------------------------- Via Workers World News Service Reprinted from the May 10, 2001 issue of Workers World newspaper ------------------------- ORGANIZERS VOW TO FIGHT: PHILLY GOV'T RENEGES ON CAMP FREE MUMIA PERMITS By Monica Moorehead The Philadelphia city government and the Fraternal Order of Police have declared a political and legal war against an important activity aimed at continuing the struggle to free Mumia Abu-Jamal. Supporters of the African American political prisoner and award-winning journalist had applied to the city for permits to set up a 48-hour vigil/encampment May 11-13 on behalf of his struggle. The encampment will include a May 12 march and rally. The encampment was initiated by the International Action Center in the spirit of the May 12 international day of solidarity with Mumia Abu-Jamal by anti-racist, anti-death penalty forces worldwide. May 13 also marks the 16th anniversary of the heinous bombing of the MOVE organization-- a majority Black communal group--by the Philadelphia authorities that slaughtered 11 women, children and men. On April 26, representatives of the International Action Center and the International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal were informed during a face-to-face meeting with the Office of City Management and other city agencies that the permits were turned down. "Health and safety issues" were cited as reasons for the denial. When IAC representatives asked for a written explanation of the city's decision, they were met with a resounding "No!" The IAC had submitted permit applications in March. The group was informed by the same agencies in early April that a 24-hour encampment could take place. Encampment organizers planned to challenge the city on its arbitrary decision to agree to 24 hours instead of 48 hours. Following the Cincinnati rebellion and the Quebec City protests, city officials had a sudden change of mind. They told organizers that they only had the "option" of holding the protests from 6:30 p.m. until 9 p.m. on May 11 and from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m. on May 12 and 13. The IAC and ICFFMAJ informed the city officials that this "option" was totally unacceptable as well as discriminatory. As a result, a legal suit will be filed in federal court against the city. To help build mass support for this suit, people are being asked to fax letters to Mayor John Street's office--(215) 686-2180--to demand the right to protest overnight in front of City Hall on May 11 and May 12. Copies of these letters should be sent to local media and to the IAC at [EMAIL PROTECTED] Larry Holmes, co-director of the IAC and a coordinator of the encampment, said that "The outrageous denial of our permits is a clear violation of our rights as Mumia supporters to free speech. "The city says it is concerned about the health and safety of people staying in front of City Hall for two nights with tents and sleeping bags. This is just a cover. They realize that organizing a sustained activity like a 48-hour vigil, especially involving young anti-racists, will put a national and international spotlight on the travesty of justice that put Mumia--along with thousands of others--on death row." 'WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED!' The city claims it has a policy of not allowing individuals or groups to camp out on public property. But the facts speak otherwise. Tents are set up for days during the annual Core State--now First Union--bicycle races on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Members of the firefighters' union camped outside the mayor's office recently to bring attention to the issue of health care for disabled members. University of Pennsylvania student activists are in the midst of holding a tent city in west Philadelphia to protest sweatshop labor and Nike's refusal to allow unions at its factories in Mexico. Betsey Piette, a Philadelphia IAC organizer for the encampment, told Workers World, "During the Republican National Convention in August 2000, the city allowed the Republican National Committee to set up large tents where food was served outside of City Hall for several days. "Now they're trying to tell supporters of Mumia, MOVE and activists trying to stop racism, police brutality, the death penalty and the prison-industrial complex that we don't have the same rights. We see this as a form of political profiling. But we won't be silent, and we won't let them try to silence Mumia." Organizing for the encampment continues to gather support despite the city's efforts to shut it down. Thousands of leaflets and posters are visible in many areas throughout Philadelphia. Word of the event is saturating the Internet. Speakers are spreading the word across the country, urging people to descend on a city that has one of the highest rates of police brutality in the country. Leslie Feinberg, a co-founder of Rainbow Flags for Mumia and an award-winning transgender author, observed that, "At campuses and rallies all across the country this spring, audiences broke into ovations the moment I mentioned Mumia's name because of who he is and what he stands for. "Camp Free Mumia is really capturing the hearts and minds of those who would do anything in their power to free him," Feinberg emphasized. "Students and community activists I've spoken with in Tennessee, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Ohio, New Jersey, Maryland, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania-- even as far away as Colorado--don't just want to take part, they want to be organizers to bring others to the encampment. "They know that this will be a microcosm of a people's occupation that might just refuse to leave next time," Feinberg said. "The youth-led movement that has emerged -- from Seattle to Quebec--has made people shed a lot of their fear of the police. And it's given them confidence that we can make Philadelphia and other cities ungovernable if the state tries to take Mumia from us." A hip-hop concert is scheduled to be the opening shot for the encampment. It begins at 6 p.m. at City Hall. Performers include Saigon Slim, Grand Agent, Moya, War Club, Luminous Flux, Ricanstruction, Seeds of Wisdom and many more. Leslie Jones, an organizer of the May 11 hip-hop concert, told Workers World, "We as young people, as artists, as mothers, as a family in the struggle against repression, oppression, excess, and misinformation, will not be deterred by the bias and illegal actions of the City of Philadelphia to stop our encampment. "We were not silenced in Seattle," she stressed, "we were not silenced at national conventions, we were not silenced at the inauguration, and we were not silenced in Quebec City. We will be at Philadelphia's City Hall on May 11, voicing our resistance to this unjust system. Just as Mumia has refused to back down--even from the hell of death row-- we too will not back down from fighting for his life, fighting for all life, and fighting for what is right. Join us!" A program in tribute to the MOVE victims will be the closing event for the encampment. To get more information about encampment organizing call (215) 476-5416 or 724-1618 in Philadelphia. In New York call (212) 633-6646. To download May 11-13 leaflets, posters and stickers in English and Spanish, go to www.mumia2000.org. - END - (Copyright Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but changing it is not allowed. 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