PHIL. CITY OFFICIALS BACK DOWN Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit MILLIONS FOR MUMIA 39 W. 14 Street New York, NY 10011 (212) 633-6646 7 FAX (212) 633-2889 http://www.peoplescampaign.org email: npcny@peoplescampaign.org FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Nina Streich, Bob Lamothe April 20, 1999 (212) 633-6646 PHILADELPHIA CITY OFFICIALS BACK DOWN Worldwide Pressure Forces Mayor Rendell to Drop Restrictions on The April 24 Millions for Mumia Rally In the face of worldwide outrage, the City of Philadelphia has abandoned its attempt to limit the number of participants in the Millions for Mumia march on Saturday, April 24. Tens of thousands are expected from the local area, around the country and even from Europe to demand a new trial for Mumia Abu-Jamal. City officials had tried to restrict the march part of the rally to just 500 people, despite the huge numbers expected to gather in Philadelphia on the 24th. When the City's attempt to limit the march was made public, Mayor Ed Rendell's office was flooded with protests in the form of phone calls, faxes and e-mails from all over the world. In France, former First Lady Daniel Mitterand held a press conference denouncing his harassment of the march. The world is watching developments in Philadelphia with keen interest; one city official reported seeing a pro-Mumia rally advertised in Brazil. With local, national and international protest mounting, city officials dropped their attempt to limit the march, admitting that all who wanted to join the protest march had the right to do so. "Last week, we put an international spotlight on the illegal lengths to which the city would go to silence the movement for a new trial for Mumia," said Monica Moorehead, national organizer for Millions for Mumia. "They're worried that the lid is about to blown off their 18-year cover-up of the truth: that Mumia is innocent, and was framed up for opposing police brutality. While they've dropped all restrictions on Saturday's rally, their fear has led them to use other ploys, the most notorious being anti-free speech measures around the Friday night cop memorial dinner organized by the FOP." The city is also harassing the April 24 Millions for Mumia Rally with a series of discriminatory and bureaucratic requirements, as the media trumpets city plans to roll out the red carpet for the upcoming Republican Convention. "This just lets us know that we have to keep the spotlight on the city and its tactics. They're trying to silence a movement for truth," Moorehead said. "That's why they framed Mumia in the first place: to silence the truth. The city's illegal and unconstitutional behavior calls to mind the assault on civil rights that characterized a 1981 trial of lies, coerced witnesses and falsified documents, and put Mumia in jail." "Pushing back the city's restrictions is a small example of what the people united can accomplish," Moorehead said. "On April 24, people from all over will converge on Philadelphia for the next step: a new trial for Mumia Abu-Jamal!" -30- ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytrc-04.24.99-12:39:19-8232