To see what is at the end of one’s nose is a constant struggle”-George Orwell

Those who will be reading this expecting an anti-French polemic, will, I am afraid, be sadly disappointed.

There is much to like about France, it’s history, contributions to philosophy, literature, art, and lastly justice. Some of my favorite writers and thinkers hail from France and they have spoken often of justice.

Which of course why I am writing this in the first place.

(Picture of Mumia Street)

I will take them at their word that the French delegates who have, on numerous occasions traveled to Philadelphia to express concern for Mumia Abu-Jamal have done so out of sincere convictions and a concern that a miscarriage of justice is about to take place. Of course, within these ranks are cynical agents provocateurs who are more interested in their own time to shine than they are with finding freedom for Mumia or anyone or anything else for that matter.

If you are a member of the “French Mumia” contingent than you are probably not surprised that when I speak of cynical self-promoters, that I am speaking of Claude Pujol and Julia Wright, the latter of the two will literally drag strangers off the street to promote the fact that her father was a famous author.

Who Mrs Wright is outside of the Mumia movement is a mystery to me.

So what happens when the French contingents organize and usually send lots of money to feed the Mumia machine? Pam Africa speedily sends them off for futile meetings with the Mayor. And for the record, in case anyone is interested, the mayor has taken the position that Mumia’s case should be decided by the courts and has been decided by the courts. Sounds reasonable enough.

A politician who understands the separation of powers should be commended, yet Pam Africa has repeatedly chided the mayor for not taking up the Jamal cause as his own and has called him a liar in the same breath. What gravitas she must have to slander anyone as a liar.

But what could Mayor Street even do if he were to join the crumbling Jamal cult?

According to his website his goals were to have "better schools for our children, cleaner neighborhoods for our families, safer streets for our residents, and a local economy that is strong and healthy.Mayor Street also appoints cabinet members and who is responsible for removing thousands of abandoned cars from the streets of Philadelphia.”

I guess he missed the part in his job description where it was stated that he was to intervene in criminal court cases that were nearly thirty years old.

But let us not forget that at one time a Mayor did try to intervene on behalf of imprisoned MOVE members. It happened after the May 13th bombing, when than Mayor Wilson Goode attempted to have an independent legal panel from outside Philadelphia review the cases of the nine MOVE members convicted in the 1978 slaying of Police Officer James Ramp and the wounding of several other officers and firefighters.

Goode said he would ask Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Robert N.C. Nix Jr. "to appoint a panel of legal minds from outside the city" to review the convictions "in order to clear the air."Under Goode's proposal, the panel would submit a report to Nix, who would then decide whether to forward the findings to the District Attorney's Office.

No surprisingly, the proposal never really got off the ground, the MOVE members are in jail and have even abandoned legal efforts to secure their own release.
And a disgraced and guilt ridden former mayor in the form of Wilson Goode is still making absurd comments.

It is not like Pam doesn’t know this when she sends her crew of French activists to “speak” with Mayor of Philadelphia.

She is not stupid. She knows that the mayor lacks the power or even the influence to secure Jamal’s release, yet she repeatedly sends her French devotees to the catacombs of Philadelphia’s city hall for meetings that never really happen and only allow her a little media time while allowing her French guests to play at being revolutionaries.

Why?

What is the point?

Mayor Street cannot do anything to free Mumia, but the district attorney can.

It is the district attorney’s office who continue to contest Jamal’s seemingly endless legal appeals. And since the French activists are so well educated about the case, than why not send them in to convince the good folks down at the DA’s office to just let Mumia go. Sure it sounds far fetched, but it makes more sense than hassling a mayor who can do absolutely nothing to change the outset of the case, and who has made it clear that he believes the debate belongs in the courts.

The other major force calling for the execution of Mumia is unquestionably the law enforcement community of Philadelphia via the police union, the Fraternal Order of Police. Again, if the French have such a grasp of the facts of Mumia’s case they should have no problem convincing Faulkner’s fellow officers that the wrong man is in jail and that a cop-killer is out running the streets after so many years. It defies logic to believe that these officers would allow for the murder of one of their own because he was an up and coming cab driver/journalist. Yet this is the postiion of the French dignitaries and is one that could not hold up under any kind of rational discourse. The kind of discourse that Pam is terrified of.

I am not a spokesperson for either the FOP or the District Attorney’s office, but I am sure that they would be glad to take a few hours of time to discuss Jamal’s case with such well informed tourists who have traveled so far in the name of justice.

But let us not neglect the fact that this is not something that Pam Africa would ever want to happen. She prefers the obligatory trips to see the mayor and his staff precisely because they will never change anything. She knows that the office of the mayor and his staff want the woefully misinformed rabble out of their offices as soon as possible so that they can get back to other things at hand, you know, like running a city.

The last thing Pam Africa and her cynical French cohorts is a conversation with anyone who is actually fluent with Jamal’s case. Much better to have the French citizenry out on busy streets where they can hold signs in English while getting subsequentl getting yelled at by pedestrians.

Much better for Pam and company to keep the French Mumia devotees as close as possible, you know, it is easier that way to keep uncomfortable questions from coming up. Keep them at MOVE headquarters and stuff them with delicious food. Anything to keep them from coming to the truth.

But really, what does it come down to? You see, the French come bearing gifts. Cash. Money that Pam is desperate for at this point. Cash that doesn’t have to be reported, cash so that she can continue her career as head of the Mumia fan club.

Obviously, I am neither French nor a Jamal supporter, but if I were, I would be pretty pissed.

These French activists are being pimped and exploited in a most vulgar and cynical way and Pam is by no means the only culprit in this vicious charade. French citizens are being taken for a ride to nowhere and are being extorted in the name of freedom and justice by a morally bankrupt cult, with the complicity of people like Claude Pujol and Julia.Wright.
H
ow many thousands have been raised on behalf of Jamal in France? And where does this money go besides down Pam’s black whole were the rest of the millions of dollars have gone.

Take a stand my French comrades. Ask the tough questions of your “leaders”. Demand to speak to someone who is in the know on the Jamal case and not just some poor bureaucrat who biggest internal dilemma is whether today’s lunch will be comprised of ham or turkey.

Hell, I will even be able to coversate with Jamal’s french friends. My blog, unlike any of the pro-Jamal websites is open to debate, so lets do it up right. You can also reach me personally at  sept27th2002@yahoo.com.

Thanks for the time,
Tony Allen
 http://antimove.blogspot.com
e-mail::  sept27th2002@yahoo.com
Homepage::  http://antimove.blogspot.com