DATE=9/10/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=PUERTO RICAN PRISONERS RELEASE(L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-253716
BYLINE=ALISHA RYU
DATELINE=LOS ANGELES
CONTENT=
VOICE AT:
Intro: Eleven jailed Puerto Rican militants granted
clemency by President Clinton were released on Friday
from separate federal prisons all over the country.
Most are headed back to Puerto Rico where they are
expected to be warmly welcomed. V-O-A's Alisha Ryu
has details from California where four of the
prisoners were set free.
Text: // Sound of people cheering -- Establish and
Fade //
Carmen Valentin smiled broadly as she stepped out of
the federal penitentiary in Dublin, California (near
San Francisco) and into the arms of a small group of
supporters. Ms. Valentin, who was serving a 90-year
sentence, announced that she and her family were
returning to Puerto Rico immediately.
// First Valentin Act //
We are very anxious to go to our country and
resume our lives and be with our dear families
as soon as possible.
// End Act //
Ms.Valentin was the last of the four prisoners to be
released from the Dublin facility and the only one
willing to speak at length to reporters. The others,
Alicia Rodriguez, her sister Ida Rodriguez and Dylcia
Pagan, quickly drove away in waiting cars.
The women were part of a group of 16 eligible Puerto
Rican nationalists who were granted a presidential
pardon. Seven others were freed earlier in the day
from federal prisons in Connecticut, Pennsylvania and
Indiana.
They had all been serving sentences up to 90 years for
their participation in a radical, pro-independence
group, known by its Spanish acronym F-A-L-N. The group
was held responsible for some 130 bombings in the late
1970s and early '80s that killed six people and
wounded dozens in New York and Chicago.
By accepting clemency, the prisoners have agreed to
renounce the use of violence and not to associate with
other F-A-L-N members.
But when Carmen Valentin was asked on Friday if she
would continue to press for Puerto Rican independence
from the United States, she unhesitatingly answered,
"yes".
// Second Valentin Act //
Every person in the world knows Puerto Rico
continues to be a colony of the United States.
That colonial status has to change and we will
work until our last living day to make sure the
colonial status of Puerto Rico changes. That is
without a doubt.
// End Act //
Although Ms Valentin and the other released prisoners
were never convicted of being directly responsible for
death or injuries, critics of the clemency offer say
that kind of defiant talk is proof that the
nationalists are not ready to reject future use of
violence.
Since the offer was made on August 11th, members of U-
S Congress and law enforcement officials have
criticized President Clinton for sending a signal of
leniency toward terrorism. They also charge Mr.Clinton
of trying to help his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton,
gain favor with New York's Puerto Rican voters in her
bid for a Senate seat there.
On Thursday, the President denied politics played a
role in his decision, saying he was influenced by
petitions from hundreds of people, including former
President Jimmy Carter and South African Archbishop
Desmond Tutu.
The Caribbean island of Puerto Rico has been a U-S
protectorate since 1898, but few on the island say
they want to break away. In December of last year,
only three percent of the population voted for
independence. (Signed)
NEB/PT
10-Sep-1999 20:41 PM LOC (11-Sep-1999 0041 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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