- Despite freezing temperature, plus snowy and slushy conditions
on the ground, about 50 stouthearted protesters rallied at the York County,
PA prison and also at a distribution plant owned by the Caterpillar Corporation.
The Convergence for Human Rights sponsored the event, which was held on
Sat., Dec. 6, 2003, and endorsed by over 66 groups (www.october18.org).
-
- "We are out here protesting the government's treatment
of immigrants, the USA Patriot Act and the erosion of our rights since
9/11," said Keith Dobson of York, PA. He continued, "We are also
here to protest Caterpillar profiting from people's misery by selling its
bulldozers to Israel, which it uses to destroy Palestinians' homes and
for collective punishment, too, that is a violation of both the Geneva
Convention and human rights."
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- Beth Zovko, a student at York College, who hails from
Pittsburgh, PA, was one of the activists that marched in the cold from
York Co. Prison to the Caterpillar plant, which was situated a few miles
away. "I'm here today to spell out my sense of indignation at the
injustice that is going on right now in my country. I think that it is
appalling that our civil rights are being thrown away."
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- Both the prison, which holds hundreds of immigrant detainees
under suspect legal authority, for the Bureau of Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (BICE), and the Caterpillar plant, are located just outside
of York, a town of 41,000. The Caterpillar plant's reputation has been
sullied by the fact that it distributes parts, which are used to manufacture
armored bulldozers that have ended up being utilized by the Israelis Occupation
Forces (IOF) to oppress the indigenous Palestinian people (See for details,
Ronald L. Bleier's "Israeli Terror," 07/03, "The LInk,"
ameu.org.)
-
- Another young protester, who didn't want me to use his
name, said, "I came up here to York, just to let the world know how
much I care about Rachel Corrie. What the Israelis did to her was a terrible
crime." Corrie was a 23-years old peace and justice activist from
Olympia, WA. She was killed on March 16, 2003, at the Rafah refugee camp,
in Occupied Gaza, by an Israeli driving a bulldozer that was made by Caterpillar.
It is clear from the photos taken at the crime scene, that the driver deliberately
ran over her, not once, but twice!
-
- Since 9/11, BICE has been warehousing political asylum
seekers in facilities, like York County Prison. BICE comes under the jurisdiction
of the U.S. Justice Dept., which is headed by Attorney General John Ashcroft.
BICE has refused, in violation of international law, to release the names
of all of its detainees, many of whom are of Arab descent.
-
- Farouk Abdel-Muhti, age 55, is one of the victims of
BICE. He has not been charged with any criminal offense. A native of Ramallah,
in Occupied Palestine, he was arrested in April, 2002, and held for deportation
only after he became a producer on a popular WBAI's Radio show, in NYC.
His program championed the nationalist cause of the Palestinians (wbai.org).
Abdel-Muhti, despite suffering from high blood pressure, was held in solitary
confinement at the York Co. facility. On Oct. 30, 2003, he was shifted
to the Bergen Co. jail, at Hackensack, NJ. A Habeas Corpus proceeding,
which is challenging the legality of his imprisonment, is pending in federal
court.
-
- Robert F. Merrill, of York, is one of Abdel-Muhti's
most vocal supporters. He said, "I just don't appreciate detention
without fairness, justice and good solid evidence." Merrill has also
written two songs advocating the cause of freedom for the wrongly jailed
Abdel-Muhti.
-
- The authority of the Feds to deport an immigrant, even
without a public trial and based on secret evidence, predates the "USA
Patriot Act." It was Sen. Arlen "Magic Bullet" Specter (R-PA)
and then House member, now Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), who pushed that
Star Chamber-like device back in the late 90s. The "Homeland Security
Law," passed in 2002, greatly enhanced the Bush-Cheney-Ashcroft Gang's
power to terrorized the immigrant community. Sadly, it was endorsed by
pseudo liberals, like: Sen. Joseph "The Chicken Hawk" Lieberman
(D-CT), Rep. Tom "Sharon Clone" Lantos (D-CA) and Sen. Barbara
"Babs" Mikulski (D-MD).
-
- Steve Baker, also from York, and a protester, underscored,
"I don't imagine that everyone would feel this as an important issue.
I think it's because they don't happen to be sitting in jail, with no trial
date, no bail and no attorney. If they could put themselves in 'that' position,
then they could begin to understand the importance of us being here today."
-
- York's roots date to colonial days. During the American
Revolution, it even served as the capital from 1777-78, after the British
military forces had taken Philadelphia and the embattled Contintental Congress
was forced to flee that city. York is located 15 miles north of the Mason-Dixon
Line, and 30 miles east of Gettysburg, where one of the most historic and
lethal battles of the Civil War was fought in the summer of 1863. Many
of today's protesters were from York County, which has a population of
381,000. York is also 50 miles directly north from Baltimore, Maryland.
-
- There was a extremely heavy police presence at both
the prison and the Caterpillar plant sites, which seemed all out of proportion
to the modest number of protesters. I noticed police vehicles from the
York Co. Sheriff, Southwestern Region, Springettsbury Township and the
PA State Police. In addition, officials from at least one federal agency
were on the grounds, and on the roof tops, of the York Co. Prison, which
is a sprawling complex that also houses female inmates.
-
- Finally, John K. Stoner, of Akron, PA, who is active
with the "Every Church a Peace Church" organization, blasted
the indifference of the main stream American churches to the present serious
civil and human rights situation in this country. He said," The Christian
community has betrayed Jesus who it claims to follow. Jesus was about nonviolent
struggle for justice. When the Church aligns itself with imperial power,
coercive power and homicidal violence, it leaves Jesus far behind. This
is what President George W. Bush is doing, and what we need is for the
Church to take up the passion for justice and social change that Jesus
was all about."
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- © William Hughes 2003
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- William Hughes is the author of "Saying 'No' to
the War Party" (Iuniverse, Inc.). He can be reached at: liamhughes@mindspring.com.
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