This issue of Flyby News is released on the 27th anniversary of the shoot-out at the Pine Ridge Reservation, seeking support for another opportunity to heal centuries-old wounds. Please take a moment to support Leonard Peltier for his interim parole, and for urgent medical attention. Item 2 is another letter from Malik Abdullah Akili. Please read and consider supporting his parole and freedom from prison, too. Item 3 is a link and excerpt about the recent George W. Bush speech on the Mid East, twisting rhetoric for peace into a vision for permanent war.
Parts of the following are excerpts from the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee from a 6/25 update for Leonard Peltier.
This update includes an URGENT ACTION - please read below and take action. Thank you for your support. Please distribute this email widely.
2. LPDC announces historic FBI document release!
4. Leonard Peltier's interim parole hearing delayed til July 9th.
1. URGENT ACTION - Leonard Peltier has for over a year now been quietly enduring a BONE SPUR in his heel. He has sought treatment for this painful condition, yet none of the remedies offered by the federal US Bureau of Prisons has worked. Bone spurs occur when muscle tension in the foot pulls a bone out of place. The condition is worsened by poor-quality footwear and by stressing the foot. In Leonard's case, after a cortisone shot over a year ago had no effect, he was given low quality foam inserts. A second cortisone shot more recently also had no effect. Leonard is forced to work at the UNICOR factory, the federal prison labor operation that produces a vast array of goods for sale to US government agencies. In the Leavenworth UNICOR furniture factory, Leonard must stand on his feet all day, which causes severe pain. When he asked for transfer to a position that did not cause him pain, he was told that he would stay where he was for six more years. The prison clinician has recommended a simple surgical procedure to correct the bone spur, but the Bureau of Prisons medical facility in Springfield, Missouri has denied the request, and the Leavenworth warden has denied a request for treatment at a Kansas City hospital that regularly treats Leavenworth inmates. Leonard seeks immediately special gel-foam inserts for his shoe and the necessary surgery to correct the bone spur.
2. The LPDC has received an historic release of declassified FBI documents. Thanks to the persistence of supporters and ongoing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) legal activity on Leonard's behalf, the FBI released eleven boxes of documents from their headquarters in Washington, DC. The documents were first released to the office of US Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA), who wrote to the FBI regarding the documents after he received hundreds of letters from constituents on the issue. These documents will be digitized with a state-of-the-art system that the LPDC is in the process of acquiring, which will allow thorough searching, indexing and cross-referencing. These documents will be analyzed by a team of experts including attorneys Bruce Ellison, of the original Wounded Knee Legal Defense/Offense Committee and Jennifer Harbury, among others. While these documents represent the extent of what the FBI claims it had in their headquarters, there are still many more documents in the 56 field offices. The Minneapolis field office reports 42,000 pages in Leonard's file, and an FBI agent assigned to FOIA issues in Washington says the volume may near 100,000 pages. The goal is to vigorously pursue full declassification of all the documents, which will likely involve legal challenges to delays in release and to the extent of redactions, or "blacking out" of information. Check our website for updates and sample documents as they become available.
Wednesday, June 26th, 2002 marks the 27th anniversary of the tragic shootout in Oglala that left FBI agents Coler and Williams and AIM activist Joe Killsright Stuntz dead. On the 25th anniversary, in the summer of 2000, people gathered at the Jumping Bull property to mark the date with ceremony and prayer in pursuit of reconciliation and healing. This year, with the same ends in mind, people will be directing their attention at the FBI, its history of suppressing dissent and violating citizens' Constitutional rights, and recent revelations of investigatory misconduct that has caused the wrongful conviction and incarceration of many.
Standing Deer, Cyrus Peltier and others will be on Pacifica Radio's KPFT 90.1FM in Houston on the 26th, from starting just after 11 AM Central Time and running until 1 PM. You can listen live over the web by going to http://www.kpft.org and following instructions.
There is still time to send letters of support!
Leonard was told by authorities at Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary that his interim parole hearing, scheduled originally for July 1st, will now be held on July 9th. Thousands of letters of support have been received, and will be delivered together at the hearing, so Leonard will see for himself the mass of support for his release. While there are inherent problems with the parole system that leave many close to Leonard's case skeptical as to the possibility of a favorable outcome, we still need to make a strong showing to let the authorities know that people are still working globally for Leonard's release. The repeated denial of parole is being addressed separately in a Habeas Corpus suit that was filed in 1999 and is currently pending.
A sample parole hearing letter is posted on our website. We ask people to use it as is or modify it, or write an original letter, and send it to us at LPDC, PO Box 583, Lawrence, KS 66044, fax to 785-842-5796 or email it to lpdc@freepeltier.org You may also send a copy along to your member of Congress. Thanks for your efforts in this drive for parole support letters. There are some who insist Leonard stay behind bars, and our voices must be loud, clear and overwhelming.
PLEASE take part in the URGENT ACTION to help Leonard get the medical treatment he needs and deserves. If you did not get this email directly from the LPDC, consider signing up directly for our email update list. See http://www.freepeltier.org/e_mail.htm for details.
Get your copy for only $18.00 (Includes S&H) !
On May 17, 2000, Congressman John Porter sponsored a congressional briefing on the case of Leonard Peltier and its related circumstances on the Pine Ridge reservation. This video contains testimonies on Leonard Peltier and related circumstances on the Pine Ridge reservation, which includes the Constitutional misconduct of the FBI. Featured is testimony from Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Rigoberta Menchu Tum; acclaimed human rights activist and attorney, Jennifer Harbury; Pine Ridge reign of terror survivor, Debbie White Plume; shoot-out survivor, Nilak Butler; LPDC spokesperson and survivor, Jean Day; former NPR journalist, Kevin McKiernan; Amnesty International Advocacy Director, Carlos Salinas; National Congress of American Indians Executive Officer, Ernie Stevens Jr., and Leonard Peltier's lawyer since trial and expert in FBI activities on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, Bruce Ellison.
Kevin McKiernan, journalist, stated: "[I] was there on June 25, 1975, outside the Jumping Bull ranch on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, when some of the bullets were flying." In his editorial, he provides eye witness account to the "climate of fear" on Pine Ridge 27 years ago, saying that "it matched anything I have experienced reporting from war zones like El Salvador and the Middle East." Mr. McKiernan concurs with Judge Heaney who wrote in his clemency plea, "At some time, the healing process must begin. We as a nation must recognize their unique culture and their great contribution to our nation."
..It's bad enough to be sick, but to be sick in prison is the worst. There is so little show of concern and so little care for life in general. There is no balance to say that - ok - he may be here for some criminal behavior, but still, he's a human who should be treated with professionalism, and respect. . .Most prison doctors respond negatively. But overall I am in good spirit and my determination continues to grow even stronger with my struggle to win my liberation. People are beginning to become more supportive, and before long we'll grow in numbers and strength . . . we understand that strength does not come in numbers, but in the faith and in the belief that we can achieve our mission of purpose!
I am responding to your 6/5/02 letter from a two-fold purpose. First, I wanted to thank you for the letter and the material that came along with it. On the second point, I wanted to make clear that I am NOT, nor have I ever been a Black Muslim. There is a vast difference between being a Black Muslim and following the teachings of "Orthodox Sunni Islam." From the on-set, when I first become a Muslim, I came into the faith as a Sunni Muslim. When I understood that the Black Muslims were teaching that all whites were devils, I understood right then and there, that that wasn't the place for any conscious human being to be a part of. As a Sunni Muslim, we believe that black men/women and white men/women are all held as equals, with due respect. We judge a man, woman, not by the color of their skin, but by their character and moral behavior.
I have come to respect the political consciousness of those reading Flyby News. I wouldn't want a simple mistake to leave them with the wrong impression of myself. Enough said on that issue!
I am truly blessed to have someone as you for a friend. Today friends are far and few in between. It has been some years since we first connected. I can still recall our first meeting and the main issue which brought us together.* That first coming together was in deed the beginning of a lasting and true friendship!
I've said enough. Take care until next time..
CHICAGO -- George Bush's much-anticipated speech on how to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, weighed in at 1,867 words. By my count, more than one thousand words were devoted to criticizing and making demands of the Palestinians, while just 137 words dealt with what Israel should do. And if you look for any criticism at all of Israel, you will not find it. The few remaining words were taken up with cliches and platitudes.
The content of few statements can have been leaked in advance as much as this one, and yet Bush's pronouncement still managed to surprise by its sheer breathtaking unfairness and unwillingness to address a reality which is clearly perceived by the rest of the world.
"The future for Palestinians and Israelis is as grim as it has ever been. What Bush has offered is not a formula for provisional or any other kind of Palestinian statehood, but a vision of permanent war."