[Ppnews] Mexican solidarity with Mumia

[Political Prisoner News]

<http://phillyimc.org/en/mexico-citys-week-solidarity-mumia-abu-jamal>http://phillyimc.org/en/mexico-citys-week-solidarity-mumia-abu-jamal

by Amig at s de Mumia, Mexico | 12.15.2008

Below is a written report and photos from Amig at s 
de Mumia, MX, who organized a week of actions 
(Dec. 6-13) in Mexico City, in solidarity with US 
journalist and death-row political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal.

Solidarity statements were read from Mexican 
political prisoners Gloria Arenas Agis and her 
husband Jacobo Silva Nogales (in 
<http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/12/14/18554888.php>english 
or 
<http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/12/14/18554889.php>spanish). 
Eugenia Gutiérrez, of Women and the Sixth of the 
Zapatista Other Campaign read an open letter 
outside the US Embassy (in either 
<http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/12/14/18554893.php>english 
or <http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/12/14/18554890.php>spanish).

RELATED: 
<http://www.indymedia.org/en/2008/11/916170.shtml>From 
Mumia Abu-Jamal: Free the Atenco 13!
JorgeSalinas.jpg

Jorge Salinas, holding his guitar in arms once 
paralyzed and playing with hands once fractured in Atenco.
Mariana and Norma.jpg

Mariana and Norma, who were raped at Atenco but 
have the courage to speak of their sexual torture and denounce it publicly
Mumia-5-1.jpg

Free All Political Prisoners!
Mumia-7-1.jpg

At the fence outside the US Embassy
Mumia,-2-1.jpg

Free Leonard Peltier!
mumx.jpg

At the US Embassy, Performákrata dramatized our 
struggle to free all political prisoners.
mumx2.jpg

At the US Embassy, Performákrata dramatized our 
struggle to free all political prisoners.


Week of Mumia Solidarity Actions in Mexico City

--Written by Amig at s de Mumia, Mexico

With drums, songs, rap, performance, and a lot of 
leafleting, the friends of Mumia in Mexico 
demanded his freedom in the zocalo on Saturday, 
December 6, in solidarity with the march in 
Philadelphia. There were also actions and events, 
starting that day, in San Francisco, New York, 
San Diego, Baltimore, Portland, Detroit, 
Cleveland, Missoula, Buffalo, Caracas, Barcelona, 
Berlin, Paris, St. Denis, Marseilles, Bern, 
Monterrey and San Cristobal de las Casas.

We listened to this 
<http://prisonradio.org/philli_rally_12_6_08.htm>message from Mumia:

"My brothers and sisters, onaMOVE! I want you to 
know that the battle continues. It goes on 
because it must and it's the right thing to do. 
As you've seen, the law is but politics by other 
means, and the judges but politicians in judges' 
robes. It doesn't matter what the cases say. It 
doesn't matter what the so-called rules say. 
They've never followed them from day one. What 
matters is what you say. What matters is what you 
do. So I thank you all for being there, for 
fighting for what's right, for fighting for life, 
for fighting for liberty. I thank you all and I 
love you all. OnaMOVE! Long live John Africa! 
 From death row, this is Mumia Abu-Jamal".

On Monday, December 8, the Autonomous Magonista 
Collective (CAMA) organized a night of film and 
discussion about the Black Panthers and MOVE to 
give a context for Mumia's incrimination.

On Tuesday, December 9, 27 years after Mumia's 
arrest, we held a rally outside the US Embassy. 
Among us were comrades who have paid high prices 
for their resistance along with a lot of young, 
energetic anarchists who are barely beginning to fight.

Mexican political prisoners Jacobo Silva Nogales 
and Gloria Arenas sent solidarity messages 
showing their identification with Mumia in the 
goals of the struggle and their understanding of 
what it means to spend 27 years in prison. 
Elizabeth Silva, Jacobo's sister, who visits him 
every week in the maximum security Altiplano 
prison (formerly Almoloya) despite all the 
mistreatment and humiliation designed to keep 
family members away, summed up a long letter 
written by Jacobo to Mumia and spoke of the cruel conditions in Altiplano.

There was a common theme between Mumia's life and 
those of former and current Mexican political 
prisoners who participated in the rally: In spite 
of all the physical and psychological torture 
used to break their spirit and will and suffocate 
resistance, they are unrepentant for having 
struggled and have been able to heal themselves 
and keep on going with force, commitment, and vitality.

The police almost killed Mumia the night Daniel 
Faulker was shot to death. The state is still 
trying to kill him, quickly or slowly. The deadly 
D.A. from Philadelphia, Lynne Abraham, is now 
petitioning the federal Supreme Court to execute 
him without so much as a hearing, but Mumia 
Abu-Jamal keeps on struggling from his cell on 
death row, with words as his weapon. The police 
almost killed Jorge Salinas in Atenco, but last 
Saturday and last Tuesday he was with us, singing 
Zapatista corridos and songs to Che Guevara and 
Puerto Rican freedom fighters, holding his guitar 
in arms once paralyzed and playing with hands once fractured in Atenco.

Mumia endures torture every day of his life, in 
each and every body search, each and every visit 
where he can't hold or even touch his loved ones, 
yet every person who visits him finds him with a 
smile on his face, a free spirit eager to know 
how people are doing, how the struggle's doing, 
and what's happening in different places in the 
world. Three women who were with us at the 
rally—Mariana, Edith y Norma—were raped at Atenco 
but have the courage to speak of their sexual 
torture and denounce it publicly. You can tell by 
their smiles, their voices, and the way they walk 
that, far from feeling humiliated or defeated, 
they're stronger than ever. They'll go anywhere, 
to any city, any country, to denounce the crimes 
of their torturers and get them indicted in international courts.

If the State can't execute Mumia Abu-Jamal, it 
intends to keep him caged for the rest of his 
life. It doesn't have the slightest intention of 
letting him out alive. And the State doesn't 
intend to let Ignacio del Valle, Felipe Álvarez, 
and Héctor Galindo out of their cages either. On 
Tuesday, Ignacio's son, César del Valle, was with 
us in solidarity with Mumia, also speaking of his 
father, the other Atenco prisoners in Altiplano 
and Molino de Flores, and those who are hunted by 
the State and have not been able to return home 
since May of 2006. César read Ignacio's powerful 
message "Never Surrender," a message emphasized 
in lines sent to us by the MOVE 9 political prisoner, Phil África.

Several people at the rally also marched in 
supported of Mumia to the Embassy in '99 and some 
went to jail because of it. They still admire him 
and see the relevance of his freedom to that of 
the political prisoners of Mexico.

The freedom songs and poetry of Vicky and Carlos 
lifted our spirits, and Performákrata dramatized 
our struggle to free all political prisoners.

 From the state of Guerrero, the Collective 
against Torture and Impunity demanded justice for 
Mumia from the government of the United States, 
"where the death penalty and life sentences are 
evidence of a legal-political-social backwardness 
and a violation of human rights in the 
international sphere (Inter-American Convention), 
where the death penalty is prohibited, but now 
taken up by Mexican politicians who insist on 
copying and allowing U.S. impositions."

Eugenia Gutiérrez, of Women and the Sixth of the 
Zapatista Other Campaign read an open letter to 
Mumia, speaking of the death penalty as a form of 
torture and of plans to reinstate it in Mexico. 
She insisted: "We were born to live and be free." 
Compañera Fili from the Santo Domingo 
neighborhood spoke about Mumia's presence here in 
Mexico, and members of the Anarquist Federation, 
Radiokupa, CAMA, Anarchist Black Cross, Chanti 
Ollin and CCH Oriente read Mumia's commentaries 
and abolitionist and solidarity messages for him. 
There were also denunciations against the 
repression in Tiripetío and Oaxaca and against 
the sentences of the October 2 prisoners. There 
was a brief blockade on Reforma Avenue and some 
stayed on the street divider for quite a while 
with red and black flags, leafleting and chanting.

On Saturday night, December 13, we closed the 
week with a concert-dance, with the announced 
groups Al Intifadah, Natty Dread Fyah Attack, 
Zona Norte Colektivo, Santocho Antifa and 
Radiokupa, plus several other musicians who 
showed up to play, including Tiempo y Azeta, el 
Poeta, Vicky and Carlos, Tambores Rumberos, hip 
hop sound-maker Carlos, and Machetearte 
performance troupe who sang out and energized  us 
to gain freedom for Mumia Abu-Jamal and all political prisoners.




Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110

415 863-9977

www.Freedomarchives.org  
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