The Militant(logo) 
    Vol.59/No.31           August 28, 1995 
 
 
Curtis Defense Presses Parole Campaign  

BY JOHN STUDER

DES MOINES, Iowa - William Kutmus, lead attorney for framed-up unionist and political activist Mark Curtis, is seeking a meeting with the Iowa State Board of Parole. Requesting a September 21 meeting, Kutmus wrote the board that he would be accompanied by "a small group including members of Mr. Curtis's family and others who wish to express the widespread community support for his release on parole." Curtis has been imprisoned for the last seven years on false charges of rape and burglary.

Backers of Curtis's release have been sending in letters urging the Parole Board to free him. Kutmus and the delegation of supporters plan to take the letters to the meeting with the board in September. Such letters have been sent from as far afield as Belgium, Crete, and Brazil, as well as cities all across the United States.

"As someone who knew Mark Curtis and his wife, Kate Kaku, before he was arrested, as someone who has followed his fate over the last seven years, and as a longtime campaigner for human rights, I would like to add my voice to those asking for his release on parole," Prasong Nurack, a well-known political activist and owner of the Taste of Thailand restaurant in Des Moines, wrote.

After hearing a presentation of Curtis's fight for justice from a local supporter of the Mark Curtis Defense Committee to the Atlanta chapter of Greenpeace, 10 members of the environmental group wrote letters to the parole board. "I certainly don't feel that Mark Curtis is someone that the community needs to be protected from, and I utterly fail to see how anyone is served by keeping Mark in jail," wrote Robert Johnson, Greenpeace coordinator in Atlanta. "Reverse this tragic miscarriage of justice as soon as possible and return this peaceful, if controversial, person to society."

T.A. McAuliffe, Chair of the Central America Network, Rocky Mountain Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church, sent a letter saying "As Curtis is no danger to the citizens of Iowa, and as it is no crime in the United States to engage in political activities and/or union organizing (many have given their lives for this right), I respectfully urge the prompt parole of this man."

"I have wanted not to believe that we imprison persons for political reasons in this country," wrote Dorothy Rogers from Iowa City. "But when Mark is treated differently than other prisoners convicted of similar offenses and when the first entry in his prison log is `Political Activist for El Salvador. Promotes socialist causes,' what is one to believe?"

"Despite being imprisoned as a result of an unfair trial, Mr. Curtis maintained an excellent conduct record in prison for years," wrote Thomas R. Jones, local chairman of International Brotherhood of Firemen and Oilers Local 1050 in Washington, D.C. "I understand that he was recently released from `lockup' resulting from allegations against him in a prison `hearing' in which he was denied legal counsel and was not even permitted to confront and question his accusers. If Mr. Curtis can maintain his sanity when subjected to such injustices, he should have no trouble dealing with the pressures of society outside prison. Again, I urge you to parole Mark Curtis."

For more information, or to send a letter urging freedom for Curtis, write the Mark Curtis Defense Committee, Box 1048, Des Moines, Iowa 50311.

Filipino garment workers in Greece support Mark Curtis
ATHENS - Close to 30 Filipino garment workers gathered in front of the Philippine embassy here August 2 for their nightly meeting to discuss the next steps in their fight against deportation. That evening, however, the meeting was turned over to supporters of the Mark Curtis defense campaign.

Roland McCarthy, president of the garment workers union, introduced Natasha Terlexis, an airline worker, as a supporter of the Filipino workers' struggle. Terlexis reviewed the frame-up of the imprisoned U.S. trade unionist.

"Curtis is in jail because he fought for the rights of immigrant workers," said Joe Valencia, a leader of KASAPI, a Filipino immigrant rights organization. "He is truly a symbol for us all. He must be freed." KASAPI has backed Curtis's fight for parole.

At the end of the discussion, the workers decided to send a letter demanding Curtis's release.

-GEORGES MEHRABIAN

 
 
 
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