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Delivers Call-to-Action to End the Puerto Rican
Political Prisoner's Incarceration of Nearly 33 Years
April 29, 2014, New York City
- In the spirit of its 2014 theme, "Un Pueblo, Muchas Voces"/"One
People, Many Voices", the National Puerto Rican Day Parade (NPRDP) has
officially called for the release of long-time political prisoner, Oscar
López Rivera. Arrested in 1981, López Rivera was convicted of
seditious conspiracy related to his actions in the struggle for the
independence of Puerto Rico. A long-time, vocal champion for Puerto
Rican independence, López Rivera received a 70-year prison sentence,
having spent more than 12 years in prisons that rank highest in punitive
control, under torturous conditions of isolation and sensory
deprivation. With this year's celebration, the Parade honors López
Rivera to recognize his unique voice and rally support from the Puerto
Rican and Latino communities, as well as the nearly 2.5 million
parade-goers that line the streets of New York City's Fifth Avenue, to
sign a petition for the release of López Rivera.
Puerto
Ricans of all ideological and political backgrounds support the release
of López Rivera since his sentence is widely viewed as not being
commensurate with his actions. In fact, the 14 other compatriots that
were imprisoned around the same time as López Rivera were released in
1999 when President Bill Clinton authorized their release, determining
that their sentences were disproportionate with their actions.
"Oscar
López Rivera was not convicted of a violent crime," says Orlando Plaza,
Board Member for the National Puerto Rican Day Parade. "He was
incarcerated for his beliefs and affiliations, and it is time that his
prison sentence of nearly 33 years comes to an end. For that reason, we
honor him to generate awareness and mobilize our community in support
of the 'Free Oscar López' movement."
The
National Puerto Rican Day Parade stands in solidarity with members of
congress, the Commonweath of Puerto Rican, Nobel Prize laureate
Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a number of religious organizations, labor
organizations, human rights groups, Hispanic civic and community groups,
community activists and supporters of all political affiliations in
Puerto Rico and across the Diaspora in calling for the immediate release
of the 71-year-old political prisoner.
In
October 2013, Puerto Rico Governor Alejandro García Padilla issued a
statement, saying, "The release of the Puerto Rican Oscar López Rivera,
after 32 years in prison, is an issue directly related to the basic
principles of social justice, humanity and compassion. Because of this I
have asked the President of the United States of America, honorable
Barack Obama, to execute his constitutional power and grant a
presidential pardon so he can be freed and reintegrated into our
society. Justice demands his release." A link to a video of García
Padilla stating his support, and the support of the Puerto Rican people,
can be found on the official website for the National Puerto Rican Day
Parade, www.NPRDPinc.org.
As
part of this year's Parade, a contingent from Chicago, led by the
brother of López Rivera, José López Rivera, and the NYC Coordinator To
Free Oscar Lopez - which includes all the New York City groups engaged
in the "Free Oscar López" movement - will march down New York City's
Fifth Avenue to represent him and deliver a rallying cry to generate
community support for his release. Additional information on the
movement, as well as links to sign petitions requesting that President
Barack Obama exercise his executive priviledge and grant clemency to
López Rivera, can be found on the Parade's website, www.NPRDPinc.org.
Applications
for the 2014 Parade participation and press credentials are available
online at the official Parade website, or they can be picked up at the
Parade offices, located at 145 W. 15th Street, 3rd floor, Monday through
Friday from 9AM to 5PM or at La Casa, 1230 Fifth Avenue, Suite 409 in
Manhattan, Monday through Friday from 1PM to 7PM. Applications can be
submitted via email at application@nprdpinc.org or dropped off at these locations.
Contact - For press inquiries only:
Javier E. Gómez - (917) 533-1247 / javier@highpitchpr.com
1 comment:
Dear Partner,
Who’s the radical, Oscar López Rivera or the US?
There are some who call for keeping Puerto Rico political prisoner Oscar López Rivera in prison forever, because he is a radical terrorist responsible for the killing and injury people. That’s not true, but even if it were, he would still be not guilty. Is Oscar really the radical?
It was the government of the United States (US) that illegally invaded Oscar’s country 116 years ago to make Puerto Rico a colony. The United States government has used everything it could think of to train Puerto Ricans to want to be a colony of the United States for over a century. Through its educational system and mass media it has tried to shape the minds of Puerto Ricans. And when that hasn’t been enough, it has resorted to state terrorism to repress those who want independence for Puerto Rico. All nations have an inalienable right to self-determination and independence according to international law. That is so, because it is a natural thing for a nation to want to be independent. That’s why most nations are.
So, Oscar is doing what is natural of wanting his nation to be independent. The US government, however, is doing the unnatural or radical thing of trying to prevent Puerto Rico independence.
What the US government is doing is so radical that it is committing a crime against humanity. The United Nations declared it so, because colonialism is a threat to world peace. So by the US government having Puerto Rico as its colony, it is creating the conditions for people like Oscar to resort to any means necessary to obtain decolonization. International law also give colonies the right to use any means necessary to decolonize itself. And that why colonialism is a crime.
This is why, after 33 UN resolutions ignored by the US government asking it to immediately decolonize Puerto Rico, and the US government’s refusal to release Oscar from prison despite tremendous world pressure to do so, we must continuously protest until it happens!
Sincerely,
José
www.TodosUnidosDescolonizarPR.blogspot.com
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