[Ppnews] Day of Solidarity with PPs/POWs

[PPnews at freedomarchives.org]

  (a printable version is attached)

Please Circulate.

February 7, 2005

Greetings Comrades,

The Bay Area Jericho Movement, the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement and the 
GABRIELA Network would like to encourage you and your organization to join 
us in organizing the International Day of Solidarity with Political 
Prisoners and Prisoners of War called for Saturday, December 3, 2005.

The idea of the International Day of Solidarity with Political Prisoners 
and Prisoners of War originated from a political prisoner in the 
Philippines, Donato Continente. During a conversation with a delegation 
from the United States in the summer of 20004, Donato suggested that we 
“have an international day of solidarity with political prisoners 
worldwide?”  While discussing the situation of political prisoners 
worldwide it was noted that although most countries have political 
prisoners, there is little knowledge of them outside their homelands.  Also 
there is very little if any communication between political prisoners or 
political prisoner support groups of different countries. Each country 
could decide it’s own way of observing this day, as could the political 
prisoners and support organizations.  The impact of this work would be 
strengthened by communication between groups and coordinated media work to 
highlight the situation of political prisoners internationally.

In November human rights activists met in Holland at an anti-imperialist 
conference:  the ILPS-International League of Peoples’ Struggles.  There, 
representatives from the Philippines, US, Canada, Mexico, Iraq, Palestine, 
Italy, Spain, Mexico, Colombia and Turkey agreed to make Donato’s idea a 
reality on December 3, 2005 – which would give activists’ one year to 
organize.  Additional outreach will broaden this concept to include 
political prisoners and their movements in many other countries.

We have written the political prisoners in the US about this concept and 
have begun receiving overwhelming support and suggestions. We will 
summarize some of their  responses in subsequent mailings.

We are looking for your support in planning and coordinating activities and 
actions for a Day of Solidarity in the US. At present, people have shown 
interest in organizing regional demonstrations and programs in Oakland, 
Atlanta, Chicago, New York City, and Eugene, Oregon. We hope you and your 
organizations want to organize actions and activities in other cities as 
well. We ask that our efforts be coordinated to maximize the impact of our 
efforts. At this time you can:
a)       Organize Endorsements for the Day of Solidarity.
b)       Commit to organize local or regional actions
c)       Help to organize one of the projected regional activities

In Oakland we are considering a demonstration at the Oakland Federal 
Building on Friday, December 2nd which will also initiate a one-day 
solidarity fast with our imprisoned sisters and brothers and a community 
event on Saturday December 3rd to educate and build an ever stronger 
support movement, demanding the freedom for all political prisoners and 
prisoners of war.

We are anxious to hear from you. We welcome your ideas and suggestions. If 
you have contacts with any international, national or local prisoner 
support movements, please let us know.  We are aiming to get as much 
feedback as possible from all of you by the end of March 2005.

All correspondence should be mailed to:

Jericho Movement
P.O. Box 3585
Oakland, CA 94509

All email correspondence can be sent to: 
<mailto:kaliaw at sbcglobal.net>kaliaw at sbcglobal.net.



The Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 863-9977
www.freedomarchives.org  
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