"Our military action in Iraq is more a catalyst for terrorists than a cure."
-- General Wesley Clark
April 6, 2005 House Armed Services Committee Hearing
1) Richard Sitcha + 9/11 + Oil vs Justice and Human Rights = ?
HUMAN RIGHTS ALERT
On Friday March 31, 2005, Judge Ponsor granted the U.S. Attorney's motion to
dismiss Richard Sitcha's Habeas Corpus Petition, leaving him with a thirty day
window to appeal this decision. Also, the US Attorney's office has filed a
motion to remove Richard Sitcha's stay of deportation that was granted by
Judge Ponsor. Richard's current lawyer, John McKenna, cannot represent him at
the appellate level. So, currently, Richard Sitcha is not represented by legal
counsel (in a strange land), and his life and well being would be in danger by
being returned to Cameroon.
Pasted below is a link to the text of Judge Ponsor's decision on Richard's
case:
http://pacer.mad.uscourts.gov/dc/cgi-bin/recentops.pl?filename=ponsor/pdf/sitc
ha.pdf
Richard Sitcha has been moved. Here is his new address:
Sitcha, Richard
Unit BS1, Room 101
Plymouth Correctional Facility
26 Long Pond Road
Plymouth, MA 02360
Please contact Richard Sitcha directly if you can help, and you can also
contact Andrew Cohen by email <> -- FreeRichard.com
The following is more details on the background behind this important human
rights case.
Richard Sitcha
by Carl Doerner
Richard Sitcha is a poster-man for the thousands of men and women incarcerated
in the aftermath of 9/11. This is his story. A native of Cameroon in Western
Africa, he studied and was a practicing bailiff when he came into conflict
with his government. Young people (later termed the Bepanda Nine) had
disappeared and their families came to him for assistance. He learned that the
captives had been taken to a naval base near Douala. At the base he learned
the youths had been executed. As a result of Sitcha's further attentions to
the needs of the families of the victims, he says, he was arrested and
tortured (beating the bottoms of his feet with a machete). The same political
connections that allowed him to gather information helped him to flee Cameroon
before being further charged. By all accounts, Cameroon is less than a "free"
society and was, at the time, under martial law. He is 42, married, and has
two children. His wife is in France and his two boys remain in Cameroon. A
devout Catholic, he became an active member of St. Ann's Church of the
Immaculate Conception, Hartford, where he was a resourceful, well-regarded
member of the community. Arriving in the US April 27, 2001, Sitcha followed
the law in applying for political refuge. He was granted asylum on January 16,
2003. He also received a social security card and work permit, and he was
employed. Then, Immigration and Naturalization Services asked to reopen his
case and, at a September 18, 2003,hearing, the judge said contacts had been
made in Cameroon, where his story could not be verified, revoked the
previously granted asylum status and, without his having committed or been
charged with any crime, he was jailed. He was lodged at Osborn, Connecticut's
maximum security facility, which is surrounded by hundreds of acres of jails
built on what was once a Shaker farm. At Osborn he was assaulted and so badly
beaten by a cell mate that he had to be hospitalized and was put on suicide
watch.
Article Truncated, for the complete article, see
in pdf format:
http://traprockpeace.org/doerner_sitcha.pdf
or html:
http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:uiFuEidOsAwJ:traprockpeace.org/doerner_si
tcha.pdf+sitcha,+richard,+doerner&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
For other resources on Richard, see:
http://traprockpeace.org/richard_sitcha.html
& FreeRichard.com
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2) geronimo ji Jaga: "Johnnie was a beautiful brother"
"..It's not easy to try and put into words one's feelings at a time like this.
So many words and pictures come to mind that it is very hard to put them in
order and transcribe them. What i can say is this: Johnnie was a beautiful
brother, who even after becoming well versed in the ugly reality of
Cointelpro, always remained a calming influence for me, encouraging
forgiveness for all those puppets that were being exploited by the system.
Despite the sick, sadistic practices of the government and its stooges, as
documented in their own records, Johnnie continued to believe in the goodness
of everyday people, who were being used as he used to say, "For they know not
what they do." Johnnie would want us all to keep forgiveness in our hearts,
but to remain vigilant of these rats, who are now going to come out of the
woodwork and claim friendships with Johnnie and sing his praises just to
promote themselves and their egos. Johnnie never bought into the ego trip, and
was always willing to give his time and energy to represent the most under
represented in society. He was a man with a heart as big as Yogi Pinell's.
Johnnie and i connected long before he began defending members of the Black
Panther Party against police repression in Los Angeles. We both came out of
the Mississippi Delta and the great tradition of struggle by Africans in the
south to liberate ourselves from oppression. We were born into this glorious
history of resistance to the slavocracy, from the Bras Coupee Uprising and
many other insurrections, to the Afrikan Blood Brotherhood and the Garvey
Legionnaires in the 1920s to the Deacons for Defense during the civil rights
movement. Johnnie and i were comrades in struggle, sometimes employing
different methods but fighting for similar goals, the freedom and
self-determination of Afrikan people in particular and all oppressed people in
general. The tradition of struggle continued in Los Angeles where Johnnie
"Chief" Cochran Sr. was one of the first men in Los Angeles to support the
Free Breakfast for Children's program of the Black Panther Party at the Second
Baptist Church with Rev. Kilgore. Soon after, his son, Johnnie Cochran Jr.
began defending the members of the Black Panther Party in court against the
racist police and other agencies who set out to destroy our movement as part
of the federal government's illegal Cointelpro pogrom. People were surprised,
but not us, that Johnnie was willing to come to the fore of our struggle for
Reparations. In 1975, while i was imprisoned on san quentin's death row, he
and i began to dialogue via mail about the legal predicates regarding the
money owed the descendants of African slaves. Johnnie was impressed with the
arguments being made under international law, and the legitimacy of our right
to reparations as was being taught by the great legal minds of Imari Obadele
and Chokwe Lumumba. His commitment to our struggle and his eager willingness
to begin to engage in the struggle for reparations for Mama Afrika, who was
raped first by colonialism and slavery, makes me suspicious of the suddenness
and speed in which this healthy, picture perfect man, was taken from us by
this strange illness. Johnnie also recognized that there were many other
political prisoners in the United States such as Sundiata Acoli, Leonard
Peltier, Mumia Abu-Jamal, Mutulu Shakur, Marilyn Buck, and too many others to
list here. Johnnie was just as supportive of them as well. He would agree that
we needed to go beyond domestic law, which is inherently racist, and use
international law to escape the many racist trappings of domestic law that
have been instituted since the early days of the slavocracy.
We had spoken about him joining me in Afrika to work on some of the issues
facing our people here, and he had told me it was his next quest. He was
anxious to address the problems of orphans, HIV/Aids, poverty, genocidal
sorties, and patterns of economic exploitation that have continued since the
days of colonialism. Johnnie wanted to come and pay homage at the Altar of Mt.
Kilimanjaro, but he also wanted to meet two of our greatest heroes, Pete and
Charlotte O'Neal. Johnnie was amazed at contradictions surrounding Pete's
case, and the fact that he ,Assata, Don Con and Cetewayo had to remain in
political exile clearly and only because of the FBI's war against the Black
Liberation Movement.
Many of Johnnie's detractors like to claim he played the race card in the OJ
trial by exposing the misconduct, racism and ineptitude of the Los Angeles
police. But those critics fail to accept the truth that Johnnie knew all to
well; the Cointelpro card. This dirty, pernicious, secret, illegal war, that
victimized even Johnnie when the police pulled him out of his car and had him
prostrate on the ground in front of his children. His past experiences on my
case and many others having shown him how deliberately and shamelessly the
police would manufacture evidence, lie on the stand, and generally use all
sorts of nefarious tactics to get a conviction. Johnnie stood up and refused
to blindly accept the testimony of police or other government agents.
Unfortunately too many people still refuse to acknowledge the corruption and
injustice that is rampant within the so-called justice system in America. But
Johnnie knew it, and fought against it at every opportunity.
But Johnnie is home now. Another great son of Afrika has returned to the
Ancestors. He has been a great son. A father, a brother, a friend and a
comrade. We can all feel a little more secure knowing that while our brother
is no longer able to look after us individually in the courtroom, he now
watches over us collectively alongside Bunchy, Red, Toure and all the other
Freedom Fighters who have gone before him. Johnnie fought not only for
justice, but also for peace. And he has finally found his. I could talk all
day about my beautiful brother, but I know he didn't wake me up for that this
morning. I can hear him calling me now, telling me to get up, get out, and
continue to "Fight the Good Fight!"'
Pamberi ne Chimurenga!
(Ever Onward to Liberation)
geronimo ji Jaga
Tanzania, East Afrika
Wednesday, March 30, 2005
The full text was posted by jsmooth995 (April 1, 2005):
www.hiphopmusic.com/archives/000927.html
For a book on geronimo: Last Man Standing :
The Tragedy and Triumph of Geronimo Pratt
by JACK OLSEN
www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0385493681/ref%3Dase%5Fhiphopmusicco-20/002-12
07354-2550434
Please Note:
Leonard Peltier's prison sentence has recently surpassed geronimo ji Jaga's
long 27-year unjust prison stay. Isn't it time for Leonard Peltier to breathe
the airs of freedom?
Learn more at the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee website:
LeonardPeltier.org
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3) General Clark to House Armed Services on Iraq
- - Violence in Iraq could slide towards Civil War
- - Opening Statement of General Wesley Clark
House Armed Services Committee Hearing
April 6, 2005
[EXCERPT]
. After a Congressional Resolution and an aborted U.N. inspection effort, the
U.S. invaded Iraq. We did not use the U.N. process effectively to enhance our
legitimacy or build our coalition. The Administration did not heed the
warnings of General Shinseki and others who warned of the force strength
necessary to win the war and win the peace. In short, the Administration did
not give our military adequate planning or sufficient resources to handle the
post-conflict situation in Iraq. These errors were compounded by weak
strategic decisions, including dissolving the Iraqi army and outlawing
Baathist participation in new governmental structures. The prisoner abuse at
Abu Ghraib has provided our enemies with a propaganda bonanza resulting in a
recruiting windfall in Iraq and throughout the Arab world.
More fundamentally, with its armed occupation of Iraq, the Administration lost
focus, and was substantially distracted from worldwide efforts against Al
Qaeda. Osama bin Laden and the Al Qaeda network are still at large, terrorist
incidents have continued to take innocent life, and U.S. military actions in
Iraq have provided a magnet for recruiting and training large numbers of
extremist youth in continuing warfare. If Iraq is today the center of the war
against terrorism, as some in the Administration have contended, it is not
because the terrorists were there originally, but because they have been
recruited there to the fight against us. Our military action in Iraq is more a
catalyst for terrorists than a cure. Whatever results may ultimately come from
removing Saddam Hussein from power, ending the terrorist threat against the
United States of America is not likely to be one of them.
To read General Clark's complete statement and more, visit:
SecuringAmerica.com
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
- - Violence in Iraq could slide towards Civil War
Political Instability in Iraq Causes Some to Form Militias
by Tom Lasseter
Published on Wednesday, April 6, 2005 by Knight Ridder
BAGHDAD, IRAQ --
The rumors spread quickly last month around the central Baghdad neighborhood
of Sab'ah Nisan that Salem Khudair's nephew had insulted the name of Imam
Hussein, one of the most important historical figures in the Shiite branch of
Islam. It fell to Khudair, the eldest son of a family from the Sunni branch,
to meet with local Shiites and explain that his 26-year-old nephew had said no
such thing.
A day later Khudair's family received a note insulting them as Sunni Muslims,
calling them sons of whores. On March 27, Khudair was kidnapped.
What came next has become typical for Iraq as sectarian tension and violence
rise. Khudair's family formed an armed group of more than 20 relatives and
neighbors who demanded Khudair's release and vowed to kill those responsible.
"If something happened to my brother, no Shiite would be safe," Khudair's
brother, Sameer, said at the time, convinced that Shiite militia members were
behind the kidnapping.
Khudair's body was found on Saturday, dumped in the street. He'd been shot in
the face, and there was evidence of torture. At the family home later that
day, Sameer Khudair said there would be no funeral celebration until his
brother's death was avenged. Young men stood on the rooftop with AK-47s, and
others stuffed their guns into bags.
The political instability in Iraq and the ethnic divides behind it are pushing
Iraqis toward gang-like violence that many worry could start a slide toward
civil war..
[EXCERPT]
.There is talk, he said, of starting a militia.
A special correspondent who cannot be named for security reasons contributed
to this report from Fallujah.
For the original published article link, see
www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/11318266.htm
###
also posted:
www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0406-10.htm
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