Solidarity to Sara Jane Olson/Kathleen Soliah

From: http://www.infoshop.org/inews/article.php?story=2008040614452369

Arise! Bookstore (Minneapolis) and RNC Welcoming Committee Extend
Solidarity to Sara Jane Olson

Sunday, April 06 2008 @ 02:45 PM PDT

The RNC Welcoming Committee and the Arise! Books and Resources Collective
would like to extend their sympathies and solidarity to former St. Paul
resident Sara Jane Olson and her family. While some call into question the
actions of the Symbionese Liberation Army, the only way to avoid criticism
is to remain silent, and so we find the words and actions of the SLA
inspirational. The everyday violence of the state, of which the murder of
several SLA members was only a part, is immense. Sara Jane Olson spent and
continues to spend her life in accordance with her conscience, bravely
resisting systems of oppression. We regard her a hero and history will as
well.

Between her involvement in the SLA and her arrest in 1999, Olson
contributed immensely to radical and progressive causes, including being a
founding member of the Arise! Books and Resources Center in south
Minneapolis. She demonstrated that the vast majority of work undertaken by
even the most militant radicals is nonviolent and community-focused,
manifesting a diversity of tactics and strategies for radical change. As a
compassionate and caring mother, wife and organizer in the Twin Cities,
she shattered the demonizing media and government stereotype of radical
activists, replacing a false impression of blind anger with an embodiment
of righteous love.

It is clear that Sara Jane Olson's re-arrest was prompted by pressure from
police unions and the political right. It is also painfully obvious that
the state never takes such action under similar pressure from the
communities most directly affected by the prison industrial complex.
Therefore, it is vitally important for the radical and progressive
community to support Sara Jane, realizing that an attack on one member of
our movement is an attack on all of us. As we in Minnesota prepare to
create our vision of resistance and direct democracy during the spectacle
of the Republican National Convention this September and beyond, we will
carry on Sara Jane's struggle and choose solidarity over divisiveness.

If there is any way our work can benefit the Olson/Peterson family, it
would be an honor.

The RNC Welcoming Committee / www.nornc.org
Arise! Books and Resources Collective / www.arisebookstore.org / 2441
Lyndale Ave S. Minneapolis

Background on Sara Jane Olson's rearrest:
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-me-olson23mar23,1,5137396.story

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Write to Sara Jane Olson/Kathleen Soliah:

Sara Jane Olson
W94197
506-10-04L
C.C.W.F.
P.O. Box 1508
Chowchilla, CA 93610