0 OPINION Tuesday, November 7, 1989 a' Page 4 The Michigan Daily U.S. by Eric Jackson Our government routinely denies that it holds political prisoners. Yet in most post offices, one can find wanted posters which state that a fugitive is known to associate with revolutionary groups. And when Re- sistance Conspiracy tDefendant Susan Rosenberg was confined in the experimen- i Lexington Control Unit with Puerto Rican independence activist Silvia Baral- dini, she was told by Bureau of Prisons of- ficials that the only way that she would get out is by changing her politics. "Uncle Sam is playing a semantics game here. Our government equates the term "political prisoner" with what Amnesty hiternational calls "prisoners of con- science," that is, one who is jailed only because of his or her political beliefs. For example, Amnesty International does not consider the world's best known political prisoner, South African leader Nelson Mandela, to be a "prisoner of conscience" because he is incarcerated for his armed re- sistance to the apartheid regime, not just for his opinions. By the official U.S. name game, Mandela is not a political prisoner either, but merely another crimi- nal. In reality, Mandela is a political pris- oner because he is being held for his polit- ical actions. In reality there are several hp ndred prisoners in state and federal pris- ons and jails in the United States who are also political prisoners, being held for their political acts. Some of these are in- nocent of any real offense against the law, but were framed on false accusations be- cause of their beliefs. These political pris- oliers are also prisoners of conscience, though by legal fiction they are common criminals. imprison If we define "political prisoner" as one 1 who is imprisoned for his or her political acts, beliefs or associations, we will find several types of political prisoners in the United States. Though most political prisoners are of the left, there are some ofl the right. Political prisoners of the right include ' bombers of abortion clinics as well as Op-; eration Rescue militants who are jailed for trespassing and blocking abortion clinic doors. They include armed armed racists like Klansmen and those neo-Nazis who killed a Denver radio talk show host. They NOELLE VANCE/Daily include Lyndon LaRouche and the partners in his swindle schemes. Right-wing tax resisters, those who for political reason practice violence against homosexuals, ra- cial minorities or immigrants, and armed ; Cuban exile groups provide the balance of right wing political prisoners. The ranks of right wing political pris- oners in the United States do not include the very worst criminals from that end of the political spectrum. Oliver North su- pervised a war which the International Court of Justice declared criminal, a cam- paign of violence which took the lives of over 50,000 - mostly innocent Nicaraguan civilians. For that he was de- clared a hero by Ronald Reagan. For the minor infractions for which he was tried and convicted, North got a light sentence of community service. Similarly, nobody who ordered war crimes in Vietnam has political "criminals" been punished for it. The more numerous political prisoners of the left include a high proportion of ra- cial minorities. They include Geronimo Pratt, a Black Panther leader who has been held for nearly two decades, one of the world's longest-held political prisoners. They include militants of the Black Liber- ation Army, an underground organization that grew out of the Black Panther Party. There are many Black nationalists who ad- vocate an independent African American country called New Afrika being held for their actions on behalf of this cause. A number of Native American leaders are among U.S. political prisoners. Most no- tably, Leonard Peltier is serving a life sen- tence for allegedly killing two of the hun- dreds of FBI agents who, in a bid to crush the Treaty Rights movement, raided the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in 1977. The FBI's suppression of evidence which would have exonerated Peltier has led 75 members of Congress, Jesse Jackson, Desmond Tutu and others to conclude that Peltier is not only a political prisoner but a falsely convicted prisoner of conscience as well. Our country's largest remaining colony, Puerto Rico, is the scene of an indepen- dence struggle which gets little attention around here. The independence movement has active support in the diaspora Puerto Rican communities of the United States. Puerto Rican independence fighters fill U.S. prisons. Many, such as Alejandrina Torres (who is serving a 35 year term for conspiracy to overthrow the US govern- ment of her homeland) demand treatment as prisoners of war. This, based on the principle that she is a soldier for her own country, Puerto Rico, which has been in- vaded and occupied by a foreign power, the United States. As a corollary, Torres and many other Puerto Rican independence fighters refuse to recognize the jurisdiction of US courts. Militant white revolutionaries, most of whom trace their political roots to the readily seen by comparing the fates of 01- lie North, who has the blood of tens and thousands on his hands, is getting rich on the lecture circuit. The Resistance Con- spiracy Six killed nobody, but they have all spent years in prison and face lifetimes 'In reality there are several hundred prisoners in state and fed- eral prisons and jails in the United States who are also political prisoners, being held for their political acts. Some of these are innocent of any real offense against the law, but were framed on false accusations because of their beliefs.' 6 struggles of the 1960's, constitute a large minority of U.S. political prisoners. The Resistance Conspiracy Defendants are rep- resentative of this group. A number of pacifists, most of whom come from religious backgrounds, are serving long terms in prison for offenses such as damaging nuclear missile silos. Some environmentalists are imprisoned for acts of sabotage in defense of the envi- ronment. Some political prisoners find themselves behind bars for aiding undoc- umented Salvadoran refugees. Depending on how one counts, there are about 150 to 200 US political prisoners of the left who are serving or facing long prison terms. Uncounted others include people serving short sentences for things like refusing to register for the draft, tres- passing at nuclear test sites, blocking en- trances to nuclear weapons plants, hanging environmentalist banners from polluting smokestacks, defacing sexist billboards, assaulting those who cross labor picket lines and many other politically motivated acts. The difference in treatment between po- litical prisoners of left and right can be behind bars. The same Justice Department which so vigorously denies the existence of political prisoners in the US routinely asks for (and gets) unusually severe sentences based upon the leftist politics of the accused. Thus our government commits war crimes with impunity and intimidates any who dare resist. Thus opposition to the colo- nial subjugation of Puerto Rico is at- tacked. Thus the African American com- munity is told to shut up about racism and Native Americans are told to forget about their treaty rights. Meanwhile, individual human beings are subjugated to special forms of brutality and deprivation that go beyond what other prisoners must endure, just because of their politics. Regardless of what one be- lieves about the sanctity of our laws, the addition of a political criterion in the ap-. plication of the law moves us away from the rule of law toward a more arbitrary, more vindictive, more unequal society. Eric Jackson is a University alumnus who currently works as an attorney in Ypsilanti. c tx. Ygtt t tt I Despite South African violence: Namibia enters new era .0 Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan- 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 by the United Coalition Against Racism %Vol. C, No. 45 r' .9 '. Unsigned editorials represent a majority of the Daily's Editorial Board. All other cartoons, signed articles, and letters do not necessarily represent the opinion of the Daily. , 4 I 4'4ightmnare THIRTEEN YEARS after U.N. Secu- riy Council Resolution 385 called for Namibia's independence-and seventy ypars after South Africa initially im- posed colonial rule there-the South African government is going home. Heginning today, people in the South African colony of Namibia will go to the polls to choose a constitutional convention for their first government. J is time-one would think-for cele- tration. But this long-awaited day fol- 10ws six months during which the Pretoria regime flagrantly violated ev- ry process and rule which was to in- sure that these elections were con- Oiucted freely and openly. ,,On this past April 1, the military Wing of the South West Africa Peo- le's Organization (SWAPO)-the tnain force fighting up until now gainst South Africa and for Namibian a dependence-was supposed to initi- ate a pre-election cease fire by disarm- ing and confining themselves to U.N. Administered bases. But SWAPO ran into the South African Defense Forces (SADF)-South Africa's Namibian army-instead. Two weeks later, SWAPO had lost over three hundred of its fighters and the SADF was terroriz- ing the Namibian countryside. South Africa claimed that the WAPO fighters had illegally entered Namibia, and that the SADF's job was o maintain order. In what can now be Seen as a carefully orchestrated attack against SWAPO, the governments of Bihtain, the United States, and South Africa joined the international press in condemning SWAPO for violating the pease fire that was to begin that day. Ponths later, when the dust had Oleared, it became clear to the interna- Ponal community that South Africa- not SWAPO-had violated the cease lire. Since April, South Africa has contin- i)ed its violent efforts to destabilize Namibia's election process. SADF «.,. 1 ..... . +- TT T . .,... in Namibia sponsible for keeping "law and order" today. South Africa has committed numer- ous procedural violations as well. Pretoria has been allowed to administer the elections; this contradicts the spirit of U.N. General Resolution 1514 (XV) on decolonization elections, which calls for a colonial regime to leave the territory in which indepen- dence elections are taking place so that the people might vote in a truly free and fair atmosphere. Consequently, Louis Pienaar, South Africa's Namibian governor, has been able to place Namibia's entire commu- nications infrastructure at the service of the pro-South Africa Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA), a coalition of small political parties opposing SWAPO in the elections. South Africa has pumped millions of rand into the DTA's campaign, which revolves around the promotion of "group rights," a euphemism for white privi- lege. DTA tactics have included violence against SWAPO supporters, the for- mation of its own "police force," and handing out bribes at rallies (T-shirts and food). Koevoet and the SADF troops are parading in DTA T-shirts and beating and shooting anyone who refuses to return their DTA salute. SADF personnel have also been spot- ted in graveyards copying down the names of the deceased, which will easily be "added" to the voting register because Pienaar refuses to print alpha- betized-and hence easily checked- voting registration lists, a basic re- quirement for any serious election. South Africa has already conceded that SWAPO will win over 50% of the vote. But given the very favorable terms on which it is overseeing Namibia's transition to independence, that is not enough. It will take two- thirds of the vote at Namibia's upcom- ing constitutional convention to pass nnv, arr-. nr. n;~pt ,,v. Pm- Today, November 7, pre-independence elections are being held in Namibia. A great deal of publicity has been given to the tripartite agreement of South Africa, Angola and Cuba to withdraw Cuban troops from Angola and to begin the pro- cess for an independent Namibia, the last remaining colony in the world. Despite the fact that the South West African People's Organization (SWAPO), was excluded from the negotiations, the transition to independence has been repre- sented as a major victory for the Namibian people. While in many ways a victory has been achieved, the transition to indepen- dence has been less than ideal, marred with violence and injustice. South Africa has been ruling Namibia since the end of World War I. Though ini- tially South Africa's "administration" was to be temporary until Namibia gained in- dependence, the South African government discovered a wealth of resources - both human and material - which they could control and exploit. Thus, even though the United Nations General Assembly in 1966 declared South Africa's mandate over Namibia "terminated", the South African government ignored the declaration and re- fused to give up control of Namibia. In- stead, they set up another racist apartheid system, patterned after the one in South Africa, with tiers of hierarchy in the labor, economic, political and social sectors. The labor that South Africa could not use lo- cally was used to supplement the Black South African labor force. South Africa's decision to sit down at the negotiating table last year to discuss Namibia's independence was not because the South African government no longer needed these resources, nor was it because South Africans had suddenly opened their eyes to the racist atrocities and human in- justices that they had developed and main- tained in Namibia. South Africa sat down at the negotiating table because it was forced to. Forced to do so because international pressure on South Africa's illegal adminis- tration of Namibia was increasing. Be- cause solidarity movements with Namibia were developing and pronouncements con- demning the South African colonial gov- ernment became common. In addition, the South African economy was steadily weakening. Inflation was running at 16% and the South African largely to international sanctions and dis- investment in the South African economy. These economic problems, in conjunc- tion with the burgeoning independence movements within Namibia, made contin- ued control over Namibia next to impos- sible. The year before the talks began, Namibians were organizing; school chil- dren boycotted classes, teachers and work- ers struck and thousands upon thousands rallied and marched to protest South African control. This movement was met with increased repression by the South African forces, which could no longer match the popular Namibian movement. The final, and most significant reason for South African willingness to negoti- ate, was the flat out military defeat of the South African army as they fought SWAPO soldiers in southern Angola. South African troops were crushed, de- feated and demoralized as they left the bat- tleground in May,1988 after their final large-scale offensive. In addition, the de- pletion of hired Black South African troops led to the use of young white con- scriptees on the frontline. White South African resistance to conscription made the war more costly. The military defeat of South Africa left little option for the gov- ernment but to make concessions. Thus, the negotiations around Namibia exposed cratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA). In fact, the chief electoral officer has been accused of working to undermine SWAPO by denying them the 2/3 major- ity necessary to dominate the parliament, which they would likely achieve if there really were free and fair elections. The agents of the colonial government have willingly agreed to "help" mark the ballots of the 40% of Namibians who cannot read or write. Election fraud has also been doc- umented as waves of white South Africans and UNITA supporters (South African backed guerrillas) in Angola have been streaming into Namibia to register to vote. ; But the most shocking aspect of the in-; dependence process, which leads one to. question how any kind of "free and faiir elections" can take place, is the outright; violence and intimidation by the South; African army and security forces. South, African forces have murdered nearly 40Q Namibians, including SWAPO members} and many civilians, since the transition to' independence began. Nearly all have been executed with a shot in the back of thd head, and then been bitriedin mass graves.:; Also, the South African do2th squad, Koevoet, though officially demobilized continues to operate, harassing and intimi: 'The most shocking aspect of the independence process, which leads one to question how any kind of "free and fair elections" can take place, is the outright violence and intimidation by the South African army and security forces.' the weaknesses of the racist South African government and the strengths of the libera- tion movement in Namibia. But a closer examination of the last year reveals an alternative picture than one of simply celebrations and congratulations. The independence process as a whole, and the electoral process specifically, has been fraught with violence, intimidation and unfair practices and restrictions on the part of the South African representatives. The electoral process is technically overseen by the United Nations Transitional Assistance Group (UNTAG). Despite the fact that the UN has pumped $400 million into the Namibian team, the UN has very little control of the Namibian process and no enforcement powers. The elections are ac- tually regulated by the South African colonial government, which has a moti- vating interest in maintaining control dating Namibians.'They have entered vil lages, demolished homes, destroyed crops, raped women, beaten and murdered mend targeting those that are wearing SWAPQ colors or who refuse to vocalize support for the DTA. The Legal Assistance Center in Windhoek, Namibia has gotten over 100 complaints and the UN has gotten over 120 complaints about abuses by South African forces. 0 The independence process in Namibia marks a turning point for the liberation of the Namibian people. It is a step that is moving in a direction"of self-determina- tion. But this process has also been char: acterized by the brutality, violence and in: timidation of the South African forces and administration. Thus, the Namibian libera- tion struggle is not culminating, but it is entering a new phase, where the Namibian, people must once and for all rid their