15 Years is Long Enough!
On Tuesday, March 28, the US Parole Commission denied Alberto Rodríguez parole. He was told to return in 9 years. Libertad will publish more responses to Alberto's statement by other POWs/PPs in our next issue.
On March 22, a delegation from the campaign to Free the Puerto Rican Political Prisoners, including Dr. Luis Nieves Falcón, attorney Jan Susler,
Nationalist Party leader and ex New York City councilman Gerena Valentin, educator Dr. Aurea Rodríguez, Alderman Billy Ocasio and José López met with the three Puerto Rican Congress people, Representative José Serrano (D-NY), Representative Nydia M. Velásquez (D-NY), Representative Luis V. Gutiérrez (D-IL) to discuss the campaign to free the Puerto Rican Political Prisoners and POWs.
A phone-in campaign to Florence Super Max prison initiated by the NationalCommittee during January and February won a small victory. The prisoners areno longer subjected to sleep deprivation as the result of being awakenedevery half hour on the hour. Of the many cruel torture practices atFlorence, sleep deprivation was one of the worst. Our campaign continues demanding an end to excessive strip searches, and to allow prisoners to interact with each other. Calls are scheduled for April 24, May 22, June 26, July 24, August 21 and September 25. The phone number is 719.784.9464. Ask for Warden William Storey.
In a series of workshops during the Canadian Dossier: Colonialism and Puerto Rican Political Prisoners during March 24-29, Dr. Luis Nieves Falcón discussed the issue of the Puerto Rican Political Prisoners and POWs.
The case of Puerto Rican Political Prisoners was featured in the Cuban newspaper Granma. Special emphasis was placed on Human Rights Violations as outlined by Dr. Nieves Falcón during a recent trip to Cuba.
At the Cantata Corretjer, speakers and presenters dedicated their work to the POWs. Displays and exhibits of the political prisoners decorated the commemoration.
March 20 was the opening date at Juan Cancio Ortiz Library vestibule in San Germán. March 21 at the Art Gallery Chardon Building in Mayaguez. March 29th was the University opening sponsored by Ofensiva 92 with special guest, ex-political prisoner Rafael Cancel Miranda, who shared his experiences as a political prisoner and his work on the current campaign to free the POWs. Also shown was a video of Elizam Escobar from El Reno, Oklahoma.
On March 21, a panel was sponsored by the new leadership of FUPI with Michael González, President of FUPI, Mayaguez chapter, addressing the history of the armed struggle in Puerto Rico. John Stuart, President Amnesty International, Puerto Rico, spoke on the violation of human rights and Amnesty's role in the freedom campaign. Saulo M. Colón Zavala, member of Ofensiva 92 spoke on the current conditions and campaign to free the prisoners. March 22, an interview with John Stuart and Manuel Colon Zavala. took place on the program "De Noche con Mickey." on WEUC 88.9 FM.
During the month of March, the Interfaith Prisoners of Conscience Ministry visited several prisoners. The director of IPOC, Rev. C. Nozomi Ikuta, was among the first visitors to Florence Ad-Max. She visited POW Oscar López, as well as, political prisoners Tom Manning, Mutulu Shakur and Yu Kikumura. She also visited Joseph Hoapili and Windy Ceslau Lorenzo, imprisoned at the Florence camp, who are affiliated with the Kingdom of Hawai'i. Ray Levasseur is also imprisoned at the Ad-Max unit. The Rev. S. Michael Yasutake visited Alejandrina Torres and Silvia Baraldini at Danbury, CT. Both have reported that the visits were inspiring and strengthened IPOC's ministry.
For nearly twenty-five years, a movement to free Puerto Rican political prisoners and prisoners of war has emanated from Chicago, existing in various forms. All Puerto Rican political prisoners, from the Five Nationalists and Carlos Feliciano to Pancho Cruz, from Pablo Marcano García to William Guillermo Morales, from Lureida Torres and other Grand Jury Resisters to Julio Veras y Delgadillo and the MLN 5, from the Macheteros arrested on August 30th and the case of Filiberto Ojeda Ríos to the patriots captured on April 4, 1980, have also enjoyed this unwavering support. Native American, Euro-american, Mexican, Irish, Italian national, New Afrikan and other African-American, Iranian and Palestinian political prisoners, among others, have received unconditional and steadfast support from our movement. Perhaps nowhere else has such a phenomenon existed.
Today, as in other times, a few malcontent opportunists and self-serving individuals and organizations attempt to smear our record, but history speaks for our work; the release of Lolita Lebrón, Rafael Cancel Miranda and others attests to the success of the National Committee to Free Puerto Rican Prisoners of War and Political Prisoners, the present embodiment of the movement which arose nearly a quarter century ago and has never wavered in its support for those imprisoned for the political ideas of freedom and justice.
During the darkest and most dangerous moments, including times when some of us did not know if we would be the next rounded up, we stood our ground. We built a support network. We distributed literature. We marched and picketed in weather 40 degrees below zero. We organized our community. We put forward the slogan, "Transformando Derrotas en Victorias."
We organized to close control units in Lexington, Alderson, Marianna and Marion; we marched to Springfield, Missouri to demand the release of Andrés Figueroa Cordero, who was dying of cancer in a federal dungeon. We traveled across the land to denounce the inhuman treatment accorded our captured combatants and we supported the lawyers who worked tirelessly on their cases.
At the United Nations, we struggled with the entire Puerto Rican independence movement to unconditionally support our captured patriots and affirm their right to use any means necessary. Opening up a space in the movement to respect, and legitimize, the methods employed by the Puerto Rican guerrilla organizations, the Committee built support from the bottom up, explaining to the community the need to support each prisoner, regardless of the charges. The Committee and its supporters upheld the principle of non-collaboration with the grand jury and some members went to prison for that commitment.
In this long and arduous struggle, we helped free the Five Nationalists, and built support for the combatants of the armed struggle. We helped free William Morales. We mobilized hundreds of people over decades to attend trials, then judicial processes. We have provided material aid to families of the prisoners, and to the prisoners themselves. As a matter of fact, there has never been a moment that we have not been there for any of our political prisoners or POWs. Despite attacks, hysteria, lies and innuendoes, we have maintained the institutions in our community that some of our imprisoned patriots helped build. Their children and families have benefited greatly from these institutions. In spite of the lack of resources and the constant barrage of attacks by some of the prisoners and their families, our work has not been deterred.
About five years ago, the National Committee felt strong enough to initiate a more inclusive and massive level of work. In Chicago, Philadelphia and the East Coast, political figures, religious leaders, community spokespeople and the leadership of the Puerto Rican independence movement were convoked and engaged in dialogues on how to advance the work to free the prisoners. Through these discussions, leaders from all areas made a series of commitments to work more systematically on the campaign. Politicians in New York, Philadelphia, Boston and Chicago started to become involved in the campaign. In New York City, in 1990, during the Special International Tribunal on Political Prisoners/POWs, religious figures also made a similar commitment. In addition, it is through a dialogue with the National Committee that Dr. Luis Nieves Falcón initiated Ofensiva '92 in Puerto Rico.
It was obvious to the National Committee at that time, as it is today, that Dr. Luis Nieves Falcón is the most consistent and committed leader on the Puerto Rican political scene struggling to release our patriots. Since 1992, we have been coordinating work with him and Ofensiva. Prior to that year, the National Committee had coordinated work with CUCRE and the Comité Especial. The National Committee would be remiss and guilty of a historical sin if it did not acknowledge the work, commitment, and dedication of Juan Antonio Corretjer, Consuelo Lee Corretjer, Rita Zengotita, Pablo Marcano García and Rafael Cancel Miranda. Rita Zengotita has been there since the difficult days of the Grand Jury repression. The National Committee salutes Rita Zengotita and Dr. Luis Nieves Falcón. This year alone, the National Committee raised more than $25,000 to purchase two ads, one in the Washington Post and the other in the New York Times. This money was raised, penny by penny, on the streets and in activities. No other organization or individual in the Puerto Rican independence movement contributed to the fund; nevertheless, others have claimed credit and want to ride on the coattails of our work. We were instrumental in enlisting wide support for the release of our patriots from the broadest spectrum imaginable in Puerto Rican political thought, from the leadership of the Puerto Rican labor movement and the Puerto Rican Manufacturers Association to the entire Puerto Rican political scene we also received support from the most representative grouping of Puerto Ricans in the U.S.ÑBoricua First!
Furthermore, we were instrumental in raising the issue of the Puerto Rican Political Prisoners in nearly all the hearings on the "Racism as a Violation of Human Rights in the U.S." campaign sponsored by the National Council of Churches of Christ and the World Council of Churches, whose final report was issued with our input to the UN Human Rights Commission, in Geneva. The work of the National Committee will continue. We are committed to the release of our jailed patriots. We will be there supporting them, particularly those who maintain the most difficult and principled positions until they are free and in our midst. We will follow the leadership of those who fifteen years later have remained steadfast to the principles of Puerto Rican Nationalism, including the principle that the struggle for Puerto Rican independence is not a crime, and that these patriots have nothing to be sorry for. Our commitment is to free all the prisoners, not one by one, and surely not case by case. We say all must be releasedÑfifteen years is long enough! Our people demand their freedom because our patriots are not terrorists, but freedom fighters.
We will continue the struggle to release our patriots, and no San Juan Star editorial or Romero Barcelo or Alberto Rodríguez will determine the character and content of this campaign. We will continue, as our beloved Doña Consuelo would say in her immortalized poem "Con Un Hombro Menos" (With One Shoulder Less.)
STATEMENTS
Alberto Rodríguez
This is the first time that I have ever presented myself before the government to explain my actions. After I was arrested, I refused to enter a plea. At trial, I did not question witnesses or contest evidence. After the jury's verdict, I did not assist in the preparation of a pre-sentence report. I did not attend my sentencing hearing, nor did I appeal my conviction. I took the position that I was a prisoner of war, and that the government of the United States had no right to put me on trial for actions I undertook to free my country of Puerto Rico.
Now, eleven and a half years later, my intransigence before the courts seems stupid, even suicidal. The same ideological commitment that led me to engage in the acts for which I was convicted also led me to refuse any defense against, or explanation to, a government with which I was at war. I now recognize that many of the assumptions that guided my actions over twelve years ago were simply wrong. I sincerely believed that the majority of Puerto Ricans desired independence from the United States, and that the only thing keeping the island from achieving its independence was the power of the United States Government, I also believed that all legal avenues for seeking independence were exhausted, or closed, and that I had no other options.
I raise this now because it is important for the Parole Board to understand why I committed my offenses. I was motivated by ideas, not greed, power, emotions, love of violence, or by some romantic notion of being a "heroic freedom fighter." I love my county and want to see it an independent nation, but I now recognize that this is a question to be resolved politically, not violently.
I realize that violence to achieve independence is neither realistic nor right. I recognize that my belief that independence could be achieved by a small group of dedicated men and women flies against all reality. If Puerto Rico is ever to achieve its independence, it is because the majority wants it so, and not because a tiny group forces it to happen.
In Chicago, the Puerto Rican community has gone from having no Puerto Rican representatives to electing several city councilmen, state representatives, and even an indepen-dentista member of Congress. In New York, the Puerto Rican community has elected not just a Congressman, but a Congresswoman also. In Puerto Rico, all the political parties along the political spectrum now acknowledge that the island is a colony of the United States. Although the parties differ widely about how to remedy the situation, they all recognize it; definitely the first step towards resolving this issue.
In the years that I have been in prison the rest of the whole world has also changed. Countries like the Soviet Union, East Germany and Czechoslovakia that I studied in school no longer exist. Revolutionaries now sit with the very governments they tried to overthrow to negotiate peace plans. Yesterday's terrorists become Presidents; some even win Nobel Peace Prizes.
Just as the world has changed, and the political reality of Puerto Rico has changed, I too have changed. I realize that I took many things too lightly. Most specifically, I disregarded the consequences that my conduct would have had on others. I took violence lightly over a decade ago, and regret that. While all of the FALN bombings that were charged as part of the seditious conspiracy took place before I became involved, I take responsibility for my cavalier attitude towards violence and willingness to use it. Today, I am relieved that the weapons I had were never used and the plans I made were never implemented. I can truthfully say that I never did anyone any physical harm.
Looking only at my pre-sentence report, my indictment, or other court documents leaves the impression that my entire adult life consisted of participation in a conspiracy. This is not true. Except for a short period of about six or seven months prior to my arrest, I lived a law-abiding life- raising a family, working to recruit minority students to attend college, and involving myself in community programs. In college I was involved in the development of educational and cultural programs that continue today, twenty years later. In the community, I was involved in cultural centers, theater groups, G.E.D. and literacy programs, child care centers and youth programs. I did not live some double life. My work in the Puerto Rican independence movement was entirely lawful, except at the very end. My life was one of hard work and study, and commitment to family and community. Since my arrest, conviction, and sentence, I have returned to those principles once again. One look at my institutional record attests to that fact.
I want the opportunity to return to my children and my family. I have a seventeen-year-old daughter and a twelve-year-old son. I very much want to be a part of their lives before they grow up and move on. My parents are elderly, and suffer from all the ailments and infirmities that come with age.
I have learned vocational skills while in prison. Along with my educational background before my arrest, these prison-acquired skills will provide me with an opportunity to make a good living and to help train others in the heating and air-conditioning field. I enjoy working in the heating and air- conditioning field and would love the opportunity to work with and teach inner city youths this valuable trade. It is an opportunity to give something back to the community. In my community, there is a great deal of human misery that can be remedied through providing heat in the winter and air-conditioning in the summer.
I grew up in the Englewood section of Chicago's South Side, considered one of the most violent: parts of town. During my youth, I never resorted to violence to solve personal problems. I had my brushes with the law when I was young. As an adult I refrained from crime, except in the instance that resulted in my conviction. I know that I can return to the community and not become involved in any criminal activity. I have a family and a community to return to. I have work skills and can find employment. I know that there are many legal and non-violent ways to achieve political goals. January 15, 1995
Carmen Valentín
My dear Friends, Compañeros,
"They are not terrorists, they are Freedom Fighters!" Do you remember that slogan? I do! This slogan was the first one heard and chanted 15 years ago by the many supporters of the Independence Movement, throughout Puerto Rico and the U.S. It is pathetic that 15 years later, one of us would join the enemy and attempt to reverse these words.
Amazingly, today, we are forced from inside the walls to urge the Puerto Rican people not to get discouraged, not to buy into the bankrupt cry of a broken man, not to waste time debating these base acts.
When we analyze the actions of Alberto Rodríguez we can clearly see that he has given up hope in history, humanity, the struggle, himself. He has decided that it is easier to attempt to erase the efforts, sacrifice, aspirations of the many generations of Puerto Ricans, than to live like this. Alberto, suffocating in this misery, has taken the wrong road to history; he has allowed his distrust in humanity to overshadow his reason. He has permitted his individualism and personal needs to mandate, to dictate against his better judgment.
We cannot be made angry by the words, actions of Alberto Rodríguez. We cannot be scared, shaken by the cry, the turn of a desperate man like Freddy Mendez. Every struggle has had a few, who under pressure, break. They are no more responsible than a person, who under physical torture, is forced to divulge the secrets of a movement. Who is responsible is the U.S. government for continuing our incarceration, our suffering in these dungeons. Every person has a breaking point. It is simple to see that Alberto Rodríguez is a broken man, who attempts to blame his nationality for his lack of political maturity. These many years of incarceration have without a doubt weakened us physically, mentally. That is a fact! We are humans. Under constant pressure, suffering, some individuals will react differently and will opt for "easy" solutions. That is what Alberto has done! Don't forget, though we, the prisoners are people with integrity, we are still not exempt from human frailty.
With pride, I say that while some cringe, cry, blame others for their lot in this struggle, we must not forget the many examples in our history of those that with integrity and respect for our nationality stood firm for 25, 29 years and never considered the possibility of denouncing the sacred right of sovereignty of our nation.
So yes, there will be heroes and there will also be weaklings, who take half measures/steps and halfway down the road, if pushed hard enough, will turn into full blown traitors!
But today, I dare askÑcan history be undone, erased by a mere, simple, desperate individual? NEVER!
When I heard what Alberto had done for his freedom, I immediately called some of the people that I respect most, in freedom. One of those persons is my beloved son, Antonio. I consulted with him and the first words that he uttered were: "Mom, it's sad, but Alberto cracked." That summarizes it! Every Puerto Rican with a clear mind will know the serious ramifications of crimina-lizing the Independence Movement. They know that only a desperate, crazed person would dare take such steps. That is why today I do not enter in a debate with a man who calls himself and I quote: "stupid, suicidal, crazy, cavalier, desperate." This will only serve to be counterproductive. Only a fool would enter into a dialogue with a person, who after denouncing the struggle for Independence, attempts to explain his "logic" behind it. Fait accompli! What is done is done. We must move forward and leave by the wayside those that fall.
I will attest to the fact that living under these conditions is truly not a pleasurable thing. There are many times when one wonders how to continue doing this. Don't think that having 12, 15 years left of this misery is a logical thought. We have been depleted of our physical/mental strength, slowly but surely. We need your continuous support, encouragement, in order to continue down the road to freedom. If you don't provide us with visible signs of your work for our freedom, we will slowly but surely continue to deteriorate physically/mentally. Some will not be able to face what awaits us. We have seen the first signs of this, with Alberto. It is your responsibility to double your efforts, to unite, to seek ways of advancing the campaign to free us. This example should urge you to do this. Don't take this sign lightly!
I, for my part, will say that the price that Alberto is paying for his "possible freedom," is too high. It is an individual decision that he will regret with time. His children and those close to him who are politically conscious will always serve as reminders of his incorrect decision. The woman that he presently calls "his compañera" and who has taken an active role in planning and encouraging him to pursue this dark road, will some day also shake before him, that is if she stands by him long enough. All those that have partaken in this will go down in history as weak people, people with no vision, people with only one concernÑthe SELF. And don't think that we are not aware of everyone who failed Alberto and the Puerto Rican Nation.
I like these words: "Nations, like individuals, must ultimately decide how they will be perceived by those with whom they live and later how they will be judged by history."
I want to live by these words. I want to leave these words as a legacy to every Puerto Rican person. My only wish is to face up to my responsibility as a Puerto Rican citizen. I want to be remembered as an honorable person who stood by my actions.
I, personally, will not allow Alberto's actions to unbalance my equilibrium. I know that even if 15 Puerto Ricans break down, there are still 7 million others, and, out of those 7 millions there is always the possibility that 15, 20, 100 more will at a given time respond to duty. The situation of Puerto Rico has not changed in these 15 years. Puerto Rico is still a colony of the U.S. As long as this problem exists, it will insist on a resolution. Trust me!
Though, I do not want to enter a debate with pros and cons about Alberto's actions. It is necessary to point out, to state that it would be ludicrous if I said that this long process in the attempt to liberate our country has not been full of honest mistakes. Anyone that says we have been clear, completely knowledgeable in our efforts, is lying! We are in the incipient stages of struggle. We are facing the strongest and most sophisticated government in the world. Our people have never known sovereignty. So yes! it is a process laced with human errors and colonized minds. We have tried hard (those inside and out) to forge ahead and to make victory even of our downfalls and mistakes. But we cannot honestly point our fingers at any particular person or organization for having made mistakes. We were attempting to create awareness of the colonial situation of Puerto Rico. This is no easy feat! Everyone involved, be it in the public or clandestine sector, did the best they could with the little they had.
I am proud to be part of the history of my country's struggle for liberation. I want to die proud of this. I want to live the rest of my days knowing and believing that I am not a criminal, nor are any of the compañeros involved in this struggle. I will never blame anyone for my actions, for I was of sane psyche when I entered the struggle for liberation of my country. I evolved and took a different route than most. I did this of my own volition for I am a conscious, responsible Puerto Rican citizen. I honestly thought that armed struggle would ultimately force this country to grant Puerto Rico its freedom.
Because this didn't happen, because the world evolved differently, because I'm in this situation, because I am still of sane mind, I'm not able to denounce the necessity of sovereignty for our nation, the right of the colonized to use any means at their disposal to end colonialism. This is a mandate of the United Nations Protocols and that was what I followed when I acted. I didn't follow the mandate of any individual or any public/clandestine organization. I followed my conscience and that historical mandate in my attempt to participate in the liberation of my country.
To blame the world, individuals for my present situation is elusive, delusional. I am of clear mind and will assert that as long as Puerto Rico remains a colony of the U.S., there will be Puerto Ricans, who will at a given moment in history respond with arms, etc., in their attempt to end this plight.
Keeping me in prison for 25, 30 years will not erase this reality. I am incapable of negating the historical reality of my country. The world knows that Puerto Rico needs to be a sovereign nation. Keeping me here will only serve to underscore this contradiction. Any individual who becomes the mouthpiece of the U.S. government might gain his individual "freedom," at such a high price, but will still not erase this sad reality. The Puerto Rican people know and continue to express in the many plebiscites, that they do not want to be a part of the U.S. It is useless to attempt to cover this up. I'm in prison for trying to uncover this. Alberto is totally dishonest in his attempt to gain his freedom. He has stopped at nothing just short of becoming an informant for the government.
There is such a level of deception in his actions that he dares to say that if released he will come back to the Puerto Rican community and with his new learned skills wipe out the misery that is in abundance in the Puerto Rican community, by providing heat in the winter and air conditioning in the summer. Indeed, the words of a crazy man!
I apologize for his lack of integrity, honesty, vision. This is unacceptable behavior. I do not wish to stand near him in this struggle and demand that he be dubbed a persona non grata in our movement for liberation and in our campaign for amnesty, freedom.
He has put on an act, comparable to none. He forgot that he was not a solitary actor, involved in a monologue, but rather that in this drama of liberation, he was not the only protagonist and that his actions/words would affect everyone at large. We the prisoners cannot act as separate entities; our actions affect the whole.
It is important to note here that all the other compañeros that have appeared before the Parole Board have done so with integrity. It is necessary to point out that it is not a question of maintaining a purist prisoner of war position, or refraining from appearing before the Board. He is over simplifying his actions. He has exchanged his title of political prisoner for one of common criminal/terrorist, at best. From a seditious conspirator to a criminalÑthat's a long way!
The point is not that one is captured, but that one does not surrender. I will remind everyone that those that act on behalf of individualism make serious, regrettable mistakes.
I want to urge you, today, to unite and build a more effective campaign! Let's not focus on the actions of a desperate individual, who dismissed the past, the present, the future aspirations of a nation.
What happened to Alberto should not be taken lightly. 15 years of suffering is a long, long time. Take a look at our childrenÑsome were mere babes when we left. They are young adults, adults, now. They always serve as reminders of the lapse of time.
We have as great an urgency to be free as Alberto, but we are not willing to negotiate our freedom at the cost of losing respect for ourselves and our movement.
I find that usually when something drastic happens, it is normal for people to unite. I think, if we do nothing else, but put aside our differences in an honest attempt to work together, that's a major step in the right direction at this time.
I want to salute those people that have stood by us for 15 years and counting. It isn't necessary to mention names; everyone knows who they are. Because they have put out their best efforts and have had no success in freeing us, perhaps that is why today they get the fury of this dissatisfied individual. Alberto not only negated the efforts of the movement for Independence at large, but has gone all out to character assassinate and defame the group of people that has sustained us. My love and endless appreciation to all of you who have kept us alive. I want to share these words that I received for my birthday this year. A friend who spent seven years in prison with us sent these. These words made me feel good; they encouraged me and at this crucial time made a big difference. She said: "Carmen, can you take a beating and not respond?" She answered: "Yes, you can!" And she continues: "You, Carmen, have been taking a beating for a long, long time, but you are far from being 'Beat Down'! When you feel the days are just too long and the nights too empty, then just rest, my Friend, and I shall carry on for you, until you are refreshed and ready to kick life in the ass!"
It is interesting but we need words like these, and I have gotten many words of encouragement throughout these years.
I know that there are many Puerto Ricans, many progressive people out there that are willing to act for our freedom. They need direction, organization. That's your duty. Do it!
I read Alberto's statement to the Parole Board and his open letter. I read also Manolo's and Carmen's position on this important matter. About three years ago, I wrote my position regarding the efforts of some compañeros to secure their individual release via the parole board. I expressed my concern that these efforts strengthen the US Government attempts to criminalize the movement for Puerto Rican liberation.
It is impossible for me to forget that on the day we became identified as participants in the Puerto Rican revolutionary movement, we were linked to a larger realityÑone that transcends our own personal identities. No thought or action occurs isolated from the whole. In our case, our thoughts and actions have greater consequences which extend much further than the personal sphere.
I believe that certain principles continue to apply to our particular case. For instance, we were not and are not criminals. The Puerto Rican movement for liberation was not and is not a crime. We were and continue to be motivated by a deep sense of responsibility to liberation. I believe that when we meet this responsibility, we experience personal growth and liberation.
Unlike Alberto, I do not believe we acted lightly, whimsically or without regard for the consequences brought about by our actions. Hindsight is very painful, especially considering how we lacked a 360 degree perspective on the whole matter of liberation. Yet the bottom line remains the same. Colonialism is a crime and it must end. Liberation is just as necessary today as it was then.
Alberto places the burden of responsibility for the use of violence solely on the shoulders of Puerto Rican revolutionaries while leaving the impression that the United States is law-abiding and not a colonial power. The timing of Romero Barcelo's article in the San Juan Star is no coincidence. In it, he states that in order to secure our release, we must say we are criminals. Yet just a few months ago, Margaret Colgate Love recognized the political nature of our case. Interesting, isn't it? Alberto states that Puerto Ricans do not want independence. He fails to include information about another kind of US war waged against the Puerto Rican psyche which produces psychic crippling and loss of freedom. It isn't that Puerto Ricans do not want freedom. What hinders freedom is a fragmented and isolated view of reality. A colonized psyche goes about in circles, lost and confused. It is easily dominated.
Fanon gained valuable insight into this crippling disease. He learned that true freedom is found on "the honorable road that leads to the heart." He understood that the colonized mind does not know its own heart. That it does not have a sense of self. We need to learn to enter into the heart of the crises which affect us all in order to come out winning. When we resist the temptations of despair we leave room for hope.
I agree that individuals who go before the parole board should not be condemned nor isolated. We cannot impose our views on another human being. Yet I am also aware that individualistic efforts to secure release from prison have had adverse effects upon the amnesty campaign. These individualistic efforts strengthen government attempts to depoliticize and criminalize the Puerto Rican movement for liberation.
The parole issue became divisive. Today it is not only divisive, but very ugly and confusing. As a result, I have come to agree that the amnesty campaign should regroup and focus on those of us who seek a political solution to our political incarceration. Alberto separated himself from us. We need to separate our case from his in order to further our release efforts.
Those seeking parole did not consider Alicia and Luis. Even though these two comrades have not sought an individual way out of prison, hypothetically, they are not even eligible to go before the parole board for another eleven or twelve years. If we all went before the parole board as individuals, where would that leave Luis and Alicia?
Compañeros, I wish to embrace each and every one of you. You are in my mind and heart and I sincerely hope that we can come together through this crisis with courage, hope and sensitivity. One of my dreams is seeing us together, enjoying each other's company and doing the things that need to be done also in this life.
Greetings to all!
For those who are asking, why, after so long they are receiving something from meÑit is in response to the latest move by Alberto Rodríguez. My first reaction after reading his position to the Parole Board was, "this guy has sold himself." Maybe Alberto thinks he can intimidate compañeros (as) on the outside because of the subjectivity involved. It is true that they are not subject to the same conditions, but Alberto cannot hide from us. He cannot brainwash us, the other prisoners, who live the same conditions. We ask, with what agenda in mind does he send us this antagonistic position?
The content of this statement is no different from the ones I have been reading from the social prisoners hereÑthat is the contradiction. A Puerto Rican should never feel ashamed for having been a combatant in the armed clandestine struggle. We are proud of having participated in such activities. Our resistance behind these walls reaffirms that we will never exchange international laws for domestic ones. Puerto Rico does not fit neatly into a formula that only contributes to disorientation and weakness. If confusion is sown, the one that benefits is our enemy. If we are to speak frankly, then the one who declared himself politically impotent was Alberto, an individual who stopped building bridges with his people in struggle.
It was surprising to read something so unexpected. This makes me think, why did there exist such enthusiasm to generate a collective discussion, if in the end, the results gave us this vulgar break? At this moment, two people come to mind: Alfredo the traitor and Oscar, who has never weakened. I recall Oscar because he is part of our revolutionary heart and today is the person from our group that is being severely tortured. Instead of reacting with anger and indignation, Alberto gives us a document replete with a dismembered soul and a repentant body. Ironically, he is repentant before our enemy, who for years has been violating our human rights. And for what? Ask forgiveness? For what? For being born a colonized man?
How funny this inferior posture is! Alberto has something in common with Alfredo. Neither were tortured when they made their decision. Alfredo "sang" in less then a year. It did not take him much time to sell his political conscience. We should all remember the consequences of his cowardice. I still lament the decision of his younger brother to commit suicide. Many of us met this young man while we were at the (Chicago) Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC). The consequences of our actions are sometimes out of our control. Even now, we do not know the personal impact suffered by those who have supported Alberto. When Alberto attacks our political morality, he limits the value of our position, because a politic with no moral is blind and empty.
I agree with Luis Rosa that Alberto Rodríguez should be excluded from the list for amnesty. I say that because the statement serves as proof. Both his actions and words justify this. As I understand it, amnesty is the act of pardoning individuals for political actions. Isn't it true these are the same actions that he is attacking? Alberto should find a lawyer or Public Defender so that they can obtain a "time cut." As I see it, he does not have the right to deceive or manipulate the sentiments of our people who work at a political level. Alberto came in as a combatant in the armed clandestine struggleÑnot in a political collective. Before criticizing, Alberto should look into the mirror. We all have contradictions, but his one is unpardonable.
Again, the most important case today is that of Oscar and we never hear shouts of frustration or "look at me, I am suffering." Oscar is not inhuman and at this time needs our support. His spirit reminds me of our heroes. In this prison, I have had the privilege of being visited by Rafael Cancel Miranda, where he shared many of the tortures he went through. What animates me is that never, in those 25 years, did he think his resistance was in vain. He never put his needs as a man, husband, or father above those of his homeland. For him, these struggles were the same. His words inspire me because they are not deceitful. The most important point is that for those 25 years, he never fooled himself. The Nationalists do not live in the past, they live at our side. It is our birthright to emulate this dignified form of struggling and resisting.
In the eyes of Rafael, as well as those of Don Juan, Doña Consuelo, Lolita and Doña Isabel Rosado, I have found the profiles of all of you. The most beautiful thing is that in the same period I had the privilege of meeting some of your mothers and fathers. It is with pride that I guard their hugs and kisses. Each one of them have influenced me. Definitively, they, along with my parents, do honor to our beloved Borinquen.
Now, what are we going to offer the new generation? Cowardice or dignity? I prefer, from the depths of our sacrifice, to plant and harvest bitter fruit, not for my homeland, but for the yankee imperialists and their collaborators.
We do not negate the complexity and the enormous difficulties that are part of our struggle. But the problems can also be simplified in order of importance. Alberto has opted for abandoning himself to the current trend, the trend in which the history of Puerto Rico ceases to be a priority. In the end, he betrays his own beliefs. Therefore, he can no longer speak for us. Hostos says that in order to live a dignified life, we must become accustomed to duty, "One of those duties is to abandon egotism, subordinate the individual good to the collective good." And as we can see, Alberto has broken ranks.
These words of Hostos have been brough to life by our heroes. It is not impossible! In order to love our homeland, we are taught that we also have to struggle to respect ourselves.
Gulag ADX Florence
by Oscar López Rivera
Twenty years ago communities throughout this country would fight tooth and nail to prevent the construction of prisons in their areas. They didn't want them, they alleged, because prisons would devalue their property and bring unsavory characters to their community. To them prisons were anathematic objects. But today, communities fight and compete with each other to see which one gets the next prison. They do whatever it takes, including the difficult task of raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for seed money to entice the government to build prisons in their area. The community of Florence did just that. And for its money what a prison complex it got! But why have communities changed their attitudes towards prisons, and why is there such a prison construction frenzy? In the gulags of Florence we can find some answers.
At a cost of over $200 million in construction, the gulags of Florence generate over $60 million per year. This is money that ends up in the hands of the banks, the stores, the real estate industry, the automobile dealers, the fast food chains and even the politicians of Florence and its neighbors. Hence, for the community of Florence the gulags represent a gold mine that will supply it with money indefinitely. It doesn't matter to the town of Florence that it's living from the fat of the suffering and misery of the prisoners being warehoused in the gulags. So the first reason for the change of attitude and for the frenzy in prison construction is the big money gulags generate.
The second reason is that prison policy in the USA is based on hatred and fear and used by politicians, social engineers and prison bureaucrats who foment and implement it. Who can forget the prison revolving door in the Willie Horton commercial which helped George Bush to win the 1988 presidential elections? Bush used hatred and fear to call for more prisons and the electorate identified with him.
That same year, according to the Bureau of Justice statistics, the criminal justice bill was over $60 billionÑmuch of that money went to prisons. And while George Bush was demonizing Willie Horton and prison policy, the bankers who had defrauded the tax payers off over $500 billion were being protected by the Reagan/Bush administration. It's safe to say that none of those bankers will spend a night in these gulags, because they are being built to warehouse people who look like Willie Horton, Latinos, Native Americans, non-European ethnics and poor whites.
It was easy for Bush, as it is for most politicians, to demonize a Willie Horton, and protect his banker friends. The latter look like him and are like him (Let's not forget his son was implicated in a bank scandal in Colorado of all places.), while the former fits the stereotypical image of what prisoners and criminals look like.
Millions of dollars are spent each year to foment social policy (including prison) based on fear and hatred for political convenience. We see it in the anti-immigrant, anti-welfare and anti-crime campaigns. And we know the faces of those who should be feared and hated. Those faces are images created by the powers that be, to foment hatred and fear in order to justify its repulsive and abominable prison policy and to maintain control. The third reason is that prison policy is a failed one. It has failed because it is irrational, and because the powers that be want it to fail. That is why prisons aren't being built to pursue the ideal that prisoners should have the opportunity to rehabilitate themselves. Prisons are being built to warehouse prisoners. And instead of rehabilitation what is being provided is institutional incapacitation.
But if it's a failed policy how can politicians and prison bureaucrats get away with it? How can they be asking for more and more dehumanizing, deleterious and alienating prisons and getting them? Because the government and the prison's bureaucrats don't have to be accountable to anyone. And because of the billions and billions of dollars, available for prisons, gulags and their construction have become a boom industry and an extremely powerful one to boot. To show how powerful the prison industry is, a reporter in California pointed out that 12 years ago the jailers' union, prison bureaucrats of the prison industry would go to Sacramento to lobby the politicians, but in 1994 the roles had been reversed. Even Pete Wilson had to go and lobby the union and the prison industry.
The only justification politicians and others who benefit from prisons have to use is that prisoners are more violent and incorrigible and money to build gulags like ADX-Florence comes pouring. No one seems to care that the facts don't support their justification. It's a fact that prisoners today aren't any more violent or predatory than they were twenty years ago. It's a fact that gulags like Marion, Pelican Bay or ADX-Florence do not deter or reduce prison violence. And it's a fact that crime today is lower than it was 10 years ago. But who cares? The only tune society is hearing is the one being played by hatred and fear mongers. And communities like Florence are big beneficiaries of the present prison policy.
Can the silence be broken and the facts about the egregious violation taking place in these gulags come out? I've been here three weeks and I've seen the media sniffing for sensationalism and giving the public titillating stories. But what about the facts?
In the three weeks I haven't slept one single night without been awakened every hour on the hour. This is a form of sleep deprivation, because I'm not allowed to sleep long enough to get rested. In the morning I get up feeling like I haven't slept at all. The cells are hermetically closed. Its main purpose is to keep prisoners isolated from each other and to prevent the solidarity and support prisoners give each other. Isolation is deprivation of languageÑof the word.
In the area I'm in, I've seen three other prisoners. Two of them I knew from Marion. Both have long histories of mental problems and both have been subjected to behavior modification drugs. One has been placed in segregation already. The other has a history of violence against prisoners and spends day and night shouting obscenities and raging against his enemies. Do prisoners like these belong in this environment?
I go to outside recreation a few times a week with another prisoner for a period of two hours each time. All I see is cement and steel. The area is built on a slant, so as I run, one side of my body is always higher than the other. Was the area designed so the prisoner injures his body?
Inside recreation is in a cage a bit bigger than the cell. It has a pull up bar and dip machine. It's extremely hot, it's filthy with construction dust and there is no water or toilet facility. I went in there two Sundays in a row, but I refused the last time. Was this area designed to invite a disaster? Can a person exercise without having access to water or hold from performing bodily functions without causing harm to his health?
Strip searches, body searches, metal detectorÑthe first time I went to the visiting room I went through three strip searches, the poking of the body by the jailers' fingers from head to toe and the going over with the metal detector before and after. It would have sufficed with two. Why six? The excess in strip searches are done to humiliate the prisoner. The stultified mind of the jailer reveals itself during this search process, and shows that this is a place where jailers are in the process of becoming brain dead. Therefore, we should be anticipating disasters like the ones in Pelican Bay.
We are told that the associate warden and the captain in charge of security are the ones dictating the overall policy of the gulag. Simple things like having access to a toilet brush and safety scissors are being denied to the prisoners based on the orders of these individuals. Because of the dryness in the cell, my nose bleeds when I blow it. The fact that I can't cut hairs inside my nose aggravates the soreness and bleeding. A toilet brush is necessary to clean the toilet and for proper hygiene. Every two cells share toilet connections. That means that one bleeds into the other. At present there is no one next to me. But I refuse to stick my hand in the toilet bowl, because it is not hygienic. Soon the 8 cells in the area I'm in will be filled. Then the toilet from the cell next door will bleed into mine. I have seen a prisoner with a shovel cleaning snow. Why can't we have access to a small toilet brush? I have access to a nail clipper. Why can't I have access to a pair of safety scissors?
The demonization of the prisoner is the basis used by the jailers to justify this place. Both the physical environment and the mind set of the jailers have been created to treat the prisoner not as a human being but as a beast. Once the prisoner is stripped of his humanity any measure to incapacitate him is acceptable and justifiable. So besides the sensory deprivation we experience on a daily basis, we also face the potential for incapacitation from different sources or experiences.
If a community of people is willing to live from the fat of the suffering of others, it's to be expected that its people aren't going to sympathize with the plight of the others. And when hatred and fear are used to justify the plight of others, what is there is the reality of the irrational governed by the stultified mind. What we have here is a breach of conscience. Is silence going to prevail?
In resistance and struggle, Oscar López Rivera #87651-024 USP Florence PO Box 8500 Florence, CO 81226
January 1995
Regresar a Nazario & Santiago
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