I began my one-woman blog campaign,"Give Us
Our Mandela Moment," knowing very little about Oscar's story. Except to note,
that Free Oscar Now! marches were intensifying all over the island and in US
cities where the diaspora resides, and I was missing out on all the action. My hobby, since retiring, is monitoring the
news, which has this one occupational hazard. The more I read...the more
I'm inspired to write, and the more I poke around on the internet (in my
pajamas) stories like these "Latinos for Trump? start filling me with
dread. (Jonathan Marcantoni, LatinoRebels must
read) We had better bring Oscar home now, while President Obama is
still in office. And one day, as I was hunched over my laptop, I called
Mija over to my desk, "Come and see my new blog on the political prisoner Oscar
Rivera. And my daughter's eyes flew wide open, she's web savvy and smart (like
her mother) but: "Who's he? I
never heard of him." That said...
“The Last Prisoner”
The usual Oscar story goes something like this...In
1981, the Bronze Star decorated Vietnam War veteran was sentenced by the US
courts to 50 years in a US federal prison for the (arguable) crime of
“seditious conspiracy.” I would find out, usually comes with a “fine” or
a term of imprisonment for “not more than 20 years.” In Oscar's case, another
15 years were tacked on after an 'alleged' prison escape in 1985, reported The Guardian read
Excitement, intrigue and drama that makes for a blockbuster Latino biopic. Right? Wassup with that Hollywood? In any case, in the absence of commercial interest, “The Last Prisoner” is actually the title of a documentary-in-progress that seeks to increase awareness of the Free Oscar Campaign and tell his side of the story. And now, I would like to share my take.
In many stories they focus on "the
crime," and Oscar’s association
with the clandestine activities of the FALN (Fuerzas Armadas Liberación
Nacional) Puerto Rico Armed Liberation Front.
That may conjure up acts of violence or crimes resulting in injuries or
death, or committing treason or attempting to sabotage or overthrow the US
government (as desperate as independentistas may have gotten throughout the years to bring attention to Puerto Rico),
leading to the conclusion that Oscar is a "terrorist." None of which Oscar himself was found guilty
of, "undeservedly the most obscure of American political prisoners,"
writes an Oscar sympathizer for the LA Review. read
more
The real story (behind the story) is …
”Sedition” is another word for a crime much more
vicious for our 21st Century times, the persecution and repression of American
citizens here, at home. The never-ending intent (either by omission or
commission) to silence the voices of sovereignty and self-determination, and
the Orwellian laws that permit the US courts to put the fear of God in the
hearts of any Puerto Rican for so much as having “thoughts” of the
independentista variety (in my opinion).
"His imprisonment based on ‘seditious conspiracy’ is ‘overtly political’ and is both harsh and disproportionate," said his attorney Jan Susler of the People's Law Office in Chicago. "It's important to see Oscar not as an isolated case, but as the latest example of a long trajectory of Puerto Rican resistance to US colonialism and the extent to which the US will go to try to maintain its colonial control over Puerto Rico" wrote TruthOut read more
"His imprisonment based on ‘seditious conspiracy’ is ‘overtly political’ and is both harsh and disproportionate," said his attorney Jan Susler of the People's Law Office in Chicago. "It's important to see Oscar not as an isolated case, but as the latest example of a long trajectory of Puerto Rican resistance to US colonialism and the extent to which the US will go to try to maintain its colonial control over Puerto Rico" wrote TruthOut read more
Including, but not limited to, this despicable
deed: The big bad wolf (the US) dressed the colony in commonwealth
clothing in order to pull the wool over the eyes of the United Nations (and
that's a fact):
"The presentation of the case of Puerto Rico
before the Decolonization Committee in 1972, (twenty years after the
establishment of the Free Associated State status, and 19 years after
resolution 748(VIII) exempted the United States from reporting on Puerto Rico,
and more than ten years after adoption of resolution 1514(XV), the United
Nations Decolonization Committee’s decision to examine the case of Puerto Rico
was an important achievement toward recognition of the applicability of
international law to the case.” …the United Nations Decolonization
Committee continues to adopt resolutions on the case. These resolutions
continue to state the applicability of international law and resolution
1514(XV) and its principles to the case of Puerto Rico. They state the
inalienable right of the Puerto Rican people to self-determination and
independence. They have addressed many issues such as cultural aggression and
that Puerto Ricans are a Latin American and Caribbean nation; political
repression and persecution in Puerto Rico, in particular, against
pro-independence advocates; the call for the withdrawal of the United States
Navy from Vieques and its adequate clean-up and socio economic development; and
the call for the release of Puerto Rican political prisoners during diverse
stages, including at present its call for the release of Puerto Rican political
prisoner Oscar López Rivera (…) (source: “Presentation of the Colonial Case of
Puerto Rico at the United Nations,” fellow
DiaspoRican Olga Sanabria, President, UN Committee for Puerto Rico)
(LINK to pdf?)
Not only does Oscar's punishment not fit "the
crime." His continued incarceration should be sobering to us all,
especially, as one digests the truth about "seditious conspiracy"
that is rendered by the lawyers of the Democratic Underground (in my opinion). read more
"For a seditious conspiracy charge to be
effected, a crime need only be planned, it need not be actually attempted.
According to Andrés Torres and José E. Velázquez, the accusation of seditious
conspiracy is of a political nature and was used almost exclusively against
Puerto Rican independentistas in the twentieth century. In law, sedition is
overt conduct, such as speech and organization (As in, the many Free Oscar
protest marches we have?) that is deemed by the legal authority to tend
toward insurrection against the established order. (As in, the Free Vieques
civil disobedience sit-ins protesting the noxious US Naval presence?)
Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent
(or resistance) to lawful authority. Sedition may include any commotion (As
in, the island wide civil disobedience campaign being launched against La
Junta?) though not aimed at direct and open violence against the laws.
Seditious words in writing are seditious libel. (As in, all the emails
independentistas cautiously exchange suspecting that ‘Big Brother’ is watching
online?) A seditionist is one who engages in or promotes the interests of
sedition. (As in, la crÃtica social writings of Boricua Freedom Writer,
Puerto Rico?!)
Independentistas, like Oscar, are known to lay down their lives in defense of the moral imperative, human dignity, self-determination, self-actualization, self-reliance, self-governance, self-sustaining institutions, self-respect and…self-expression:
"Mr. Margolis has said that there are
democratic ways to struggle and get things done. He forgets to tell you that I
have a history of precisely that. That I have marched. That I have taken part
in demonstrations. I have begged and pleaded. I have a history that has not
been presented here. I have marched alongside black people for their rights. I
have marched in support of jobs. I have a history of that. I have marched for
access to decent housing. I have a history of that. I have marched against the
war in Vietnam. I am a veteran of that war. And I have a history of that. [...]
Mr. Margolis does not know how it feels to be a Puerto Rican in this country.
Mr. Margolis does not know how it feels to be black in this country. He does
not know the indignation one feels when the police, who supposedly represent
law and order, call us "spic" or "nigger" and then spit in
our face. I have had people spit in my face for being Puerto Rican. And I have
been arrested for participating peacefully and legally in public
demonstrations. So that which Mr. Margolis alludes to does not exist. [...]
--Oscar's trial transcripts, 1981
Political prisoners, in the same vein as the South
African Nelson Mandela, will rot in jail, and take up arms, if need be, to
shock humanity and draw attention to the crime against our humanity, the
infringement of our individual rights to “life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness” on our own terms. After all, independentistas argue, quite
convincingly, this land is our land. This
is our legacy. And it's not up for grabs by the highest bidder, looking to turn
a tourism buck on the backs of deliberately disenfranchised Puerto Rican
American citizens—take the money and run.
Once upon a time there lived in Borinquen, the land of the
valiant and noble lords, an indigenous people known as the Taino
who would rather die fighting than
be captured and enslaved by their enemies.
And should one look more closely at the following list
of heroic men and women, political prisoners since pardoned and released, all
of them "prisoners of war," all of them share that one singular
distinction you cannot see with the naked eye. Coursing through their
veins is the DNA content of that TaÃno man or woman of valor and personal sacrifice. That is worthy of deference, not disdain.
Oscar is now the longest-held political prisoner in
the Western Hemisphere, and he rests his convictions he is a "prisoner of
war" on the 34 resolutions of the United Nations Decolonization Committee,
reaffirming that Puerto Rico is a colony 'enslaved' to the United States that is in
direct violation of the international principle, that “no nation shall be
master over the destiny of another nation.” US violations of
international law, the UN and the US failed to enforce and acknowledge. more
By the denial of his requests to be remanded to the
international tribunal, where he could have better pleaded his "prisoner
of war" status, Oscar has endured 12 of these years in torturous solitary
confinement (the ADX super-maximum security prison in Florence, Colorado was
specifically designed to detain convicted “terrorists”). While surpassing
the 27 years of South African anti-apartheid warrior and nation-builder Nelson
Mandela who was sentenced to life imprisonment in a South Africa prison for the
same offense and was released at age 72.
Many a time, the South
African President Nelson Mandela was heard quoting these words that sustained
him, “I am the master of my fate" written by the late 19th
century author William Ernest Henley who endured hardships of his own:
One island dicho, or wise folk saying, comes to mind, "no hay mal que por bien no venga," the light at the end of the prison tunnel comes on the heels of the UN Puerto Rico Decolonization Hearing on June 20, 2016, that was declared "International Solidarity Day with Oscar Lopez Rivera:"
"Sometimes the
historical moment strikes unexpectedly," commented Hostos Professor Ana
Lopez, New York Coordinator and a key international activist of the Campaign to
Free Oscar. "It is said that the stars become aligned guiding the path of
righteousness. On June 20, the unanimous passing of the United Nations
resolution, calling for Puerto Rico's right to self-determination and for
Oscar's release without delay, was such a moment." Affirming the reach and
response of the solidarity actions as "nothing short of miraculous,"
Professor Lopez noted that the activities - which took place across six
continents in Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Burundi, Canada, Chile,
China, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, East Timor, Ecuador, England,
Eritrea, Ethiopia, Euzkadi, France, Germany, Greece, Haiti, India, Italy,
Kenya, Mauritius, Mexico, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Northern Ireland,
Palestine, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Russia, Scotland, South Africa, Spain,
Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Trinidad and Tobago, USA, and Venezuela - were
extremely diverse in nature." (web site Boricua author Eleanor Parker Sapia read more)
UN delegates petitioned the Special Committee on Puerto Rico to convene the United Nations General Assembly, forthwith, in order to demand Oscar Rivera's immediate release. They also announced plans (to an enthusiastic round of applause) to send a delegation of the UN Committee of 24 to visit with Oscar in prison (seemingly apologetic that his case had fallen through the international cracks).
The 73-year old Puerto Rican nationalist has shown
the same unconquerable spirit to survive in a matchbox cell, where he has been
brutally censored and deprived of his human rights for 35 years. The
nostalgic grandfather is up for release without presidential pardon in 2023, at
age 80. Why not show clemency to a wizened Oscar, President Obama?
Why not “Give Us Our Mandela Moment? Free Oscar Now! So the world
can witness 'Invictus' of Puerto Ricans by the power of one. He has served his time, the punishment too severe, for the simple fact that Oscar is a Puerto Rican Patriot. On behalf of all the Puerto Rican Patriots of the world, we must demand our Mandela Moment.
It is time...for Oscar to bask in the warmth of his
loving family and friends.
It is time...for Oscar to freely roam the island's
beaches and barrios and plazas.
It is time...for Oscar to revel in the loud chorus hailing his triumphant return.
It is time...for Oscar to minister to “Our Nation
Divided.”
And, it is time, Mr. President, to transmit your
legacy as the one leader of the free world to do right by Puerto Rico.
Make no mistake. In the coming days, weeks, months,
and years—however longer it takes—millions of Puerto Rican and worldwide
supporters will continue to blitz the streets in peaceful protest. In order to
shine the international spotlight on this travesty of justice.
Let the "Countdown to Oscar's Release"
begin. I invite you and your friends to sign up on the home page for future posts
from the homeland. The word is, Oscar's presidential pardon may not be on
President Obama's desk, reported El Nuevo DÃa.
Stay tuned... (it is time...I do my laundry.)
THANKS FOR READING!
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