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Assata By Norman (Otis) Richmond Thirty years ago on November 2, 1979 Assata Shakur was liberated from the Clinton Correctional Facility for Women in New Jersey. The step father of Tupac Shakur, Mutulu Shakur, Silvia Baraldini, former Panther Sekou Odinga, and Marylin Buck were charged with assisting in her escape; Ronald Boyd Hill was also held on charges related to the escape. Governor Christine Whitman of New Jersey and New Jersey State Police have a $50,000 bounty on the head of Shakur. Whitman has gone on record saying that the U.S. government should never "normalize" relations with Cuba unless and until Shakur is returned in chains. Shakur, a former member of the Black Panther Party, is wanted in the United States for the murder of a New Jersey state trooper. On May 2, 1973, Shakur and two other members of the Panther party, Zayd Malik Shakur and Sundiata Acoli were stopped by two state troopers on the New Jersey turnpike. They looked "suspicious, " according to one trooper. A shootout occurred, Zayd Shakur and one state trooper were killed. Shakur was shot once with her hands in the air, then shot in the back and left on the ground, presumably to die. Shakur was convicted of killing one trooper and wounding another. She spent six years in prison. Eventually, her supporters helped her escape from prison. She has been living and studying in Cuba since 1984. Presidents Fidel and Raul Castro have fused to hand over Shakur to the United States government. Hundreds of African people in North America and other supporters issued a statement condemning efforts to extradite Shakur. Their statement declares: "The stellar example of Assata's commitment to the liberty of the people of African descent in the United States places her in the company of not only Harriet Tubman, but also Paul Robeson, Fannie Lou Hamer, Malcolm X and thousands of other known and unknown warriors in the fight for the liberation of black people in the United States." Former Cuban President Fidel Castro has on many occasions stated that the only place in the United States he feels safe is in Harlem. Some may ask: Why is this the case? The answer lies in the fact that Castro and the Cuban people have been on the right side of history on most of the questions concerning Africa and its scattered people. In fact, "When Africa called, Cuba answered, " remains a popular slogan in the black movement. This dates back to the fight for Angola in the late '80s. In key battles, the combined forces of the Angolan army, the South West African People's Organization (SWAPO) and Cuban internationalist forces defeated the apartheid army of South Africa, The National Union for the Liberation of Angola and the Central Intelligence Agency. This occurred between October, 1987, and June, 1988, after the Angolan government issued an international call for assistance. Cuba put its own nation in jeopardy when it shipped most of its military hardware to southern Angola. The victory by the combined Angolan forces stopped the South African apartheid regime from overthrowing the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) government, led to the release of Nelson Mandela, to the independence of Namibia (South West Africa) and forced the democratic elections in South Africa. This is why Africans around the world do not share the vision of Cuba held by all U.S. Presidents since 1959 includeing Barack Hussein Obama. African people and their allies should be grateful to the Cuban government and people for supporting Assata Shakur and African liberations movements at home and aboard.
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