Case of the Puerto Rican political prisoners advances
Translated from the original Spanish
By Leonor Mulero, El Nuevo Día

Información enviada al Director de Tlahui. Puerto Rico a 5 de Mayo, 1999. Re: Corrected Decisión. Tuesday, May 4, 1999.

Washington: The United States Department of Justice is preparing to notify the White House of its recommendation on the petition for the release of the 15 Puerto Rican political prisoners.

The notification, which can be written or verbal, could take place as soon as this week, said three credible sources. The pardon petition for the 15 was submitted six years ago.

The sources indicated that Justice has had its recommendation ready for quite a while, but was waiting for the White House to resolve the impeachment trial of president Bill Clinton.

Although there is optimism among those who favor release, the content of Justice's recommendation is not known. Regardless of the recommendation, the main presidential attorney, Charles Ruff, will make his own investigation, studying each one of the 15 cases individually, El Nuevo Día learned.

In 1979, president Jimmy Carter released the Nationalist prisoners in spite of negative recommendations from the Department of Justice and opposition of then governor Carlos Romero Barceló.

Recently, following a meeting with Ruff, Romero Barceló softened his tenacious opposition to the release of the independentists. The Commissioner no longer opposes release, but insists that each case be studied individually and that the prisoners commit to non-violence. On the other hand, the political leadership of New York City met Saturday with the three Puerto Rican congresspeople, José Serrano, Luis Gutiérrez, and Nydia Velázquez, to discuss strategies for the release of the independentist prisoners.

The meeting, led by Serrano, concluded with the agreement that the release of the prisoners has priority on the agenda of the Puerto Rican political leadership, said Gutiérrez' aide, Enrique Fernández Toledo.

He added that the New York leaders agreed that the three congresspeople would represent them in all forums of struggle for the release of the prisoners. At the meeting were prostatehood representatives Rubén Díaz (son) and Peter Rivera. Also present was independentist representative José Rivera, whose work for release was the subject of recognition.

Others in attendance were the president of the Bronx Borough, Fernando Ferrer; state senators Olga Méndez, Efraín González and David Mercado; city council members Víctor Robles, Ángel Rodríguez and Pedro Espada.

From: National Committee to Free Puerto Rican Prisoners prpowpp@aol.com
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