INTERNATIONAL CALL IN SUPPORT OF MUMIA
THANK YOU FOR THE INCREDIBLE RESPONSE TO THE INTERNATIONAL CALL FOR MUMIA! NEXT STEPS!
February 6, 2018
Dear Friends, Comrades, and Mumia Supporters,
We cannot express enough appreciation for the overwhelming response we received to our International Call to Release the District Attorney and Police Files and Free Mumia. Within a short period of time, we received over 500 e-mails from organizations and individuals calling for the release of all the files relevant to Mumia’s case in the conflict of interest embodied by Pennsylvania Supreme Court Ronald Castille. Castille played a major role in Mumia’s case when he worked in the District Attorney’s office. He then ruled on the case as a Supreme Court Justice. This represents a conflict of interest.
Our goal in this campaign is ultimately to free Mumia. We recognize that an international effort is essential to achieving that goal.
The supporters of this campaign ranged from Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa to 13 incarcerated juveniles in Germany; from 15 members of the Danish Parliament to major trade unions, such as the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), Local 10, to the National Maritime Union of Australia, MUA, to the Railway Motive Power, Union of Chiba, JAPAN, to the National Union of Metal Workers of South Africa, NUMSA; to dozens of internationally renowned human rights activists such as Danny Glover, Angela Davis, Cornel West, Chris Hedges, Alice Walker, and Tariq Ali. We are particularly indebted to the International Workers Committee Against War and Exploitation headed by Daniel Gluckstein and Nambiath Vasudevan for the incredible job they did in soliciting support from across the world in this endeavor. To see the full list of signers go to www.freemumia.com, International Call, December 9, 2017. At the end of that letter are listed the signers.
We are all moved by this outpouring of continuing love and support for Mumia almost forty years after he was framed though innocent, nearly killed and immediately imprisoned, tried in a kangaroo court, found guilty, and sentenced to death. Though no longer on death row through the enormous pressure of the international movement, Mumia continues, nonetheless, to be dying a slow death in life imprisonment without any possibility of parole. Mumia’s continuing fight for justice, mostly not focused on his own case, despite his incarceration, the weekly messages he sends out on a startling range of issues, his seven published books, and his continuing resistance against repeated attempts to silence him, inspire justice loving people across this planet. People have not only not forgotten Mumia after all these years, but there is apparently an escalating commitment to having him released from prison NOW.
With the delivery of this letter to Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner and Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf, and to date no response from either of them, there has been strong sentiment to escalate this campaign for the next court hearing in Philadelphia scheduled for Tuesday, March 27. It is in that spirit that we issue a CALL FOR INTERNATIONAL DEMONSTRATIONS, PROTESTS, AND EVENTS ON MARCH 27th IN AS MANY CITIES AS POSSIBLE. While the US Embassies are logical targets for such actions, local groups should obviously choose the targets they see as most effective in their towns, cities, and countries. We are calling this campaign the MARCH 27th OFFENSIVE IN SUPPORT OF MUMIA ABU-JAMAL. The demands of the Offensive remain the same as those of the International Call : Release all records relevant to Judge Castille’s role in Mumia’s case by both the District Attorney’s Office and Police. And, most fundamental and urgent, release Mumia from prison now because he is innocent, because he was framed, because his health is already severely compromised with cirrhosis and a serious skin problem, and because as long as he remains in prison, as has already been proven through his near death illness two years ago, his life is in danger.
We will soon supply you with an internet site where actions and comments can be posted but were eager to announce the campaign as quickly as we could. We look forward to hearing from you about the local activities you are planning. While the target date and the large demonstration in Philadelphia will be on TUESDAY MARCH 27, needless to say, if a Saturday or Sunday works best for you, you should certainly do it then, as long as it is BEFORE MARCH 27 or at the latest on that day in order to maximize the pressure on the DA’s office. We urge everyone who can, even across the oceans, to join us on the 27th in Philadelphia. But please create some momentum wherever you are. Be the Voice of Mumia.
Again, you will hear more detailed information from us shortly. We hope this letter provides enough impetus to begin brainstorming and planning.
Free Mumia! Free All Political Prisoners!
In the struggle for justice,
Mireille Fanon Mendes-France, President, Frantz Fanon Foundation, Expert, ex-chair of the UN Working Group on People of African Descent, Human Rights Council.
Dr. Suzanne Ross, International Spokesperson, International Concerned Family & Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal
Pam Africa, Chairperson, International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal
Interim contact: [email protected]