Break the Chains writes:

Break the Chains Conference

August 8-10, 2003, University of Oregon, Eugene

The Break the Chains conference will be held Aug.8-10 at University of Oregon in Eugene. It is dedicated to fighting repression, supporting prisoners, and eliminating prisons altogether. By providing anti-prison education, building on existing prisoner support efforts, learning from veteran prison activists, and initiating new campaigns against the prison industrial complex, this conference is intended to initiate a new era of heightened prisoner support and anti-prison activism.For more information about the conference, including our full mission statement and a list of speakers / participants, see: http://www.breakthechains.net/btcconference/index. html

Below are three statements from prisoners to the conference.

Thomas Meyer-Falk

Statement to the Break the Chains Conference

[Thomas is a German anarchist Redskin (antiracist skinhead) imprisoned since 1996 for attempted expropriation of funds from a capitalist bank. He will be imprisoned until at least 2010 due to the political nature of his crimes -- he was doing it to raise money for anti-fascist activities. Calling the judge a fascist pig in court also added seven months to his time.]

Greetings to all friends and comrades over there

We are living in an era which began some years ago –- people on the inside and outside are living in chains! It is important to focus on the worldwide inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment of convicted people, but we should not forget that the people outside of the prisons have their own chains.

However, if the prisoners, the women and men who fought militantly and were imprisoned for their struggle, are forgotten, the whole left-wing movement will destroy itself. The Break the Chains Conference is a wonderful chance to bring forward the need for continued and heightened prisoner support.

I’m staying in a German prison. I have been kept in solitary for years because they feel that I could escape. But I ask you: is it not the human right of every convict to fight for their freedom? I do not believe in the strategy of cooperation with one’s enemy, and I think that the inmates who “cooperate” have lost their human dignity! That is why it is necessary to help them regain their dignity; they must learn that they are part of the revolution, part of a new world -– a world which stands for humanity, freedom and living in peace!

Even if there is an ocean between us, my heart and thoughts are with you. Help us, the prisoners, and help yourself so that our children can live in a more peaceful world! In revolt

Thomas Meyer-Falk

c/o JVA-Z. 3117

Schoenbornstr. 32

D-76646 Bruchsal

Germany

James Rio Johnson

Statement to the Break the Chains Conference

[Rio has been active in anarchist projects since the early ‘80s. He’s doing time for a drug-related homicide, and has fought hard throughout his stay.]


Greetings in the strangulation of our Bosses and Masters, and may we all find love in the ruins of this infamous society of the spectacle.


Hello dear friends, comrades, saboteurs, autonomes and guerillas still at large. My name is James Rio Johnson, AKA “Ajax”; my friends call me variations of the above and the state has given me the offensive moniker of “inmate”. Although I’m unfortunately in the clutches of the state’s punishment industry dungeons, I’m not some inmate to be made an example of, nor do I subscribe to the Lord of the Flies on a pile of shit mentality of the convict. For the inmate serves his masters by jumping through his hoops like some beaten obedient caged dog, and the convict serves his state masters by enforcing backward criminal codes of racism, and creating petty gangland tyrannies that further oppress those on the inside, keeping everyone divided and thus more easily conquered by ODOC [Oregon Department of Corrections] totalitarian rule.


No, I’m neither convict nor inmate. I’m a prisoner, and an insurrectionist one at that. I’d like to tell you that we not only need your support and encouragement, we also highly appreciate it.


It’s the love and support that we get from you that often delivers us from the edge of despair, before our palace torturers give us that final shove. To paraphrase a Situationist wit, “Despair ends where actions begin”. Oh dear comrades, how some of our actions on the inside have been an inspiration, equal to those brave acts that landed some of our revolutionary friends in here in the first place.


We’ve all been pretty busy fighting the good fight by various means. Some of us are Anarchist Prisoners down on Social Crimes, others are Prisoners of War, while many are Political Prisoners whom have to taste the pain of prison because of politically-motivated activities of the Anti-Imperialist, Pro-Native Rights, Eco-Defense, Black Liberation fights, as well as other worthy causes. Whether we are Political Prisoners, Prisoners of War or prisoners getting down with the pigs, we are all Prisoners at War. Please continue to show us support while we fight on these front lines.

Thank you

James Rio Johnson

#8952263

SRCI

777 Stanton Blvd.

Ontario, OR 97914

John Two-Names (Andy Riendeau)

Statement to the Break the Chains Conference


[John Two Names is a Native American prisoner being held hostage by the state of Alabama. He was incarcerated for charges stemming from the burning down of two white schools and a string of burglaries. He asserts his innocence, and believes his incarceration is in retaliation for his political activism for his People. See http://www.justicedenied.org/andyriendeau.htm for more details.]


My name is John Two-Names. I am an Indigenous hostage of the Occupational Forces gathered here upon this land. I was asked to share my comments regarding the direction the prisoner support movement should be moving, as well as this event. For me, this is an honor, and I thank those whom have asked for this opportunity.
Regarding the current slave manufacturing system, I must keep in mind that the prison system is merely that which reflects the overall will of the system and Empire which it serves. It is the will of the Empire that it exists, and to try to abolish it without tearing down that which it serves is futile.


Colonization, the process of building and maintaining empires, is directly related to the building of the Prison Industrial Complex. Historically, empires of every shade have been built upon the backs of the colonized, the slaves of the Empire –- the US being no exception. This is evidenced from the campaign of genocide launched upon the First Nations of Great Turtle Island, to the theft and importation of Afrikan Peoples. Therefore, if colonization produces imperialism, then decolonization naturally would yield the fruit of freedom.


The US Constitution mandates slavery. It is wrapped in the garb of the 13th Amendment. Chattel slavery no longer being digestible to the public, a new form had to be put into play to maintain the Empire of US. Prison slavery fit such a need as it is tucked carefully away from view of society at large. Out of sight –- out of mind.


The prison abolition movement would be making a mistake to ignore history, the continued colonization and the Peoples colonized. After all, the prison system is much greater than that of the concrete and steel walls dotting the land like a cancer. It is the very Empire that enslaves us all –- inside and out.


This gathering is a step in the right direction. It is a chance to form a lasting bond, and to step on the path of our liberations together and walk toward freedom.


Andy J2N Riendeau

#193786 Dorm C-2-168

Elmore Corr. Fac.

PO Box 8

Elmore, AL 36025

Break the Chains Housing Message Board

Exchange information about housing needs and available housing for the conference:
http://pub152.ezboard.com/fbtcrideboardfrm8



Break the Chains Ride Share Message Board

Exchange information about transportation to and from the conference:

http://pub152.ezboard.com/fbtcrideboardfrm7