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free leonard peltier!
January 20 was the last day of Bill Clinton's tenure as president of the United States. As is common for outgoing presidents, there were expectations of Clinton to issue executive pardons to a number of people in prison or who have had criminal records. Many had hoped that among those pardoned would be American Indian Movement activist Leonard Peltier, who is in prison for the alleged murder of two FBI agents in South Dakota in the 1970s (a crime which YSA believes Peltier to be innocent of).
Over the last few weeks thousands of letters have been written and phone calls put in to the White House and the U.S. Congress urging outgoing president Clinton to issue a pardon for Peltier. Due to Peltier's age and deteriorating health, and the failure to get him released or paroled through legal appeals, many viewed this potential pardon as Peltier's "last best chance."
This hope was fueled by Clinton's saying that he would take the matter under advisement and review Peltier's case. When the final list of people to be pardoned was released on January 20 though Leonard Peltier's name was not on it. It has now come to light that while Clinton did consult with some government and justice officials, according to administration spokespeople there was never a serious chance that a pardon would be issues, especially given the aggressive campaign waged by the FBI in recent weeks to protest any such granting.
This has come a severe blow to many activists, and has led to the further disillusionment of many in our nation's political system and figures within it, be they "liberals" or "conservatives".
Author/editor Harvey Arden had the opportunity to speak with Peltier himself this week to get his reaction. According to Harvey Peltier had this to say: "Tell everyone...I was down for a couple of days there...but now I'm UP! Tell them we may have lost a battle but we WILL win the war! Tell them to get together and stay together and work together... Don't stop now...we're stronger than ever!"
These are surely the words of a great fighter and warrior, and are words that we should all take to heart. Youth for Socialist Action calls on all workers, young people and activists to redouble their efforts on Peltiers behalf, and to mount an ambitious campaign of mass action to demand Peltier's immediate release. The struggle on Peltier's behalf is far from over. FREE LEONARD PELTIER!
