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Leonard
Peltier's Godson:
I’m a product of AIM as much as the
Five are a product of the Revolution
POR
Rosa Miriam
Elizalde, Bernie Dwyer, Simon Wollers,
tomado de Antiterroristas.cu
Leonard Peltier -
28 years in prison that everyone recognizes is one
of the greatest injustices in US legal history, but
it is not politically expedient to release him. His
health is failing and his people fear he may die
behind bars.
August 27, 2003
The godson of
imprisoned Native American political prisoner
Leonard Peltier this week visited Cuba as an
ambassador of good will for the American Indian
Movement (AIM). Daniel Yang (pictured), whose mother
is Chippewa and father is Laotian, came to the
island to deliver an Eagle Feather to Fidel Castro
and the people of Cuba – the highest honor AIM can
bestow. It is the first time it has been given to a
head of state. Leonard Peltier, who has spent 28
years in prison for something everyone acknowledges
he did not do (the shooting of two FBI agents at the
Wounded Knee battle in 1975), also sent the Cuban
leader one of his paintings. Yang, who has follwed
the case of the five Cuban political prisoners in
the US and regularly visits this website, comments
that he is a product of AIM just as much as the Five
are a product of the Revolution in Cuba, and talks
about the significance of being a political prisoner
in the US.
-Why, after 28
years in prison, after admitted false testimony on
the part of the FBI, after opinions by respected US
judges and international jurors that Leonard Peltier
should be released, after a ruling by Amnesty
International that considers your godfather to be a
political prisoner, is he still incarcerated?
Daniel Yang:
Leonard Peltier is a symbol of the American Indian
Movement. He is a warrior. For the US to release him
and thus say he is not guilty they take on the guilt
of the murder and exploitation of our people. They
are not willing to do this. Nobel laureates from
around the world have demanded his release. Even the
FBI, as you say, have said they do not know who shot
the two agents for which he was condemned. For 500
years they have employed a policy of genocide
against us but we will not lie down. This is why
they will not release him.
-So to what extent
is Leonard Peltier a political prisoner?
Daniel Yang:
President Clinton visited Pine Ridge Reservation
while he was running for reelection and made a
promise to release Peltier. It was in the last days
of his administration that he contacted us and had
us prepare a statement for when Leonard would be
granted clemency and released. We later found out
that people from the Justice Department told Clinton
that they had other indictments they could use
against Clinton beside the Monica Lewinsky perjury
case if he released Peltier. Leonard had a home
ready for him, had packed his stuff, and the family
was waiting for him at the penitentiary when we got
the call on that final day that the release was not
going through. Leading up to that, 25 million
signatures were collected around the world demanding
his release. Unfortunately, Leonard is best known in
Europe, Russia, and areas of Latin America, but less
so in the United States. The government has not
allowed his incarceration to be discussed in the
media. The US government from 1973-1976 was at Pine
Ridge Reservation with the highest concentration of
FBI agents anywhere. Over 300 traditional AIM
members were murdered. Not one of the murders was
investigated.
-You are very young
– in fact, your godfather has been in prison all
your life. What brought you to be so identified with
AIM and its goals?
Daniel Yang: I owe
everything to AIM. A movement based on spirituality
and being a warrior. It instilled great respect in
me for people like Leonard and the Cuban Five –
people who have sacrificed their lives for their own
people. I think that it’s an honor to learn from
these people. I’m a product of the movement as
much as the Five are a product of the Revolution
here in Cuba. It’s important to show the world, to
the United States, that we will not give in to
intimidation, we will always fight. We have fought
the same imperialism, exploitation and colonialism.
Our combined history is in our blood.
-What is AIM’s
position with other political prisoner
organizations?
Daniel Yang: AIM
demands the release of all political prisoners
around the world although the release of Leonard
Peltier is our priority because of his tentative
health. As far as the five Cuban political prisoners
are concerned, I will write them for sure when I
return and tell them about my meeting with their
families. I look forward to establishing a cultural
relationship with all five because I know from my
godfather how difficult it is to be locked up by
yourself in a cell, knowing you are innocent and
knowing at the same time that you’re guilty only
of fighting to protect your people. I would like to
be with them as they walk out of prison. They are
warriors fighting for their people – it is
impossible for the US government to break them.
Recently, Leonard’s mother passed away, but he was
not allowed to attend her funeral –something that
is very sacred for our people - but they still could
not break him.
-One of the worst
things in prison is this loneliness. Can you comment
on that in reference to Leonard Peltier and
international solidarity?
Daniel Yang: A
spiritual leader of our people, Matthew King, once
said that one of the worst things in the world is
remembering what it was like to be free but that
something even worse is forgetting that you were
ever free. Solidarity lets him and others like the
Cuban Five know they are remembered even if legal
avenues continue to close. They can only be free
through international solidarity. When you are alone
in a cell and do not have the freedom to know what
is going on around the world, doubts can creep into
your mind. That’s why international solidarity is
so important.
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