[News] Reply to New York City tabloid and police smears and lies

[News at freedomarchives.org]

Reply to New York City tabloid and police smears and lies

MONTREAL -- August 27, 2004

Dear friends and allies --

As some of you might know, there has been a series of scare-mongering 
articles in New York City and beyond -- targeting mainly anarchists and 
other left-wing political organizers -- in anticipation of the mobilization 
against the Republican National Convention (RNC) this  weekend
and next week. Some of these articles mention me by name (although I was 
never contacted beforehand for comment by any of the reporters, and I'm not 
even attending the anti-RNC protests). Normally, I wouldn't care
too much about these negative pieces, based solely on anonymous police
sources, but two of the recent articles in mainstream New York City  daily 
newspapers are just so outrageous and untrue that I need to respond clearly 
and publicly.

In yesterday's New York Daily News (August 26, 2004), the frontpage reads: 
"Police Intelligence Warning: Anarchy Inc." The headline inside refers to 
"Anarchists hot for mayhem". The supposed "exclusive" by writer Patrice 
O'Shaughnessy (of the Daily News Police Bureau) begins as follows:

"Fifty of the country's leading anarchists are expected to be in the city 
for the Republican National Convention, and a handful of them are hard-core 
extremists with histories of violent and disruptive tactics, according to 
police intelligence sources. Police said each of the 50 have up to 50 
followers who are willing to be arrested during disturbances at the 
convention."

The article later goes on to refer to me by name:

"Jaggi Singh, a Canadian citizen, is known for allegedly setting off hoax 
devices to detour police resources. He allegedly catapulted teddy bears
soaked with gasoline at police at the Quebec G-20 protest in 2001, 
according to NYPD reports. A member of the International Solidarity
Movement, or ISM, he was seen shooting a handgun, and allegedly received 
firearms training from Toure, according to a police source."

(Kazi Toure is referred earlier in the article as "[A] Black Panther from 
Boston also known as Christopher King, convicted in the 1980s of conspiracy 
to overthrow the government, and with arrests for bank
robbery and transporting firearms, was observed training younger militants 
in weapons use.")

An accompanying article refers to "Potentially violent groups identified by 
the NYPD", and includes SHAC (Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty), the 
International Solidarity Movement (ISM), the Anarchist Black Cross, and two 
groups referred to as "The Organization" and "No Police State" (the
last described as a "[f]ringe group of anarchists planning to spark violence.")

[The original Daily News article is available online at
<http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/story/225853p-193988c.html>http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/story/225853p-193988c.html]

Ten days ago (August 16, 2004), the Daily News' competitor -- the New  York 
Post -- ran its own scare-mongering piece (isn't free market  competition 
great!) with the headline: "Finest prep for anarchy: Radicals eye GOP gala" 
(co-written by Murray Weiss and Andy Soltis). That article includes brief 
profiles of activists Lisa Fithian, Starhawk and myself. However, 
accompanying my profile, under the title "Here's trouble," is an
undated photo of someone who is dark-skinned and vaguely resembles me 
shooting a gun at some sort of outdoor range. I'm referred to as a "key 
anarchist leader who has become increasingly militant."

Clearly, these recent articles are not just limited to the usual innuendo 
and lack of context of most of the usual reporting about protesters or 
anarchists, and I feel compelled to respond.

In reference to yesterday's Daily News article's claims about me, here is a 
point-by-point rebuttal (with a bit of editorializing):


* I don't have 50 followers. I don't have 5 followers. I don't even have a dog.

* I have never set any hoax devices.

* I don't know, and have never met someone named Kazi Toure or Christopher 
King.

* I have not received firearms training from Kazi Toure, or anyone else for 
that matter.

* Based on the recent New York Daily News article, out of sheer curiosity,
I would now like to meet Kazi Toure.

* I was nabbed by undercover police from the streets of Quebec City in
April 2001 during an anti-Summit of the Americas protest, and charged
with participating in a riot, as well as possessing a dangerous weapon -- a
teddy-bear launching catapult. I was jailed for 17 days.

* Based on my subsequent knowledge of the catapult, and the people who
operated it, only teddy bears and confetti were launched. Based on the 
police services' own videos from Quebec City, the catapult only launched 
teddy bears and confetti.

* The teddy bears were not soaked in gasoline (although, knowing some
of the folks involved, they might have perfumed the bears).

* The article mistakenly refers to a "Quebec G-20 protest in 2001". I was
arrested, with many others, at an anti-G-20 protest that took place in 
Montreal in October 2000, and charged with participating in a riot. I was
acquitted, along with two co-accused, by a Montreal jury in April 2003. 
Many of the jurors personally congratulated the defendants after the trial.

* The charges against me from the Quebec City protests in April 2001 were 
dropped in January 2004. I always insisted on my innocence but the
charges were stayed before I could be unequivocally acquitted in front of a
jury (actually, the charges were stayed because the courts knew I would be
unequivocally acquitted in front of a jury, and a second jury acquittal 
would have been embarrassing to the state).

* Yes, I was a volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM),
and I'm a member of the ISM in Montreal. I was privileged to be able to 
observe firsthand the courage and steadfastness of ordinary Palestinians
as they confront daily injustice and defend their dignity, and to continue
to support the work of the ISM from Montreal. The ISM is a Palestinian-led
group of Palestinians and internationals that are working to raise 
awareness of the struggle for Palestinian freedom and an end to Israeli
occupation. The ISM uses nonviolent, direct-action methods of resistance
to confront and challenge illegal Israeli occupation forces and policies 
while also recognizing the Palestinian right to resist Israeli violence and 
occupation via legitimate armed struggle. However, the ISM itself is 
committed to the principles of nonviolent resistance. The claim that the 
ISM is a violent group, or might potentially engage in violence at the RNC, 
is ludicrous.

* Based on the outright fabrications and lies against me in the Daily News
article, all the allegations aimed at other named individuals and groups 
are highly questionable. I would like to express my solidarity with them.


As for the New York Post photo on August 16, 2004: it's a fake. As a friend 
of mine who saw the photo put it to me by e-mail: "It's not you. I got a 
copy of the article and the photo is not actually you. It is some brown guy 
with high cheekbones and a Harry Potter haircut, but it's not you."

By responding publicly, perhaps I'm drawing just more attention to the 
smears. But, I do have something of a track record as a political 
organizer, and anybody who knows me can verify how untrue the tabloid 
claims against me are. Instead, I hope I can modestly contribute to 
exposing the level of corporate media complicity in the police and state's 
marginalization of radical dissent, and the extent of their fabrications. 
Of course, it's not a surprise that out-and-out lies are used in smear 
campaigns against "radicals" or "anarchists." Still, we should remind 
ourselves of the proof when it exists, such as yesterday's Daily News 
article, or the Post photo.

Good luck to everyone who is organizing and gathering to confront the RNC. 
In my mind, the best response to these media and police attacks will be to 
continue our open conspiracy to effectively expose and disrupt the RNC, and 
to persist with our collective and daily struggles for social justice.

In solidarity,
Jaggi Singh

The Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 863-9977
www.freedomarchives.org 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://freedomarchives.org/pipermail/news_freedomarchives.org/attachments/20040828/47881c1c/attachment.htm>