*Below is a letter from Attorney/Human Rights Advocate, Jennifer Harbury on the Peltier telephone campaign. The letter includes sample comments for your calls if you would like them. Thanks, LPDC* UPDATE !!! WHITE HOUSE TELEPHONE CAMPAIGN COUNTDOWN TO CLEMENCY Dear Friends, The White House telephone campaign has been going on now for a full year, and we are pleased to note that there are very real results from all of your hard work these last many months. A year ago, the White House operators were expressing surprise at hearing Leonard’s name again, and many commented that it was a very old case and that they had not heard about him in years. Now they all recognize the name extremely well…and comment that it is high profile case. Nothing could be more important. Mr. Clinton is hearing you. At the same time, all our outreach has paid off in Washington D.C. networks outside the White House as well…whereas last year some of the human rights groups were asking who Leonard Peltier is…now they all ask how to help. There are so many other signs too that things are headed in a positive direction. Your long efforts have been paying off. KEEP IT UP THROUGH JANUARY 21, 2001!!!! Our very best window for getting clemency for Leonard Peltier lies between election day in November, and Inauguration Day on January 21. The Democratic party will have carried out its campaign, and Hillary Clinton and Al Gore will have either won their offices or not. Either way, Mr. Clinton will not have so many reasons to avoid controversial issues. After that, we will have a long wait. Even if Gore wins, it will take him some time to learn all the facts and gain the political confidence to deal with this case….probably sometime in his second term. Leonard cannot wait this long. His medical condition puts him at risk for kidney failure, blindness and stroke. Time is running out. We need daily calls to the White House from as many people as possible. Please focus ALL your calls there. The telephone number is 202-456-1111. We will let you know if we need additional calls to Janet Reno or to members of Congress. But for now, please ALL CALLS GO TO CLINTON!!! Try to begin organizing networks of friends for the calls, and assure that during the most critical time of all, CHRISTMAS WEEK, that the calls keep rolling in to the White House. We know we are asking a lot, but if Leonard at last goes free, we will all be able to rest at last….after one big celebration of course. At the very least, please call once a week on your regional call-in day: The northeast people call on Mondays. The southeast calls on Tuesdays, the mid-west and International calls on Wednesday, the northwest calls on Thursday and the southwest calls on Friday. MESSAGE : 1. We demand clemency for Mr. Leonard Peltier, a Native American citizen who has now been imprisoned for nearly twenty five years. His immediate release has also been demanded by Amnesty International, Coretta Scott King, the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, the American Friends Service Committee, Nobel Laureate Rigoberta Menchu, the National Council of Churches, and many others. 2. Mr. Peltier never received a fair trial of any kind. The witnesses have all admitted they were heavily coerced and intimidated by the FBI, and a ballistics test proving the bullet in question did not come from Mr. Peltier ’s weapon was concealed from the defense attorneys. The judge who denied him a new trial has written to support clemency for Mr. Peltier. 3. Mr. Peltier is long overdue for parole, and it is clear he will not be released until he confesses to a crime he did not commit. 4. Mr. Peltier has achieved a remarkable record of humanitarian achievements during his many years behind bars. Among other things, he sponsors and annual Chirstmas drive for toys and clothing for the children of Pine Ridge, he contributes his art to assist battered women’s shelters and substance abuse programs, he has established a Native American scholarship program, collaborated in improving health care on the reservation, and adopted children in Guatemala and El Salvador through Childreach, amongst many other good deeds. His also received a human rights award from the Commission on Human Rights from Spain. 5. Mr. Peltier is now in deteriorating health. He suffers from a heart condition, high blood pressure and diabetes. He is blind in one eye due to poor medical care. He risks, in the future, blindness, stroke and kidney failure given the poor prison medical care and living conditions. TIME IS RUNNING OUT FOR JUSTICE. 6. Mr. Peltier is a living symbol of U.S. repression against its Native citizenry. We must remember that 64 AIM supporters were murdered on Pine Ridge during that tragic period, and that the FBI was closely collaborating with the GOONs carrying out the violence. The time has come to heal some of these old wounds. The time has come for the United States to show that it is worth to claim the position of leadership in world human rights affairs. Call the White House Comments Line Today Demand Justice for Leonard Peltier! 202-456-1111 Be in New York City December 10th Peltier March For Freedom! Leonard Peltier Defense Committee PO Box 583 Lawrence, KS 66044 785-842-5774 www.freepeltier.org To subscribe, send a blank message to < lpdc-on@mail-list.com > To unsubscribe, send a blank message to < lpdc-off@mail-list.com > To change your email address, send a message to < lpdc-change@mail-list.com > with your old address in the Subject line ------------------------------------------------------------------------- May your Waters Run Gentle, With Love Care And Concern, Alece, Little Hawk,