[-__ .. (J!,illillll' \ I, II" _ . I
�----------------------------------------
,
Th y ov rlook d on very
critical factor. Ge al Aidid .
THE SO CALLED 'de
humani t ri n mi .io�
incre ingly turn d to
military pacification operation
aimed at demonizing nd
eliminating the troubl ome
Aidid from the politics of
reconciliation and
•
By Mumia Abu-Jamal
confinement, Haney testified.
Indeed, the conditions are 80
horrendous that a former
warden of the infamous
hellhole, Marion, Illinois,
openly criticized Pelican,.
tracing a record of numeroU
injuries and deaths to guards'
routine use of excessive force.
Charles E.. Fenton,
ex-warden of Marion, testified
in the uit, "There eems to be
an attitude ... that it's proper for
taffto hoot at inmates." (S.F.
Chronicle, Sept. 29, 1993) "They
either ab olutely don't know
w hat they're doing or they're
deliberately inflicting pain,"
said Fenton.
Distrust anyone in urhom the
desire to punish is powerful.
-Nt tzebe
As of Dec. 1990, according to
U.S. Bureau of Justice
tatistics, over 97,000 people
were imprisoned in California
-thousand!
Although up-to-date stats
aren't readily available to the
writer, it's an easy guess that
the state's population in prison
has broken I 100,000.
At last count, California 'had
over 23 prisons, and spends
over 1 Billion dollars annually
( 1,000,000,000!) on prisons.
One Billion!
And then t re's Pelican Bay
Prison, a hellish "home" for
S,700 prisoners, located in an
i olated rural area called
Crescent City, California.
IF PELle BAY Prison is
a Hell, then its SHU (Special
Housing Unit, commonly called
"SHOE") is the Lower Depths.
There, nearly 1,300 men are
co igned 0 0 a ta program of
torture nd governmental
terrorism, so much 0 'that
major news agencies, such as 60
Minutes (CBS), have reported
on the unit.
Prisoners there haven't
taken the abusive treatment
lying down, as evidenced by a
civil suit filed in federal court,
charging the state with
"lawless" activity. "The law
tops at the gates of Pelican
Bay," attorney Susan Creigh�on
told the court in her openmg
argument late September in
an Franci co.
At the SHU, men are beaten,
burned, and isolated by state
officers.
Prisoners spend 22-1/2 hours
a day in windowles 8 x 10 cells,
with no human contact nor
educational opportuniti .
One defense p ychologist,
Dr. CraigHaney, found "chronic
depression, hallucinations and
thought disorder" at levels
found at no other prison in the
U.S. The symptoms ere
comparable onl.y t� fin�ings
from a psychiatnc p on In the
former East Germany, known
for torture and solitary
ARlO EDERAL
PENI TIARY, known as
"Son of Alcatraz," was it elf
condemned a violative of
fundamental human rights by
Amn ty International.
Pelican Bay (called
"Skeleton" Bay by prisoners) .
"Son of Marion," taken to uch
an inhumane degree that even
Marion's old warden gaspe in
shock t the ugli that' his
From
Death
Row
spawn. .
Five yearsfrom now, will we
be moaning about the "Son of
Pelican"?
'If we don't rumble now,
again t all fascistic co�trol
unit, uch a Pehcan,
Pennsylvania' SMU, Shawnee
Unit 0 at Marianna, Fla.,
Colorado State Pen., etc., then
you may not be able to rumble
later.
The solution isn't in the
courts, but in an awa e, aware
people.
For 0 more info: Pelican Bay
Info. Project, 2489 Mission St.,
#28, San Francisco, CA 94110-
or call - (415) 821-6545.
(Hotline: (415) 442·1997).
o
o
d m nd for th
of U.S. troor from
by � rfu and
outra Am ricana waa loud
and cl r,
Dazed nd betuddl by th
dr m tie turn of ev nt. in
Som Ii , U.S, policy m.� r.
acrabblecl to chan 00\11'88.
P id nt Clinton fuain to
"cut and run" in th of an
mb ing dele t, dopted
th curious trategy of ord ring
more troops to Somalia in order
to withdra from Somalia by
March 20,1994. But there w
a d cidedly differ nt tone
coming from the Whit Hou
nd the U.S. medi no .
The fugitive warlord was
now being referred to as the
"factional leader" General
Mohammed Farah Aidid and
there was talk of the need to
emphasize a political rather
than a military solution.
INDEED, UNDER
PRES URE from the United
States, the U.N. relented and
. ued a statement indi(Sting
that it no longer was seeking to
arrest General Aidid. And
General Aidid received
assurances that his political
organization would be included
in the dis����)Jls!n�soti�tio�.
to fin agreement on a new
government for Somalia.
Flush with success, General
Aidid called a unilateral cease
fire and released two prisoners
of war, including an American
THE " UGITlVE
WARLORD" is a fugitive no
more. The "elite" Ranger
contingent of 750 troop which
were ordered to Somalia to
track down and capture
General Mohammed Farah
Aidid have packed their bags
and are now on their way back
home.
The "fugitive warlord" forced
President Clinton and the
United States to change course
in Somalia.
� Ron lJalueLS erues" 'ti .
President of the Institute for ,.
Community Organization and
Development in Youngstown, .
Ohio. He may be contacted at
(216) 746-5747,
( : ( ) /\ I, I 'I' I () N
Dennl. Rlv .... , Chllrman
Rev. J •••• Jack on, Pr Id.nt & Found r
J H Jacuon Jr., Field Dlr ctorlEdltor
AFTA'NAFTA
WDC-'NAFrA is DJi1 over. The fallout "Afta' NAFrA" will be with u.
for some time.
(1) The fight heightened great cll� 011:' � the PresldeDt'. own
party and in the Senate & House Democratic majonty, The MAJORITY
of Democrats voted aaalnst TIDS NAn A.. In one of hi tory's ItraDlest
p dentSal deals, Clinton promised to DEFEND ANY HOUSE (AND
WE PRESUME SENA TE) MEMBER - Democrat QB
REPUBLICAN - from repri a1 at the poll i 1994 if they vote for TIUS
NAFI' A. Under such a cenario, it i possible that the President will help
to deny hImIelf a Democratic majority In the Senate after 1994. That.
JaxFax confessea, is truly "new Democrat." Plus, ALL the Democrata
Clinton has campalped FOR - in LA, NY, NJ, VA, TX GA -
have LOSTl Maybe Clinton is using "reverse psychology" to help
Democrats win in 19941 0
The post-NAFr A realignment of the Democratic Party appears to
reflect Clinton's consistent DLC strategy. This strategy of "New
Democrats" including some "Old RepubUcans" represent big bu iness
and other elites. President Clinton now lead. the
Re gan\Bu h\Limbaugh\Iaccocca\Kissinger\Rostenkowski\W 11
Street\R.epubJicans victory team. The "Old Democrab" - African
Americana, Hispanics, labor, women and prop lives - "will have
other home to 10 to", and drop from the statUI of junior putn.en to
tepchildren. However, in NJ, they just STAYED HOME. The Rainbow
and other are exploring building a pcw "Udeal home of our own.
(2) Afta NAFT A the President will need to repair the base of his
party. The b did not support THIS NAFr A. Th t', because, under
nIlS NAFTA - ince the winners and 10 ers are not the same people­
the b III be (most of) the I fit not (mo tly) the winners. In
addition, Clinton nd NAFT A forces launched personal attack against
Democratic constituencie and leaders. The NAFr A fight showed that
Souljah is till an active verb in.the White House. Firs� Clinton "Souljahed"
Lane Kirkland (i.e. gave him a bad RAP) by saying labor was usmg
"rough-shod. muscle bound tactic no - emotionally charged code words
used to send an anti-labor rnes age. Second. he used two other Democrats.
Jesse Jack on and Jerry Brown, in negative television commercial to ell
his pro AFT A position.
(3) Estimate of the costs of implementing THIS NAFf A over S
years are between $ 13 billion (supporters) and $30-to-$40 billion
(opponents). In ddition, the co ts of passing th treaty still have to be
paid for Afta' NAFrA. The "Let's Make A Deal" vote buylna that went
on to pas THIS AFI' A cost n estimated SI.7 billion which included
everything from C-17 military CarlO planes, to a $10 million trad� tudy
center in TX. The only FREE DEAL w • person I letter from Clinton to
Pelosi (D-CA-8) and Kennedy (D-MA-8) on labor rl hts - tr beaus
THE LE�R IS WORTH NOTHING! .
(4) L8s� are the US job th t will be 10 t - or thre tened, to force
L------------------------SeeNAFTA,A7