11 Puerto Ricans accept clemency offer

By José Cruz

Eleven Puerto Rican political prisoners will be ordered released from prison on parole once the White House receives their signed acceptance of the president's offer of clemency.

The jailed fighters for Puerto Rican independence to be released are Elizam Escobar, Dylcia Pagan, Alberto Rodriguez, Ida Luz Rodriguez, Alejandrina Torres, Adolfo Matos, Edwin Cortes, Ricardo Jimenez, Luis Rosa, Alicia Rodriguez and Carmen Valentin. A twelfth prisoner, Juan Segarra Palmer, accepted an offer to nullify his fine and is scheduled to be released in five years. Two prisoners, Antonio Camacho Negron and Oscar Lopez Rivera, are refusing the clemency offer.

The clemency offers come after a long campaign that saw petitions and letters signed by 75,000 people in Puerto Rico and in the United States. The campaign, led by the Pro-Human Rights Committee of Puerto Rico, involved outstanding activists and leaders for human rights such as Coretta Scott King, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Bishop Desmond Tutu, Rigoberta Menchu, and Dr. Aaron Tolen, president of the World Council of Churches.

In Puerto Rico, support for their unconditional release have come from leaders of all major political parties, the Puerto Rican Federation of Labor (AFL-CIO), the Puerto Rican General Council of Labor, the Puerto Rican Manufacturers' Association, the Puerto Rican Bar Association, the retired archbishop of San Juan Cardinal Luis Aponte Martinez, the current San Juan Archbishop Roberto Gonzalez Nieves,

Many elected political leaders in the United States have come out for their freedom including members of the House of Representative Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.), Nydia Velasquez (D-N.Y.), Jose Serrano (D-N.Y.), Ronald Dellums (D-Calif.), former New York City Mayor David Dinkins, and numerous city and state legislators from New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts.

The campaign over the years has been for unconditional release. Supporters have pointed out that 10 of the prisoners are serving sentences of 55 to 90 years, 19 times longer than the average sentence for "heinous" crimes and that these disproportionate sentences punish them for who they are, anti-colonialist Puerto Ricans, rather than what they did.

They were not convicted of commiting acts that resulted in any injuries or deaths. They have already served many years of their sentences, far longer than the average murderer or rapist, even repeat offenders, have served. Some have even served much of this time in maximum-security prisons under such conditions that even Amnesty International condemns. The White House has admitted that the sentences imposed were excessive.

Even though the clemency offer was way less than that proposed by supporters, right-wing and even some liberal politicians and the press immediately started attacking the offer.

This has motivated Hillary Clinton to try to distance herself from her husband on this issue. Her senatorial campaign organization released a press statement urging the president to withdraw the offer. The White House subsequently placed a deadline of Sept. 10 to hear from the prisoners or the deal would be withdrawn.

Mrs. Clinton's action has sparked a flurry of criticism from the Puerto Rican community in New York. Various newspapers have reported interviews with people in the Puerto Rican community who are considering not participating in her election. Many have accused her of being no better than New York City Mayor Rudolf Giuliani, a Republican, who condemned the clemency offer. Giuliani is widely believed to be Ms. Clinton's opponent in the New York state race for U.S. Senator.

Among the conditions of the clemency are that they acknowledge that they broke the law, individually request clemency, they also have to report to a probation officer, that they renounce violence in their quest for Puerto Rican independence and that they not be in the company of any convicted felon. This would mean that they couldn't work together for Puerto Rican independence together, even by peaceful means.

Many supporters are afraid that the conditions are so onerous that some of the prisoners might end up jailed again as happened to Antonio Camacho Negron.

Camacho Negron was released on parole in 1998. One of the conditions of his parole was that he had to report to a federal magistrate every 72 hours. He found this condition humiliating and refused to participate. Before he was able to consult his attorney, he was arrested in Puerto Rico and flown to Florida to serve out the remainder of his sentence. He spent less than three weeks out of prison.

Another prisoner, Haydee Beltran, has not been part of the campaign to release the political prisoners at her request. She and her lawyers are pursuing a different strategy.