IL COMITATO NAZIONALE DEL PARTITO DEMOCRATICO STATUNITENSE CHIEDE ALL’UNANIMITA’ AL PRESIDENTE BIDEN DI LIBERARE LEONARD PELTIER
Il comitato nazionale del partito democratico statunitense chiede all’unanimita’ al presidente Biden di liberare Leonard Peltier, 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 risoluzione approvata all’unanimita’ dal comitato nazionale del partito cui lo stesso presidente Biden appartiene potrebbe trovare ascolto da parte della Casa Bianca, aggiungendosi agli analoghi appelli che da tutto il mondo sono stati rivolti al Presidente degli Stati Uniti d’America affinche’ conceda la grazia presidenziale che restituisca la liberta’ a un uomo troppo a lungo ingiustamente perseguitato.
Come e’ noto, per la liberazione di Leonard Peltier attraverso la concessione della grazia presidenziale da parte del Presidente degli Stati Uniti d’America si sono impegnate personalita’ come Nelson Mandela, madre Teresa di Calcutta, Desmond Tutu, il Presidente del Parlamento Europeo David Sassoli, papa Francesco e il Dalai Lama, e con loro milioni di persone di tutto il mondo oltre a un gran numero di associazioni umanitarie come Amnesty International, e a molte istituzioni democratiche tra cui il Parlamento Europeo ed i sindaci di varie citta’ italiane.
Di seguito riportiamo un articolo di Jennifer Bendery apparso sul sito dell'”Huffington Post” in cui e’ riportato anche il testo integrale della risoluzione del comitato nazionale del partito democratico statunitense.
***
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.
*
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.”
*
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.
*
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.”
***
Alleghiamo in calce due brevi notizie su alcune delle iniziative attualmente in corso e in programma nelle prossime settimane per la liberazione di Leonard Peltier e una breve nota biobibliografica sulla sua persona e sulla sua vicenda.
A cura del “Centro di ricerca per la pace, i diritti umani e la difesa della biosfera” di Viterbo
Viterbo, 18 settembre 2022
Mittente: “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@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.
* * *
Allegato primo: in settembre e ottobre una delegazione dell'”International Leonard Peltier Defense Committee” in Europa e in Italia
In settembre e ottobre una delegazione di native americane che guidano la mobilitazione internazionale per la liberazione di Leonard Peltier visitera’ l’Europa ed anche l’Italia, incontrera’ l’Onu a Ginevra ed istituzioni e associazioni in vari paesi d’Europa.
Dal primo al 5 ottobre 2022 la delegazione dell'”International Leonard Peltier Defense Committee” sara’ in Italia; si stanno organizzando gli incontri pubblici che in quei cinque giorni la delegazione terra’ in varie citta’ italiane, tra cui Torino, Milano e Roma.
Le persone, i gruppi, le comunita’, le associazioni, i movimenti, le organizzazioni sindacali e politiche, le realta’ ecclesiali, le istituzioni, i mezzi d’informazione che abbiano interesse ad incontrare la delegazione possono mettersi in contatto con il Comitato milanese di solidarieta’ con Leonard Peltier, inviando una e-mail all’indirizzo di posta elettronica bigoni.gastone@gmail.com o telefonando al numero 3490931155 (risponde Andrea De Lotto).
La delegazione sara’ composta da Jean Roach, Lona Knight e Carol Gokee, tre autorevoli donne native americane che guidano attualmente la solidarieta’ con Leonard Peltier e le campagne internazionali per la sua liberazione.
Per contattare le principali associazioni promotrici delle iniziative italiane in corso per la liberazione di Leonard Peltier: e-mail: bigoni.gastone@gmail.com, naila.clerici@soconasincomindios.it, nepi1.anpi@gmail.com, centropacevt@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 la delegazione e con l'”International Leonard Peltier Defense Committee”: 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.
* * *
Allegato secondo: il “cammino spirituale” che tra settembre e novembre attraversera’ gli Stati Uniti d’America
Tra settembre e novembre un “cammino spirituale” per la liberazione di Leonard Peltier attraversera’ tutti gli Stati Uniti d’America e si concludera’ a Washington.
Per sostenere questa iniziativa e’ stato promosso dall'”International Leonard Peltier Defense Committee” (per contatti: contact@whoisleonardpeltier.info) un appello che di seguito trascriviamo:
Greetings all!
Most of you know that there is a scheduled spiritual walk going to DC from Minneapolis starting September 1 and arriving in DC November 11 in support of Leonard’s clemency.
They are putting a lot of good energy and strength into this walk for Leonard, that I feel the need to make sure they are accommodated for all of their work as best as possible.
I am asking each of you to help promote this walk with all of your contacts and relatives, as they still need supplies and donations and accommodations along the way.
They’re off to a really great start, so if we all work together we can make sure that this gets accomplished in a good way.
#RiseupforPeltier
#FreeLeonardPeltier
1. Message from AIM re supplies:
“As the walk quickly approaches, we are asking for some much needed donations for the walk food bank, kitchen and daily supplies. Below you will see a list of our items we are currently seeking to supply the kitchen, feed the walkers with along the route and take care of daily needs. We are staging supply donations in Minneapolis for the beginning of the walk and greatly appreciate anything that can be donated. If you would like to mail or have donations delivered please send them to…
The American Indian Movement GGC
2406 County Road D West
St Paul Mn 55112-8513