kpih
01-31-2006, 12:08 PM
Complete bullshit. You should be outraged.
Even though it might prove futile, but at least do something by signing the petition. Who knows. In some indirect way it could lay foundations for future substantive actions...
From the Azine...
Stop Racially Targeted Prosecution of South Asians in "Operation Meth Merchant"
The following was adapted from an action alert by the Racial Justice Campaign Against Operation Meth Merchant.
Decatur, GA -- On January 8, 2006, over 300 community members gathered to protest the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency's unlawful and unfair targeting of South Asian convenience store owners.
"Operation Meth Merchant" led the arrests of nearly 50 store clerks and shop owners since July, causing shockwaves throughout the South Asian community in northwest Georgia. The sting is the U.S. DEA's latest effort in the federal government's crackdown on communities of color as part of the War on Drugs.
In July 2005, a dozen, mostly white, English-speaking informants convicted of possessing, producing, and selling an illegal drug called methamphetamine ("meth") were promised reductions in their prison sentences if they assisted with successful prosecutions of store clerks from whom they bought the ingredients to create meth. The racial targeting of South Asians and prosecutorial blunders in this operation are outrageous. Even though 75 percent of convenience store owners in the area are white, the prosecutions and informants specifically targeted the Indian community. Forty-four of the forty-nine people indicted are South Asian, and thirty-three of them have the last name Patel. At least one of these confidential informants has a history of fraud convictions. A couple of the cases have been dropped because an informant obviously misidentified the store clerks.
"The DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) either targeted these stores or they're just incompetent," said Dan Horowitz de Garcia, an organizer with Communities United for Action, Power & Justice, a state criminal justice coalition. "During this time, Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, and Costco all were selling charcoal and cold medicine in large quantities. It's clear the agency wasn't trying to stop meth production — they were trying to get easy convictions."
The store clerks and shop owners, many of whom do not speak fluent English, were indicted for allegedly knowing that the products they were selling would be used to create meth. Meth is a highly addictive stimulant that can be made using everyday, legal household products such as Sudafed, Tylenol Cold capsules, and Max Brand Pseudo 60s.
Those indicted are not only facing up to 25 years in prison, forfeiture of their stores and fines of up to $250,000, they are likely to be deported as well. U.S. immigration laws allow deportation of people convicted of drug-related crimes, despite their ties to the community, American-born children with U.S. citizenship, or long-time residency in this country. Based on questionable evidence, these prosecutions are tearing families apart and doing nothing to stop the meth problem in Georgia.
"My mom, wife, and everybody are just crying all day long," said one of the merchants affected. "I cannot even sleep. I have been on house arrest for 7 months. I feel so terrible.... I don't have the income to pay all these [fines].... They just hate us."
Since the early 1980s, the United States rate of incarceration has grown exponentially. We now have the world's largest prison population, with 2.1 million people behind bars, 1/3 of whom are there for nonviolent drug-related offenses. This number represents more people behind bars than all the European nations combined. Numerically, the majority of people that use and sell drugs are white, yet the vast majority of people convicted and incarcerated for drug-related offenses are people of color.
"The War on Drugs has been devastating the most marginalized communities for years," said Priyanka Sinha, a staff person with Raksha, an organization based in Atlanta that provides a range of services for the South Asian community. "Black communities, poor communities have all been hit hard. We know we have to fight back or the same will happen here."
The Asian American Convenience Store Association (AACSA), Communities United for Action, Power & Justice, Queer Progressive Agenda (QPA), Raksha, South Asian American Leaders of Tomorrow (SAALT), and the Southern Center for Human Rights (SCHR) have formed a coalition called The Racial Justice Campaign Against "Operation Meth Merchant" to stop the unlawful and unjust prosecutions of South Asian convenience store owners in North Georgia. Upendra Patel, a coalition member from AACSA, says "The South Asian community stands united with allies to speak out against the racially biased enforcement of drug laws and the unfair targeting of our community members. It is time for the government's lawyers to do the right thing and drop the prosecutions."
The Racial Justice Campaign Against Operation Meth Merchant is mobilizing to stop these racially targeted prosecutions and organizing support for the court date.
Link to The Racial Justice Campaign Against Operation Meth Merchant: http://www.stopoperationmethmerchant.org/
Even though it might prove futile, but at least do something by signing the petition. Who knows. In some indirect way it could lay foundations for future substantive actions...
From the Azine...
Stop Racially Targeted Prosecution of South Asians in "Operation Meth Merchant"
The following was adapted from an action alert by the Racial Justice Campaign Against Operation Meth Merchant.
Decatur, GA -- On January 8, 2006, over 300 community members gathered to protest the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency's unlawful and unfair targeting of South Asian convenience store owners.
"Operation Meth Merchant" led the arrests of nearly 50 store clerks and shop owners since July, causing shockwaves throughout the South Asian community in northwest Georgia. The sting is the U.S. DEA's latest effort in the federal government's crackdown on communities of color as part of the War on Drugs.
In July 2005, a dozen, mostly white, English-speaking informants convicted of possessing, producing, and selling an illegal drug called methamphetamine ("meth") were promised reductions in their prison sentences if they assisted with successful prosecutions of store clerks from whom they bought the ingredients to create meth. The racial targeting of South Asians and prosecutorial blunders in this operation are outrageous. Even though 75 percent of convenience store owners in the area are white, the prosecutions and informants specifically targeted the Indian community. Forty-four of the forty-nine people indicted are South Asian, and thirty-three of them have the last name Patel. At least one of these confidential informants has a history of fraud convictions. A couple of the cases have been dropped because an informant obviously misidentified the store clerks.
"The DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) either targeted these stores or they're just incompetent," said Dan Horowitz de Garcia, an organizer with Communities United for Action, Power & Justice, a state criminal justice coalition. "During this time, Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, and Costco all were selling charcoal and cold medicine in large quantities. It's clear the agency wasn't trying to stop meth production — they were trying to get easy convictions."
The store clerks and shop owners, many of whom do not speak fluent English, were indicted for allegedly knowing that the products they were selling would be used to create meth. Meth is a highly addictive stimulant that can be made using everyday, legal household products such as Sudafed, Tylenol Cold capsules, and Max Brand Pseudo 60s.
Those indicted are not only facing up to 25 years in prison, forfeiture of their stores and fines of up to $250,000, they are likely to be deported as well. U.S. immigration laws allow deportation of people convicted of drug-related crimes, despite their ties to the community, American-born children with U.S. citizenship, or long-time residency in this country. Based on questionable evidence, these prosecutions are tearing families apart and doing nothing to stop the meth problem in Georgia.
"My mom, wife, and everybody are just crying all day long," said one of the merchants affected. "I cannot even sleep. I have been on house arrest for 7 months. I feel so terrible.... I don't have the income to pay all these [fines].... They just hate us."
Since the early 1980s, the United States rate of incarceration has grown exponentially. We now have the world's largest prison population, with 2.1 million people behind bars, 1/3 of whom are there for nonviolent drug-related offenses. This number represents more people behind bars than all the European nations combined. Numerically, the majority of people that use and sell drugs are white, yet the vast majority of people convicted and incarcerated for drug-related offenses are people of color.
"The War on Drugs has been devastating the most marginalized communities for years," said Priyanka Sinha, a staff person with Raksha, an organization based in Atlanta that provides a range of services for the South Asian community. "Black communities, poor communities have all been hit hard. We know we have to fight back or the same will happen here."
The Asian American Convenience Store Association (AACSA), Communities United for Action, Power & Justice, Queer Progressive Agenda (QPA), Raksha, South Asian American Leaders of Tomorrow (SAALT), and the Southern Center for Human Rights (SCHR) have formed a coalition called The Racial Justice Campaign Against "Operation Meth Merchant" to stop the unlawful and unjust prosecutions of South Asian convenience store owners in North Georgia. Upendra Patel, a coalition member from AACSA, says "The South Asian community stands united with allies to speak out against the racially biased enforcement of drug laws and the unfair targeting of our community members. It is time for the government's lawyers to do the right thing and drop the prosecutions."
The Racial Justice Campaign Against Operation Meth Merchant is mobilizing to stop these racially targeted prosecutions and organizing support for the court date.
Link to The Racial Justice Campaign Against Operation Meth Merchant: http://www.stopoperationmethmerchant.org/