MOVE APPEAL DENIED    

by Ramona Africa- Minister of Communication for the MOVE Organization

15 Nov 2000

To quote JOHN AFRICA, THE COORDINATOR, quote- WHEN YOU JUDGES DEMAND PEOPLE ARE TO FOLLOW YOUR PROCEDURES TO DEFEND THEMSELVES IN COURT YOU ARE DEMANDING THAT PEOPLE GIVE UP THEIR OWN PROCEDURE, MOVE'S AGAINST THE SYSTEM, WE'VE MADE IT CLEAR THAT WE'RE AGAINST THE SYSTEM, WE AIN'T BENEFITTIN NOTHIN WHEN WE DO THINGS AS THE SYSTEM INSTEAD OF AS MOVE, YOUR WAY IS TO STOP US, OUR WAY IS TO STOP YOU, SO HOW CAN WE BENEFIT BY YOU, BY DOIN THINGS AS YOU, IT AIN'T JUST A QUESTION OF MOVE AGAINST THE COURT, IT IS A ISSUE OF MOVE AGAINST THE SYSTEM, AND IT AIN'T PROCEDURE TO HELP WHAT YOU'RE AGAINST AND YOU JUDGES KNOW IT, WE'RE AGAINST THE SYSTEM, YOU WANT TO STOP US AND TO ASK US TO GO ALONG WITH YOUR PROCEDURE IS TO HELP YOU STOP US, VOLUNTEER OUR FREEDOM, TO BE IMPRISONED, PUT HANDCUFFS ON OUR WRISTS AND LOCK OUR OWN SELVES  UP, HOW ELSE CAN IT BE, YOU AIN'T FOR US YOU'RE AGAINST US, THIS AIN'T A QUESTION OF THE SYSTEM VS. THE SYSTEM, THIS IS A VERY CLEAR ISSUE OF THE MOVE ORGANIZATION VERSUS EVERYTHING YOU JUDGES STAND FOR..." end quote, JOHN AFRICA!!!

Once again this system, through its courts, have demonstrated their contempt for justice and their obvious intent to keep the MOVE 9 in prison despite MOVE's innocence.  Judge Gary Glazer has denied MOVE's Post Conviction Appeal.  My MOVE family has spent 22 years unjustly imprisoned on a trumped up murder charge; our sister, Merle Africa, was in fact murdered in prison on March 13, 1998, the babies of some of my imprisoned family members were in fact murdered in the May 13, 1985 official bombing of MOVE yet officials still expect MOVE, and everybody else, to seek justice from this system.  MOVE has never sought justice from this system because JOHN AFRICA proved long ago that justice does not exist in this system: MOVE people go in to court to show people that justice does not exist in this system.  JOHN AFRICA is no fool and he didn't coordinate MOVE people to be no fools, which is what you would have to be to expect a system of oppression to lay out the procedure for you to end its oppression, to stop it.  We have to bring justice, bring the principle of freedom to this system and refuse to accept anything else:   We have to expose the contradictions in this system: expose how this government labels MOVE people criminal for a murder that nobody saw them commit because MOVE didn't murder anybody yet this same government bombs and burns MOVE babies alive, people around the world see who murdered my family, but these official baby-killers are not called murderers by this system and they are not in prison.  This hypocrisy has to enrage anybody with the slightest sense of fairness and righteousness.  It is clear that MOVE's imprisonment has nothing to do with the murder of policeman James Ramp (People including officials, know that MOVE did not kill Ramp) this has everything to do with MOVE's position against the system.  This system has been trying to stop the MOVE ORGANIZATION for almost thirty years now, denying this appeal is yet another attempt to break us, but like all their attempts to break MOVE people, this too is a failure.  Judge Glazer relies on procedure in denying my family's appeal but MOVE is talking about justice, righteousness.  Glazer is conveniently and deliberately overlooking the fact that Ramp was shot in the back of the neck with the bullet traveling downward while he faced MOVE HQ.S and while MOVE people were in the basement of our home, about six feet below Ramp.  Glazer is overlooking the fact that officials deliberately destroyed vital evidence in MOVE's defense when they demolished MOVE HQ.S  within a few hours of arresting MOVE people.  MOVE is pointing to concrete evidence while Glazer is hiding behind procedure.  MOVE is innocent and Judge Glazer knows it, Prosecutor Lynn Abraham knows it, Mayor John Street knows it.  The people know it too but what people don't seem to know is that only the people can do something about this pattern of injustice, a pattern of injustice that goes back to the so-called founding of this country.  This is not something that is only about MOVE, the prisons are overflowing with innocent people and only eight of them are MOVE members.  It is past time for people to take a stand for justice, for freedom, their own freedom.  MOVE has set a strong consistent example of resistance for thirty years now, we have put our lives on the line in defense of the principle of freedom, that's why this system does everything it can to break this organization, even bombing and burning MOVE men, women, and babies alive.  The issue, just how much treachery is people willing to accept from this rotten system because that's how much treachery people will get, however much they'll    accept.  This system gets more brazen with every example, the more people let them get away with, the more treacherous they get.  This system wont stop until we the people stop it.  MOVE people's position is clear through our work, our example.  What about you?  What are you doing and what do you intend to do?  Peoples lives depend on your answer, not simply MOVE peoples lives, but your own life.   This is not an issue of MOVE, it is an issue of justice.

To quote JOHN AFRICA, THE COORDINATOR, quote IT IS PAST TIME FOR ALL POOR PEOPLE TO RELEASE THEMSELVES FROM THE DECEPTIVE STRANGULATION OF SOCIETY, REALIZE THAT SOCIETY HAS FAILED YOU, FOR TO ATTEMPT TO IGNORE THIS SYSTEM OF DECEPTION NOW IS TO DENY YOU THE NEED TO PROTEST THIS FAILURE LATER, THE SYSTEM FAILED YOU YESTERDAY, FAILED TODAY, AND HAVE CREATED THE CONDITIONS FOR FAILURE TOMORROW...end quote JOHN AFRICA!!