[Nonviolenza] Con il voto unanime del partito del presidente Biden siamo a un punto di svolta per la liberazione di Leonard Peltier. E' il momento del massimo impegno affinche' sia restituita la liberta' all'illustre attivista nativo americano ingiustamente detenuto da 47 anni

[Centro di ricerca per la pace Centro di ricerca per la pace <centropacevt at gmail.com>]

CON IL VOTO UNANIME DEL PARTITO DEL PRESIDENTE BIDEN SIAMO A UN PUNTO DI SVOLTA PER LA LIBERAZIONE DI LEONARD PELTIER. E' IL MOMENTO DEL MASSIMO IMPEGNO AFFINCHE' SIA RESTITUITA LA LIBERTA' ALL'ILLUSTRE ATTIVISTA NATIVO AMERICANO INGIUSTAMENTE DETENUTO DA 47 ANNI

Il fatto che l'8 settembre scorso il comitato nazionale del partito democratico degli Stati Uniti d'America (il partito cui appartiene il presidente Biden) abbia approvato all'unanimita' una risoluzione per la liberazione di Leonard Peltier costituisce un vero e proprio punto di svolta.
Non piu' soltanto singoli parlamentari, ma l'intero partito democratico che ha la maggioranza nei due rami del Congresso, ha preso una posizione netta ed inequivocabile: chiede al Presidente degli Stati Uniti d'America che Leonard Peltier sia liberato.
Che il voto nel massimo organo decisionale del partito di governo degli Stati Uniti sia stato unanime e' assai significativo.
Leonard Peltier e' l'illustre attivista nativo americano difensore dei diritti umani di tutti gli esseri umani e dell'intero mondo vivente, da 47 anni detenuto innocente.
La sua liberazione e' stata chiesta da Nelson Mandela, da madre Teresa di Calcutta, da papa Francesco, dal Dalai Lama, da milioni di persone di tutto il mondo, da istituzioni come il Parlamento Europeo, dalla struttura giuridica dell'Onu che ha esaminato e si e' espressa sulla sua vicenda.
La sua liberta' e' nelle mani del Presidente degli Stati Uniti d'America, che puo' e deve concedere la grazia presidenziale.
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E' questo quindi il momento in cui esercitare da tutto il mondo il massimo impegno per persuadere il presidente statunitense a compiere un atto, la concessione della grazia, che ripari finalmente a un'ingiustizia prolungatasi per quasi mezzo secolo.
Da ogni persona di volonta' buona, da ogni movimento della societa' civile, da ogni associazione democratica, da ogni istituzione impegnata per il bene comune si levi corale l'appello a restituire la liberta' a Leonard Peltier.
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Tra le molte iniziative di solidarieta' attualmente in corso due sono particolarmente significative.
La prima: il "cammino spirituale" che sta attraversando gli Stati Uniti d'America per concludersi a Washington; una vera e propria "marcia per la giustizia" promossa dall'American Indian Movement per chiedere al Presidente Biden di liberare Leonard Peltier.
La seconda: il viaggio in Europa di una delegazione composta da tre prestigiose donne native americane, Carol Gokee, Lona Knight e Jean Roach, che guidano l'"International Leonard Peltier Defense Committee" e la solidarieta' internazionale con Leonard Peltier; esse incontreranno l'Onu a Ginevra e movimenti, associazioni ed istituzioni in vari paesi europei, tra cui l'Italia.
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Per informazioni e contatti con l'"International Leonard Peltier Defense Committee": sito: wwww.whoisleonardpeltier.info, e-mail: contact at whoisleonardpeltier.info
Per informazioni e contatti con le principali associazioni promotrici delle iniziative italiane in corso per la liberazione di Leonard Peltier: e-mail: bigoni.gastone at gmail.com, naila.clerici at soconasincomindios.it, nepi1.anpi at gmail.com, centropacevt at gmail.com, tel. 3490931155 (risponde Andrea De Lotto, del "Comitato di solidarieta' con Leonard Peltier" di Milano), tel. 3478207381 (risponde Naila Clerici, direttrice della rivista "Tepee" e presidente italiana di Soconas-Incomindios).
Per interviste (in inglese) con l'"International Leonard Peltier Defense Committee" e con la delegazione che visitera' l'Europa in queste settimane: Carol Gokee, International Leonard Peltier Defense Committee, 715-209-4453; Jean Roach, International Leonard Peltier Defense Committee, 605-415-3127; Kevin Sharp, former Federal District Court Judge & Peltier's lead attorney, 615-434-7001.
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In calce alleghiamo un articolo di Jennifer Bendery apparso sull'"Huffington Post", in cui e' riprodotto anche il testo integrale della risoluzione approvata all'unanimita' dal Comitato nazionale del Partito Democratico degli Stati Uniti d'America.

Il "Centro di ricerca per la pace, i diritti umani e la difesa della biosfera" di Viterbo

Viterbo, 24 settembre 2022

Mittente: il "Centro di ricerca per la pace, i diritti umani e la difesa della biosfera" di Viterbo, strada S. Barbara 9/E, 01100 Viterbo, e-mail: centropacevt at gmail.com
Il "Centro di ricerca per la pace, i diritti umani e la difesa della biosfera" di Viterbo e' una struttura nonviolenta attiva dagli anni '70 del secolo scorso che ha sostenuto, promosso e coordinato varie campagne per il bene comune, locali, nazionali ed internazionali. E' la struttura nonviolenta che oltre trent'anni fa ha coordinato per l'Italia la piu' ampia campagna di solidarieta' con Nelson Mandela, allora detenuto nelle prigioni del regime razzista sudafricano. Nel 1987 ha promosso il primo convegno nazionale di studi dedicato a Primo Levi. Dal 2000 pubblica il notiziario telematico quotidiano "La nonviolenza e' in cammino". Da alcuni mesi e' particolarmente impegnata nella campagna per la liberazione di Leonard Peltier, l'illustre attivista nativo americano difensore dei diritti umani di tutti gli esseri umani e dell'intero mondo vivente, da 47 anni prigioniero innocente.

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JENNIFER BENDERY: DNC UNANIMOUSLY PASSES RESOLUTION URGING JOE BIDEN TO RELEASE LEONARD PELTIER
[Dal sito www.huffpost.com riprendiamo e diffondiamo il seguente articolo dell'11 settembre 2022]
DNC Unanimously Passes Resolution Urging Joe Biden To Release Leonard Peltier
"We thank the Democratic Party for standing with justice," North Dakota state Rep. Ruth Anna Buffalo said of the support for the Native American rights activist.
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The Democratic National Committee on Saturday voted unanimously to pass a resolution urging President Joe Biden to release activist Leonard Peltier from prison - a sign of the growing momentum to remedy what many consider a decadeslong stain on the nation’s criminal justice system.
DNC members passed the measure on a voice vote, calling on Biden to grant clemency to Peltier. The measure was part of a package of resolutions that sailed through during a DNC general session.
Peltier, an Indigenous rights activist, has been in prison for 46 years following the 1975 murder of two FBI agents during a shoot-out on Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. This is despite no evidence he committed a crime, a trial riddled with misconduct and a parole process so problematic that United Nations legal experts recently called on Biden to release him immediately.
The DNC resolution states that Peltier, now 77, is an ideal candidate for leniency "given the overwhelming support for clemency, the constitutional due process issues underlying Mr. Peltier's prosecution, his status as an elderly inmate, and that he is an American Indian, who suffer from greater rates of health disparities and severe underlying health conditions."
It concludes: "It is highly appropriate that consideration of clemency for Mr. Peltier be prioritized and expedited, so that Mr. Peltier can return to his family and live his final years among his people."
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Here's a full copy of the text:
The following Resolution will be considered by the Resolutions Committee at its meeting on September 8, 2022.
Submitted by:
Ruth Buffalo/ND
Patrick Hart/Chair/ND
Kari Breker/Vice Chair/ND
Adam Goldwyn/ND
Clara Pratte/AZ
Resolution to Consider an Award of Executive Clemency for Leonard Peltier
WHEREAS, Democrats have sought to use clemency powers to secure the release of those serving unduly long or unjust prison sentences; and
WHEREAS, the Obama administration commuted the sentences of more than 1,700 people serving unjust sentences after a thorough review of their individual cases and the Biden administration has so far used clemency powers for more than 75 individuals serving unjust sentences as part of a broader strategy to make the criminal justice system more fair; and
WHEREAS, the Biden administration, under the direction of Secretary Deb Haaland, is leading a historic investigation into the lasting social impacts - such as, historical and intergenerational trauma - of the federal Indian boarding school system that separated Mr. Peltier from his family at a young age; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Peltier is 77 years old, and has served more than 45 years in federal prison - at least five years solitary confinement - in numerous prisons across the United States; and
WHEREAS, Leonard Peltier is Native American, elderly and suffers from severe health conditions, including diabetes and a lethal abdominal aortic aneurysm; life ending if ruptured; and
WHEREAS, The Department of Justice (DOJ) has issued a national response to the COVID-19 pandemic authorizing the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to release elderly inmates and those with underlying health conditions from federal prisons; Mr. Peltier is imprisoned at the Coleman Federal Correctional Complex in Florida and qualifies for early release under BOP guidelines; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Peltier was convicted and sentenced to two consecutive life sentences in 1977 for the murders of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents Ronald Williams and Jack Coler, killed on June 26, 1975, during a confrontation with members of the American Indian Movement (AIM) on the Pine Ridge Indian reservation; Joseph Stuntz, a 23-year-old member of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, was also killed that day, and his death was never investigated; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Peltier was extradited from Canada based on false statements of an alleged eye witness who later retracted her testimony; and
WHEREAS, many evidentiary and procedural irregularities arose during Mr. Peltier's prosecution, such as alleged key eyewitness to the shootings later retracting testimony disclosing threats against the eyewitness and family by the FBI; and
WHEREAS, a 1980 Freedom of Information Act ruling revealed to Mr. Peltier's lawyers the prosecution withheld evidence that might have impacted Mr. Peltier's case; and
WHEREAS, although legal experts have criticized the trial for its failed due process, appeals for presidential consideration of clemency by distinguished Americans and justice organizations have had no success; and
WHEREAS, this further diminishes American Indians' faith in the criminal justice system throughout the country; and
WHEREAS, hundreds of tribal nations have supported early release and clemency Mr. Peltier's throughout the years, and the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, of which Mr. Peltier is a member, has offered housing, elderly support, and reintegration services upon Mr. Peltier's release; and
WHEREAS, petitions for Mr. Peltier's release are widespread and urgent, including those who once were part of the 1977 criminal prosecution and former U.S. Attorney James H. Reynolds, having garnered over 275,000 signatures on a petition requesting President Biden grant Mr. Peltier clemency; and
WHEREAS, Amnesty International, a global human rights organization with over 10 million members, supporters, and activists worldwide, continues the call for Mr. Peltier's release to this day; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Peltier has overwhelming support from internationally respected champions of human rights, including the late Nelson Mandela, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Mikhail Gorbachev, Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the European Parliament, the Belgian Parliament, the Italian Parliament, the Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rigoberta Menchu, seven Nobel Peace Prize Laureates (including Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Shirin Ebadi), Rage Against the Machine, Pete Seeger, Carlos Santana, Harry Belafonte, Gloria Steinem, and Robert Redford, representing but a fraction of those who recognize the injustice imposed upon Mr. Peltier; and
WHEREAS, the National Caucus of Native American State Legislators, tribal nation leaders, and the National Congress of American Indians, within our representative states and beyond, have demanded Mr. Peltier's clemency and release;
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the DNC platform states that the President should use clemency powers "to secure the release of those serving unduly long sentences;" and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that given the overwhelming support for clemency, the constitutional due process issues underlying Mr. Peltier's prosecution, his status as an elderly inmate, and that he is an American Indian, who suffer from greater rates of health disparities and severe underlying health conditions, Mr. Peltier is a good candidate to be granted mercy and leniency; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that it is highly appropriate that consideration of clemency for Mr. Peltier be prioritized and expedited, so that Mr. Peltier can return to his family and live his final years among his people.
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North Dakota state Rep. Ruth Anna Buffalo (D), a member of the DNC Executive Committee and one of the people behind the resolution, said she feels nothing but gratitude to see it pass with unanimous support.
"We thank the Democratic Party for standing with justice," she told HuffPost.
"My 19-year-old daughter continues to encourage me to push harder and to work harder for our elder Leonard Peltier's release, who is a survivor of Federal Indian Boarding School," Buffalo said. "Our next generation is watching and sees this injustice. We cannot give up on releasing Peltier, a political prisoner."
A White House spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on whether Biden is aware of the DNC resolution, or whether he is considering granting clemency for the activist.
Peltier is considered by many to be America's longest-serving political prisoner. Advocates for his release have raised several problems with his trial, citing blatant 1970s-era racism against Indigenous people, his co-defendants' acquittal on grounds of self-defense, and details that suggest the FBI bore at least partial responsibility for the shoot-out that took place that day.
A former U.S. prosecutor who helped put Peltier in jail has since described his trial as flawed and last year pleaded with Biden to grant him clemency. Members of Congress have similarly requested that he be set free, and in recent months, four U.S. senators separately called on the president to release Peltier: Sens. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii).
Peltier's case has long sparked outcry from the Indigenous community, celebrities and international human rights leaders, including Pope Francis, the Dalai Lama, Nelson Mandela, Coretta Scott King and Amnesty International USA.
His supporters feel a renewed sense of hope with Biden in the White House, given that he has already demonstrated a willingness to address past injustices against Native Americans. Among other things, Biden has made it a priority to examine the government's ugly history of Indian boarding schools, to protect sacred Indigenous sites and cultural resources, and to address the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women.
Biden also chose Deb Haaland to lead his Interior Department, making her the nation's first-ever Indigenous cabinet secretary. Haaland strongly advocated for Peltier's release from prison in her former role as a congresswoman.
The new DNC resolution comes after leaders of the DNC's Native American Caucus, including Buffalo, issued a statement earlier this year calling Peltier's imprisonment "one of the great miscarriages of justice in modern history."

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