Eugene Debs was a journalist and a leading member of the Socialist Party in the US. Debs was sent to prison for three years because he gave a speech in Canton, Ohio, opposing U.S. participation in World War I.

Eighteen leading members of the Socialist Workers Party were sent to prison for having a position opposing the second world war. Several were writers for the Militant newspaper.

Ruben Salazar was a Chicano activist, a columnist for the Los Angeles Times, a news director for the Spanish language television station KMEX. About three months after four young women were murdered by National Guardsmen at Kent State University, there was a largely Chicano antiwar demonstration in Los Angeles. Salazar was shot and killed at point-blank range by a sheriff’s deputy after this demonstration was broken up. The deputy was not found guilty of any wrongdoing.

Mumia Abu Jamal was the President of the Black Journalists Association in Philadelphia. Despite the overwhelming evidence supporting this argument, today Mumia Abu Jamal is serving a life sentence in prison.

Róger Calero is a writer for Perspectiva Mundial and the Militant. Today the INS is attempting to deport Calero because of a minor offense that he, and millions of other people living in this country have been found guilty of.

Before the media in this country charge Cuba with intolerance of independent journalists, they need to take a good look at the history of a place called the United States of America.

Steve Halpern
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
 
 
Imperialist democracy
Listening to the capitalists use their weapons of mass distortion to debate how many troops it will take to screw in the light bulbs of Iraq, for how long, and by what methods: begs the question.

Who would benefit from bourgeois democracy in Central Asia. The imperialists have no trouble squeezing billions out without "freedom." The native bourgeoisie have millions to hide in the wall. No! It is the peasants, Bedouin, and workers who would benefit from the room to maneuver, be they Kurd, Sunni, or Shiite.

If anyone who thinks that imperialism would tolerate a workers and farmers government in Central Asia, willingly; they would have to forget the 10-year terrorist war against the workers and farmers of Nicaragua, and the 45-year campaign of terror against the Cuban people.

The answer to the media debate is that there will be no halt to the war against (to use the bosses’ own words) "those uncivilized, uncultured people," who don’t wear uniforms, but who stand up against U.S. Interests.

I don’t know about other readers; be they Tyson strikers or New Zealand IP strikers, the description fits me.

Peter Glace
W. Springfield, Massachussets
 
 
Visit the web site
I visited your website for the first time. It seems to be really interesting. I’ll come back!

A.K. Leipzig, Germany
 
 
Farouk Abdel-Muhti
I just finished reading the letter to the editor from Farouk Abdel-Muhti in the May 5, 2003 issue of the Militant.

The brutal and inhumane treatment he is enduring at the hands of his jailers in the York, Pennsylvania prison is a complete outrage.

His letter solidarizing with the Cuban 5 is a testament of his spirit and courage. Please publish more about his case, and how to solidarize with his fight for justice. For example, where should letters protesting his prison conditions, and demanding his speedy release, be addressed?

I have recently participated in letter-writing campaigns on behalf of both Róger Calero and the Cuban 5. I am certain an appeal on behalf of Farouk Abdel-Muhti would meet with a similar outpouring of solidarity. All supporters of democratic rights and the Palestinian struggle should rally to his cause.

Marla Puziss
Atlanta, Georgia

Farouk Abdel-Muhti, an outspoken advocate of the Palestinian struggle for self-determination, was jailed without charges one year ago.

He is facing deportation from the United States, where he has lived since the 1970s. Abdel-Muthi has been imprisoned indefinitely, first in several prisons in New Jersey, and more recently in a penitentiary in York, Pennsylvania. Abdel-Muthi is appealing for public support to press the government to release him and to drop deportation proceedings against him. Anyone interested can send a letter of protest to David J. Venturella, Assistant Deputy Executive Associate Commissioner, Office of Detention and Removal, tel. (212) 305-2734, fax (202) 353-9435, e-mail David.j.venturella@usdoj.gov. Please also call York County Jail warden Thomas Hogan at (717) 840-7580.

To write to Abdel-Muhti address correspondence as follows: Farouk Abdel-Muhti #75122, York County Jail, 3400 Concord Road, York, PA 17402-9580.

--Editor
 
 
Tampa fund-raiser
Twenty four people crowded into the Pathfinder Bookstore in Tampa, Florida May 4 to hear James Harris, a leader of the Socialist Workers Party and garment worker in Atlanta, Georgia, speak on "Defending Cuba’s Sovereignty, Defending Cuba’s Socialist Revolution." The meeting, organized to respond to the increased provocations by the U.S. government against Cuba, drew people of all ages from throughout central Florida--from Daytona on the Atlantic coast to Tarpon Springs on the Gulf coast.

During the lively discussion, Alberto Jones described how his grandparents migrated from Jamaica to Cuba. "Those who came to work in the sugar plantations had a one way ticket." He spoke of the conditions of life that were forced on those in the rural areas and especially Blacks before the revolution. "How was it that Cuba was able to live through the ‘Special Period?,’ he posed. "Why didn’t people rise up in rebellion? Because the Cuban people are willing to die hungry to defend the revolution. We do not want to wait another 400 years for our children to have the right to go to university."

Diego Negrao, a young Cuban who came to the U.S. when he was 5 years old, said that he had learned from his grandparents that "the Cuban revolution is something we need to defend." But he said he was bothered about some things in Cuba today. "Tourism and the use of the dollar is causing increasing inequalities. The families of those who came to the United States are receiving the dollars and getting rich. And there is discrimination against Blacks in the tourist areas."

Harris explained the importance of the internationalist missions that generations of Cubans have participated in. "They know more about the class struggle in Latin America than they know about the class struggle in the United States," he said. "This is part of the importance of the Youth Exchange to Cuba and the tours by Cuban youth leaders to the United States."

Five students at the meeting are planning to be part of a Florida delegation to the Cuba-U.S. Youth Exchange in July. Audience members contributed $873 to the Militant fund, and three people decided to subscribe to the socialist publication.

Rachele Fruit
Tampa, Florida.

Donate to the Militant Prisoners Fund

The fund makes it possible for workers and farmers behind bars to receive a subscription to the Militant at reduced rates: $6 for a six month subscription and $12 for one year.

Checks or money orders earmarked "Prisoners Fund" should be made out to the Militant and sent to 152 W. 36th St. Suite 401,New York, NY 10018.

The letters column is an open forum for all viewpoints on subjects of interest to working people.

Please keep your letters brief. Where necessary they will be abridged. Please indicate if you prefer that your initials be used rather than your full name.  
 
 
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