Mumia's Double Jeopardy: ABC Reruns Attack On Abu-Jamal
By Abayomi Azikiwe Thabang, PANW Correspondent
Once again the corporate media in the
United States has launched a full-scale attack on revolutionary journalist
and death row inmate, Mumia Abu-Jamal.
This has been done by replaying a controversial and much criticized news
report that was hosted by ABC anchorman Sam Donaldson. The much
publicized program that was aired on July 11 in the US, turned out to be
basically the same program that was shown initially last December. The
one exception was a new supposed revelation about a potential prosecution
witness who claims that Mumia admitted his guilt in a personal
conversation.
Jamal has already responded to a similiar story that is published in the
August edition of Vanity Fair magazine, which also attempts to turn public
opinion against the former official in the Black Panther Party who has
maintained his innocence since his initial arrest in December of 1981.
Of course this latest effort by ABC is merely designed to counteract the
growing support for the freedom of Mumia Abu-Jamal in the United States
and in the international community. People in several countries
throughout the world held simultaneous demonstrations on April 24
demanding a new trial for Jamal. On July 3, nearly 100 people were
arrested in a demonstration in downtown Philadelphia aimed at blocking
tourist's entry into the "Liberty Bell" national historic landmark.
In a recent European tour by President Bill Clinton, he was hit by
protests in France demanding justice for Mumia Abu-Jamal.
Jamal's legal team has now filed papers with the US Supreme Court in order
to seek relief from the apparent racist bias of the Pennsylvania high
court which rejected the mounting evidence that would exonerate Mumia and
bring about his release from prison. Repeating such a twisted and
pro-police report on national television in America can only be
interpreted as a further attempt to influence the decision by the US
Supreme Court on whether to hear evidence related to facts that could
reverse the death sentence against Jamal.
What ABC Hopes To Achieve
In replaying this same report, ABC is conveying their support for the much
desired execution of Mumia Abu-Jamal by the Fraternal Order Of Police, the
city administration in Philadelphia, the governor of the commonwealth's
office and the ruling elite in the US which uses the death penalty for the
maintenance of white supremacy in the political and legal institutions of
the country.
There have many articles and letters written over the last several months
which refuted the general thrust of the report done by Sam Donaldson.
However, it is necessary to point out that the negative portrayal of the
Mumia Abu-Jamal international defense campaign, the editing of the
interviews with lead defense counsel Leonard Weinglass as well as Ed Asner
and other supporters of Mumia and opponents of the death penalty, was
carried out to justify the sham trial and continued incarceration on death
row of Jamal. It is not so much the facts surrounding Abu-Jamal's guilt
or innocence that is at stake in this case, it is the politics that Jamal
represents and character of the international movement that has grown up
in his defense.
When Mike Farrell and Ed Asner were interviewed by Donaldson of ABC, he
conducted this segment of the program in a way that would ridicule the
notion of a general abolition of the death penalty in the US. In other
words, such issues are even beyond the realm of discussion within the
American corporate media. The dishonest character of the ABC report would
never dare to allow any mention of the relative isolation of the US in
regard to the death penalty when compared to other western industrialized
nations. In addition, by pointing out the so-called "radical background"
of the defense team and attempting to present the defense campaign as a
"far left fringe element" which has been either "duped" by Jamal or
coneying the notion that they must be concealing some "hidden agenda"
that would eliminate the death penalty or bring about the freedom of an
African-American revolutionary, therefore any thing they say should be
considered suspect by the American public.
These techniques are not new in the United States. These methods were
carried out to cripple the Civil Rights and Black Power movements of the
1960s and 1970s. It was not enough for the corporate media to place a
virtual ban on coverage of the historic "Millions for Mumia Marches" in
Philadelphia and San Francisco as well as other cities thorughout North
America and the world, they still see it necessary to further attack the
efforts of the Mumia Abu-Jamal defense campaign.
What Does This Mean For Jamal's Supporters
Despite the neglect of major historic events in support of Jamal by the US
corporate media, his support and credibility has continued to grow at a
rapid rate. Just two months ago, Evergreen College in Washington state
had Mumia deliver a taped commencement address to the graduating class,
the administration, faculty and their families. Such actions fly in the
face of the propaganda that has been circulated by the Fraternal Order Of
Police and those who want Mumia executed by the state. Students
and workers continue to mobilize for the defense of Jamal and the call for
a new trial and his legal exoneration by the court system.
This illustrates the ability of people to influence public opinion beyond
the scope of what they are told to think and believe by the economic
interests of the prison industrial-complex that currently rules the United
States. These interests exercise undue influence and control over the
scope and character of what is considered newsworthy in the US and what
editorial positions are taken by the various mainstream media outlets.
However, if Mumia's supporters have been able to overcome the obstacles
placed in their paths in the past, they will undoubtedly become even more
determined to counteract the latest onslaught against the campaign to free
Mumia Abu-Jamal.* |
