers. MIM takes the Maoist line and upholds the perspective of the international proletariat: the Labor Aristocrat strikers are in a bloody alliance with the big corporate capitalists. The DNA employees want better benefits in exchange for their service, even though these benefits can only be proffered at the exnspee of the Third World proletariat. After the contracts for these printers, press operators, mailers, photoengravers, and newsroom and maintenance workers expired April 30th of this year. The unions and DNA have been firing accusations of bargaining in bad faith back and forth ever since; with disputes over pay raises, company supplements to pensions and job security blocking a settlement.(1) In June, the labor board ruled against the Newspaper Guild Union 22 for failing to bargain in good faith on an overtime proposal by management. Now the National Labor Relations Board is considering union complaints that the newspapers bargained in bad faith.(4) There is nothing heroic about workers who already have benefits and pensions arguing over more benefits and pensions while other workers don't get enough to eat. The strikers have solicited funds from the AFL-CIO to support their strike,(5) and were promised up to $1 million.(6) This is the same AFL-CIO that got its money by opposing the struggles of Japanese and Mexican farm workers in California(8) and supported the UAW's fight against Black nationalists and oppressed nationals in Detroit.(9) The NWROC has tried to build support for the strikers by asking subscribers to drop their subscriptions to the DNA papers and protested stores that carry them, like Border's Bookstores. MIM supports the struggle of Third World workers for survival wages and working conditions. We work to build public opinion in favor of national liberation struggles, independent institutions of the oppressed and anti-imperialism and anti- militarism. If the striking workers in this country would strike in favor of these goals, MIM would support them in that. But history tells us not to tail after struggles that ignore the interests of the Third World proletariat. We will continue to struggle scientifically against those who would subjugate the just struggles of the oppressed to bogus First World chauvinist goals. NOTES: 1. The Michigan Daily 7/19/95, p. 3. 2. The Detroit News 8/6/95, p. 6A. 3. The Detroit News and Free Press 8/10/95, p. A1, A11. 4. The Detroit New and Free Press 8/9/95, p. A1, 9A. 5. The Detroit News 8/2/95 p. 4A. 6. The Detroit Free Press 8/3/95, C1. 8. See Racial Fault Lines: The Historical Origins of White Supremacy in California by Toma's Almaguer. 9. See Detroit: I Do Mind Dying, A Study in Urban Revolution by Dan Georgakas and Marvin Surkin. * * * PARASITE MERGER: UNIONS MERGE TO NEGOTIATE CUSHIER DEALS Amerika's three largest labor aristocracy unions - the United Auto Workers, United Steelworkers of America and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers - are merging to increase their collective bargaining power. On July 27 the unions signed an unofficial document announcing their plan to merge, but it will be five years before the merger is complete. Imperialism is defined by ever more decadent demonstrations of its own stagnation. The unions are merging because their membership has declined so much in the past 20 years that they no longer have as much bargaining clout as they would like. The unions blame a hostile political climate for the lag in participation, but MIM understands that the need for labor aristocracy organization has disappeared. Labor aristocrats are not afraid to organize, they are too bloated to feel the need. But the superprofits that bloat them have to come from somewhere. As the class contradictions within the white nation become harder to see, the contradictions between U.S. imperialism and the oppressed nations get bigger. As manufacturing companies move to the Third World superexploit Third World proletarians, the U.S. labor aristocracy finds it can do less organizing and more consuming. Labor aristocrats are compensated for more than the value of their labor in wages and benefits. They are also doing less production and more paper-shuffling.(see MT 1 or Settlers: the Mythology of the White Proletariat for an analysis of the political economy of the White Working Class) * * * UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA REGENTS ABOLISH AFFIRMATIVE ACTION On July 20, the University of California regents voted to wipe out gender- and nationality ("race")-based preferences in student admissions, hiring and contracting. KKKalifornia Governor Pete Wilson, himself a regent, understands that nothing brings home settler votes better than attacks on the oppressed nations. The governor recently proved it by immigrant-bashing his way to re-election. Affirmative action has made no more than token reparations to Amerika's internal colonies, and MIM is outraged that even this tiny bit of progress was too much for the settlers and their political representatives to allow. We see the emerging student struggle in defense of affirmative action as progressive, but severely limited. Affirmative action has been part of Amerika's neo- colonial way of minimizing the threat of national liberation struggles in Amerikkka's internal colonies. It allows small numbers of oppressed nationality individuals to "integrate" more easily with their national oppressors, while the majority in the oppressed nations retain more traditional colonial status. Real affirmative action requires reparations from the oppressor nations to the internal and external colonies and neo-colonies. And that requires that the imperialist U.S. bourgeois dictatorship be overthrown through armed revolution and replaced by a dictatorship of the international proletariat. The fact that 30 years of reform were wiped away in one blow demonstrates once again the futility of the reformist approach to making progressive change. The bright side of this latest attack on the oppressed nations is that it will bring new allies to the side of the international proletariat. We hope to see - and will gladly assist - students organizing in such a way as to raise the cost of the regents' reactionary decision. * * * UNDER LOCK & KEY JOIN THE STRUGGLE Dear MIM, I received the June issue of MIM Notes without problem, thank you. However, the May issue was confiscated for review because of articles dealing with the abuse of prisoners by prison staff. The Publications Review Board felt that it was disruptive to the safety & security of the prison, and sent it to Springfield for their final review. I still want to continue to receiving MIM Notes - I have no intention of letting the prison stop me from reading what I choose to read. They cannot stop me from reading what I choose to read. They cannot censor my reading materials simply because they do not agree with the articles, they have no basis for denying them. Please help me with a problem. There are three of us on the same tier who want to start a study group, and we think it'd be really beneficial because we all have different political philosophies that we can draw upon to help each other grow. Our only problem seems to be getting any support from the brothers around us. We can only do so much as a three-man group. How can we get the brothers interested in joining our struggle? It seems that they're more afraid of having the guards come down on them than they are concerned about enlightening themselves. Thanks once again for MIM Notes, and I look forward to hearing from you. - an Illinois prisoner, 6/30/95 RMG1 RESPONDS: A study group with only three people is a great start. Lead by example and maybe others will follow you. To quote an Indiana prisoner, "Keep on reaching out to these brothers, because they are too important to give up on." ILLINOIS PRISONER PUTS CENSORS AND BOBBY SEALE IN THEIR PLACE Dear Comrades, I received the newsletter and was delighted to hear from you. Let me assure you that I have tried to get in touch with you. However, since winning a grievance against the warden and a mailroom employee for the state who classified such material as gang literature, I had not received anything until what you recently sent. I believe because I proved to imperialist representatives sent here from the state capital that the material in question was neither gang- related nor racially antagonistic the staff here are destroying whatever I attempt to send out that is strongly political and whatever is sent to me. It is a good thing that you wrote about the film "Panther" as I knew you would, because Bobby Seale trashed the film along with the memory of Huey P. Newton in a television interview with Tom Snyder. While in typical capitalist fashion he promoted himself and the upcoming film version of his book (Seize the Time). [MIM agrees with this prisoner's assessment of Bobby Seale's current politics, but the party does like and distributes this book because it is a good history of the BPP.] Seale made charges of Newton attempting to break into the underworld rackets as the basis for him (Seale) leaving the Black Panther Party in 1974. When Snyder pointed out the book's coverage of the Party's history was incomplete, Mr. Barbecue Sauce replied, "That's why we're working on a sequel." - an Illinois prisoner, 6/19/96 MASSACHUSETTS PRISONER FIGHTS CENSORSHIP To: Paul Murphy, Superintendent, Old Colony Correctional Center Superintendent: On May 26, 1995, I received Form 403-8, Contraband Notification. Apparently the mail officer at OCCC [Old Colony Correctional. Center] contrabanded an incoming publication from MIM Distributors, claiming there was "gang-related" material in this publication, and failed to follow the regulations as enumerated in 103 CMR 481. More specifically, the regulations violated were: # 103 CMR 481.16(2)(b) which states I will be given notice that a written appeal can be submitted # 103 CMR 481.15(2)(c) which states that it is the deputy superintendent's decision to exclude a particular magazine or publication # 103 CMR 481.15 (1)(a)-(g) states what material may be excluded and there is no reference to "gang-related" material. Furthermore, no definition of "gang-related" material is given to any prisoner and as 103 CMR 481.15(2)(a) explicitly states: No publication can be rejected "solely because its content is religious, philosophical, political, social or sexual, or because its content is unpopular or repugnant." The absence of the right to appeal notification is a clear-cut violation. The fact that the deputy superintendent did not make the decision to exclude/or contraband the publication is beyond doubt. [A mail officer rejected it. - MIM] These regulations are ones that obligate prison officials and therefore because an obligation has been violated it is clear that your subordinates are in need of correction and thus your intervention is required. In addition to excluding the publication in violation of 103 CMR 481, there is no indication that 103 CMR 481.16(2) was followed in respect to the publisher. The deputy superintendent must notify the publisher in accordance with policy. [MIM was not notified by OCCC - MIM] Superintendent, without more, the rejection and contrabanding of the publication is invalid. A broad-based rejection by the mail officer as to "gang-related" material is not a "reason." Additionally, 103 CMR 481.16(4) states that I must be given the opportunity to "inspect in the presence of correctional personnel, any disapproved material for purposes of filing an appeal." Pursuant to this section I hereby request to inspect the alleged offending material for the purpose of filing an appeal. Where I do not receive any response by June 10, 1995, I will consider the absence of a response a refusal to answer and proceed with an appeal to the commissioner's office. I await your reply and your corrective action. - a Massachusetts prisoner, 5/27/95 FLORIDA CENSORS MIM NOTES Request for admissible reading material is denied at Okaloosa Correctional Institution. Any single issue of any publication shall be rejected if it otherwise presents a clear and substantial threat to the security, order or rehabilitative objectives of the correctional system or the safety of any person. Title: MIM Notes April 1995 99 The official newsletter of the Maoist Internationalist movement - Mailroom, Okaloosa Correctional Institution, 3189 Little Silver Rd, Crestview, FL 32536, 4/25/95 MIM ADDS: Readers are encouraged to send letters of protest to the above address. KENTUCKY REJECTS MIM NOTES Notice of rejected mail After inspection ... this mail has been considered as unacceptable because of the following reason(s): Newspaper rejected that poses a potential threat to the nature of the security of this correctional facility. - Commonwealth of Kentucky, Kentucky State Penitentiary MIM ADDS: Both May and June 95 issues of MIM Notes have been withheld from at least two prisoners at Kentucky State Penitentiary. Letters of protest can be sent to: Dot Bacon or H. Mayfield, Mailroom staff, Kentucky State Penitentiary, PO Box 128, Eddyville, KY 42038-0128 ALABAMA CENSORS MIM The William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility censored the June 1995 issue of MIM Notes. In response, MIM sent a form letter to the prisoner whose paper was censored stating that the facility had censored MIM Notes and listing several possible actions the prisoner could take such as writing articles, describing prison conditions, and suggesting possible solutions. In response to MIM's letter, MIM received this letter from the prisoncrats at the William E. Donaldson Correctional (sic) Facility. Dear Sir/Madam, As the attached letter is not conducive to good prison order, correspondence from your company will not be allowed into the facility. Sincerely, Ray Hightower, Acting Warden/Institutional Coordinator, 7/14/95 Letters of protest can be sent to: Mr. Hightower, Acting Warden/Institutional Coordinator, William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility, 100 Warrior Lane, Bessemer AL 35023-7299, phone (205) 436- 3681, Fax (205) 436-3399 FEDS THREATEN TO KILL FOR THOUGHT-CRIME The prisoner who was scheduled to be executed at the main prison here had gotten a "stay of execution" for at least sixty days. He was scheduled to be executed on March 30, 1995. This would have been the first federal execution since the 1960s. It turns our that he received the death penalty for a conspiracy offense! He was convicted for conspiracy to take out a "contract" on a federal witness. It's a capital offense. It really bothers several of us here that any conspiracy would be a capital offense, (or that the death penalty exists at all). Well, thanks for sending MIM Notes! It's always thought-provoking. - a federal prisoner in Indiana, 4/2/95 OREGON CONTINUES TO CENSOR MIM NOTES In April, Under Lock and Key reported that the Oregon State Corr. Facility has been rejecting MIM Notes since December 1994, because it contains material that, according to the prisoncrats, threatens or is detrimental to the security, good order, or discipline of the facility or facilitates criminal activity. Specifically targeted was the statement "through armed struggle" in the "What is MIM?" box on page two of every MIM Notes which the prisoncrats summed up as a promotion of armed revolution. On the request of a prisoner who wanted to receive MIM Notes, MIM even blacked out sections of the "What is MIM?" box, but to no avail. Each issue has been rejected with the same notice. MIM Notes readers can send letters of protest to: Mailroom, Oregon State Corr. Institution, 3405 Deer Park Dr., Salem, OR 97310-9385. POLITICAL PRISONERS AND ORGANIZATIONS UNITE TO SAVE THE LIFE OF ZIYON YISRAYAH NOW In Indianapolis, Indiana, the Indianapolis police department made a pre-dawn raid on the home of Ajamu Nassor and Ziyon Yisrayah on December 11, 1980. The men and women in the house were asleep when the police kicked in the door and indiscriminately started firing and throwing tear gas inside of the home, leaving Ziyon Yisrayah wounded and Sgt. Jack Ohrberg of the Indianapolis Police Department dead. What concerns us about this case is that it was determined at the time that Sgt. Ohrberg had been shot in the back and that the bullet that killed him did not come from either of the guns within the house. Most importantly, when this officer was shot, he had been facing Ajamu and Ziyon. The evidence is clear that this officer was killed by someone behind him and only police officers were in that position. Ajamu Nassor and Ziyon Yisrayah both received the death sentence for the December 1980 slaying of Police Sgt. Jack Ohrberg. The prosecutors and Governor Evan Bayh both have publicly acknowledged and admitted in all the major newspapers in this state that Officer Ohrberg was in fact shot in the back and that neither of the guns found in the house was the murder weapon. On December 8, 1994, at 12:13 a.m., the Indiana Department of Corrections (sic) executed Ajamu Nassor and pronounced him dead. Ziyon Yisrayah is now sitting on Death Row fighting for his life and needs your support. Now is the time that we must unite and act to save his life! We are asking all organizations who are campaigning against the death penalty, the New African Independence Movement and other movements and organizations fighting for justice, to act now to save the life of Ziyon Yisrayah. Mail all letters and petitions asking for executive clemency to the people and organizations below. Ziyon Yisrayah is on Death Row for a crime that evidence proves he did not commit, and the prosecutor admits he did not commit. Such injustice is frightening and massive action is necessary. This cycle of violence diminishes all of us, especially our children. Violence is evil and is unacceptable as a solution to problems. It goes against the truth of our humanity. Mail all letters and petitions for executive clemency to: President Bill Clinton, The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., Washington, DC 20500 Phone: 202-456-1111 Fax: 202-456-2461 Governor Evan Bayh, Office of the Governor, The State House, Indianapolis, IN 46204 Phone: 317- 232-4567 Fax: 317-232-3443 For More Information contact: Human Rights Coalition of Indiana, 508 E. Corby Blvd. South Bend, IN 46601 Brew City Anti-Authoritarian Collective, P.O. Box 93312, Milwaukee, WI 53203 ACT NOW IN SOLIDARITY FREE MUMIA ABU-JAMAL ABOLISH THE RACIST DEATH PENALTY - an Indiana prisoner HUMAN TORTURE CHAMBER This place is a human torture chamber. They came to my cell to get me on Monday the 13th, gave me a minute to pack my personal stuff, and took me to A & P to dress me. As I was walking to the Sally Port to the van, after having been cuffed and shackled, they allowed the dog to bite me on my arm. he didn't break skin but it made me very angry. In the Sally Port were a bunch of black-gloved, Nazi-looking Klansmen. They opened the door of the van, saying real loud, "Inmate, turn your fucking head. Don't look at me." I immediately took offense and rebelled. I told him, "Fuck you." He put his nasty hands over my mouth and reached in and undid the seat belt. They grabbed me and snatched me to the ground. They took my gloves (which I've not seen again). Then one really nasty-looking Klansman took his knuckles and applied pressure to the pressure point under my ear, causing me excruciating pain. They took me into a room and put me face down on this dirty, cold concrete floor, told me to stay there and don't get up, yelling loud all the time. I immediately got up because I am not used to being treated like a dog. They told me to lay down on the floor, I was still handcuffed and shackled, when I did not comply, they maced me. Then the "CERT" team rushed me with a shield, banging my head against the wall, slamming me to the floor. One was standing on my head, grinding my face into the concrete. One had crisscrossed my legs and was trying to break them. One or two were twisting my wrist. I thought for sure they would break them. They did not beat me, but they hurt me in every way they could within legal limitations. I may as well have been beat up. I could not see for the whole time. They took the chains and stuff off me and put more on me. Putting them on as tight as they could and I was in constant pain. They cut the clothes off me and dressed me in more. They took me to a cell with nothing in it but a metal bunk. They chained me to the bunk, face up with my jumpsuit at my ankles. I was left like that all day. I had to go to the bathroom on myself and they did not feed me. Today is my third day here and I've eaten only two meals because I don't eat meat and they keep serving meat. This morning they would not feed me because they said that I wasn't at the door. They first night they told me that I have to keep one of the lights on because the nightlight is not working. I was unable to sleep with the light shining in my face so I turned it out. They came by every 15 minutes all night long kicking on the door yelling "Inmate, turn on your light." I asked them, why don't they get flashlights. They told me to speak to the captain about it. Everything is barked at you, in a degrading boot kamp way, like you can't hear. They announce on the loud speaker, "Inmates, if you are going to eat, stand at your door now!" Then when the food cart comes by, they bark, "Back up from the door. Sit on your bed." If you are not sitting on your bed, they don't feed you. It's sickening. They feed you very little, so you are always hungry and cold. You are constantly aware of being cold and hungry. I am sitting here shivering. - a Massachusetts prisoner, 5/16/95 TEXAS PRISON LABOR UNION FORMS All prisoners inside the Texas Kamps should be informed of the founding of the Texas Prison Labor Union. The union is in its ground level state of organizing. The official charter is presently being drafted and filed. - two Texas prisoners, 6/15/95 PRISONERS REBEL AGAINST ANTI-PRISONER LEGISLATION Dear Comrades, I write to you about a riot that happened here early last night. I don't know all the details about it but I thought it might be of interest to the readers of MIM Notes. Eight or nine people tied doors shut and broke broom handles and literally destroyed the pod. For people who are unaware as to how the units are arranged, there are three pods to a unit, each with three tiers in a U shape. All pods separate to keep people from going from pod to pod. Prisoners here at Clallam Bay Corrections Center are on edge by the new Republican party. The Republicans are set out to keep us from working our bodies up, taking vitamins and keeping ourselves in shape. They also want to charge us for medical visits. The legislature passed a bill entitled the Hargrove bill, which lets them take anywhere from 10 to 30 percent of any money made or sent in from our families. For many, this is a great amount of money extracted from their pay. These are some of the many reasons why this riot may have happened. Like I said I don't know all the facts since the police here won't give up much info, and the news will get what the state wants them to know. - a Washington state prisoner, 4/17/95 WESTVILLE WARDEN DEMOTED; PRISONERS SAY "GOOD RIDDANCE!" Greetings, For four years the Uncle Tom Warden Charles E. Wright asserted his dictatorship at the Maximum Control Complex (MCC) in Westville. He bragged about his control and got off on the physical and psychological torture of the prisoners an this genocidal tomb. He called prisoners young punks, and stole mail. He ordered prisoners to be chained to their beds, and dehumanized them with masks. This sick coward was truly a psychopath, he ranted and raved like a dog in heat, but never thought about being beat. He even had the nerve to tell a prisoner he didn't believe fat meat was greasy, but he believes it now. That's why Charley is no longer the warden at MCC. His expiration date was on 4/21/95. Instead of being demoted to assistant administrator at the Westville work release, Wright should have been demoted to "hell" for his horrendous crimes against humanity! Please do continue sending me MIM Notes and keep me on your mailing list. - an Indiana prisoner, 4/25/95 DISCUSS, ORGANIZE AND AGITATE This is being directed at brothers, to let them know that we continue to resist at MCC (Maximum Control Complex), no matter how oppressive our conditions. We continue to discuss, organize and agitate against the U.S. government. As of February 2, 1995, brothers have been placed on punitive quarantine status without probable cause other than pick and choose. This started about a TB (tuberculosis) shot which the majority refuse because of religious reasons. Others refuse the shot because guards say the shot is mandatory, which it's not. We continue to resist even though we know they may obtain a court order forcing us to receive the TB shot. We have discussed this point too and stand ready to resist. Standing strong, - A Indiana prisoner, 4/495 PRISON BRIEFS Double-celling is proceeding apace. Some of us political prisoners are forced to work in Unicor [a company which contracts with the prisons to use prisoner labor - ed.]. A comrade was framed recently. - a Kansas prisoner, 5/1/95 I was in Vietnam, captured as a POW and received better treatment than that which is now being afforded to me here. - a Colorado Prisoner, 7/17/95 The blowers are being turned on in our cells, causing the temperature to drop to around 40 degrees. This started about a month ago. For the first week the blowers remained on 24 hours straight. Since then they are turned on at 7 a.m. and shut off at 4 p.m. The reason: an alleged high level of carbon monoxide. - a Maryland prisoner, 4/3/95 The beatings still go on. Isolation cells are still being used, although I hear that both the "pink-room" and the "cadre area" isolation cells are no longer to be used due to a government investigation, but if so, it hasn't started yet. The physical and psychological torture is applied constantly and the blowers I mentioned are still in effect. - a Maryland prisoner 5/7/95 Texas no longer feeds its captives beef. Yeah they've got a new flavor, "VitaPro" (soybean). They are actually feeding us animal food. That and pork (forced vegetarianism). Despite the fact that the system raises and slaughters thousands of cows and pigs a week. Obviously being sold for private profit. - a Texas prisoner, 6/2/95 MIM Notes is not copyrighted. Please credit MIM when redistributing or referring to this material. Subscriptions are $12/year (12 issues), U.S. mail or e-mail. Send cash, stamps or check made out to "MIM Distributors." Write: MIM Distributors, PO Box 3576, Ann Arbor MI 48106-3576. E-mail: mim@nyxfer.blythe.org.