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Announcement :: Civil & Human Rights : Crime & Police : Prisons : Protest Activity

HELP CAMILO VIVEIROS WIN CASE AGAINST TIMONEY

Camilo Viveiros is facing felony charges relating to John Timoney's claim he was hit on the head with a bicycle during Philly RNC.
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Camilo Viveiros has been in a 4-year legal battle for his participation in the protests against the Republican National Convention in the summer of 2000.


Let's try to help him out a bit as he prepares for his trial scheduled for April 5, 2004!

www.friendsofcamilo.org/

Please sign petition posted on the website.


Friends of Camilo seeks to support Camilo Viveiros, who is being unjustly prosecuted by the Philadelphia Police Department for his participation in the protests against the Republican National Convention in the summer of 2000.

Friends of Camilo (FoC) seeks to work closely with the R2K Legal Collective, supplementing their onoing legal and support work.

Contact
Friends of Camilo
P.O. Box 58247
Philadelphia, PA 19103
stayingstrong (at) riseup.net

Mailing Lists
There is both a low traffic Announcement email list and a Coordination list for Friends of Camilo. Please contact info (at) r2klegal.org to join either of these lists.



Backgroud

Camilo was arrested on August 1st, 2000, during demonstrations in Philadelphia highlighting national mispriorities of putting the profits of the few over the needs of public. In particular that day of protests was focused on the number one growth industry in the U.S. the prison and criminal justice industries. While more and more prisons are being built, funding for education, health care, affordable housing and decent jobs are being cut. As the regional organizer in southeastern Massachusetts and Cape Cod for the Mass Alliance of HUD Tenants, he works to assist mostly elderly and disabled tenants who are endangered by rent increases to form tenant associations and stop evictions. He had come to Philadelphia in that capacity, to represent the concerns of these tenants and to address call attention to the lack of support for low and moderate income people in general.


Until his arrest, Camilo has been involved in work for social justice virtually without a break. This dedication to helping those who have "fallen through the cracks" made itself known early on in his youth. During his high school years he began by volunteering as a caregiver, choosing the settings in which he could help those who were most overlooked. In his teens he spent time volunteering on a suicide hotline, giving attention to people who called in their worst moments of crisis. Believing he should try to contribute to the welfare of others before graduating high school, he dedicated time to distributing food to those in need. "Camilo is always looking after the underdog," his friend, David Malone, says of those years. "In high school he took time out to befriend others, who were being made fun of, because he has a big heart." After high school Camilo worked in group homes with developmentally disabled adults, assisting residents with their everyday needs to "make a little positive difference in their lives". Shawn Mills a co-worker of Camilo's at a group home for the developmentally disabled seniors said "Camilo always treated clients with respect, he spoke to them as peers and recognized them as unique individuals."


During his college years and in his professional work, Camilo has continued to devote his time to help people in impoverished communities to attain basic survival needs, from food and housing to environmental health and protection from domestic violence. This caring has been expressed through his work with myriad grassroots community organizations, several of which he helped to found. During college he worked in the local rape crisis center, assisting those who had been sexually assaulted to find services and counseling. Also while in college, he co-founded the Progressive Student Alliance, whose members struggled to increase financial aid funding and preserve programs to support immigrant and first-generation American students. Also, during these years, Camillo began what would become a lifelong commitment to ending homelessness and increasing the availability of affordable housing. He co-founded the national organization Empty The Shelters (Fill the Homes), which helped students and youth contribute to the efforts of welfare rights organizations and unions of the homeless.


Camilo's commitment to empowering communities in need has continued in his professional work. Yet his activism as an adult has not been limited to his paid work. As one example, he helped to mobilize a mostly Cambodian and Lai neighborhood in Fall River, Massachusetts, to pressure the city to shut down a toxic incinerator. Ed Duran, who was part a the coalition effort, commented, "Camilo is always thinking about how to broaden community participation He helped increase participation by simply going door-to-door. Residents responded to his approachable and humble character and with more community support we eventually got the incinerator shut down. " Again and again, both his professional colleagues and the community residents he works with describe Camilo's manner and organizing style as unique, marked by his belief in each person's human dignity and his soft spoken support.


Efforts by police administrators to portray Camillo as violent or thuggish contradict sharply with the experiences of the elderly and disabled tenants, religious, labor and community leaders who have come to know him. As Gary Hicks, one public housing tenant who has witnessed Camilo's efforts, says, "Camilo constantly builds up tenants' self-confidence through his gentle encouragement".


"All of Camilo's caring community work and sensitivity for some of our most vulnerable community members does not match who police officers claim he is," says his partner, Mimi Budnick. "Camilo has spent much of his life trying his best to play a positive role in others' lives. We will not allow an inaccurate impression of him to be accepted. We're confident that the more others get to know him, the more people will understand why this violent portrayal just doesn't ring true."





Statement by Camilo Viveiros:


"Basically the commissioner is making a symbol of me.
If the DA and the Philly PA get a conviction (potentially 20-40 years, by their account) they would say they have evidence to smear the whole movement. My trial is an attempt to put the growing movement on trial.

Unfortunately there has been some divisiveness among activists, some protesters have fallen into the trap of the police of assuming guilt and distancing themselves from alleged felons. Some protesters seem to be OK with the DA wanting blood for accused felonies forgetting that the blood will certainly splatter the face of all of the protestors. I have had trouble getting legal representation. Most lawyers are rushing to cases with only misdemeanor charges and obvious civil rights suits. Other lawyers are taking on easier cases probono but asking to get paid for mine.

The night I was arrested I was taken into an interrogation room for 13 hours. While I was in that room over 5 different detectives would come in and interrogate me. On three occasions a detective would open the door and literally say "show and tell", then I heard the officer that saw me on display, being coached by a detective on what to say and charge, fitting my physical appearance into scenarios they were making up on the spot.

It is clear that since my arrest there have been many full time law enforcement offices orchestrating the case against me.

The commissioner claims to have been on route toward Rittenhouse Square to "protect his home", when he and his bike police entourage went to the intersection where I was arrested. Rittenhouse Square is an elite park where George Bush senior was staying and where Clinton stays when he's in town.

The mixture of the commissioner's portrayal of protecting this affluent section of town added to his "celebrated" celebrity status creates a dangerous and potent situation for me.

The only way to stop these attempts to criminalize me and protests in general is to out organize the forces of the state and capital who want to cheer me into prison."
 
 

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