ProLibertad/Welfare Poets: CD for the PR Prisoners

The ProLibertad Freedom Campaign
ProLibertad@hotmail.com and ProLibertad.Campaign@gmail.com
http://www.ProLibertadWeb.com
ProLibertad Hotline: 718-601-4751
_______________________________________________________________________________

A CALL TO ARTISTS! Calling all Boricua/Non-Boricua Artists for a Fund
Raising CD to aid our Puerto Rican Political Prisoners!!

The Welfare Poets and The ProLibertad Freedom Campaign have come
together to collaborate on a fund-raising project to directly aid the
current Puerto Rican Political Prisoners; incarcerated for fighting
for the independence and self-determination of Puerto Rico.
Additionally, we would also want to assist past political prisoners
who have been freed and are now attempting to survive in a system
where many channels are closed to them. It is also our intention to
create a general legal fund to assist present and even possibly
future political prisoners.

We are directing this posting to local bands and world renown Puerto
Rican artists who have the eye of the music world. Depending on how
many artists come forward and who actually submit songs, there is a
po-tential for us to get funds so distribution can be created on a
larger scale.


Regarding Song Submissions:
•We have begun accepting submissions.
•All submissions and questions about submissions can be sent to:
FreedomAlbum@gmail.com
•We want all artist of all genres to be apart of this potentially
monumental album for Freedom -- Bomba, Plena, Hip Hop, Reggaeton,
Salsa, Jibaro, Regggae, Punk, Rock or any other form of music
•Songs do not need to be directly about the political prisoners and
the struggle for Puerto Rico's Indpendence, although we definitely
won't discourage you to do so. For the most part, they should be
uplifting and somehow connected to our people, island, culture and
history.


Goal:
•We hope this album serves to raise the necessary funds as outlined
above, but also to unify the Puerto Rican community on many levels.
Unifying Puerto Rican artists from NYC, Chicago, California,
Philadelphia, New Jersey and all over the Puerto Rican Diaspora, with
each other and other artists from the island – all coming together
under the banner of supporting those who have sacrificed everything
for the

•We also hope to unify organizations in an attempt to move forward on
better grounds on behalf of the companeros.

•Not only will we be spreading the word about the Puerto Rican
Political Prisoners' existence and indi-vidual cases to a wide range
of individuals open their eyes for the first time or updating those
who are already in the know, but we will also be offering the people
a way to assist, all people who support the struggle for our
companeros release, Puerto Rican and beyond.


To Organizations:
•We call on other organizations to help put this album together.
There is so much to be done and time is most precious. Collectively,
our efforts can reach the necessary millions to make a significant
impact. These are our prisoners, they remain in jail and isolated due
to our collective inaction and we can rem-edy this. To endorse thie
effort, please email us at freedomalbum@gmail.com


For information:
•About the Puerto Rican Political Prisoners and the ProLibertad
Freedom Campaign, go to: www.ProLibertadweb.com or
myspace.com/freeourpolitcalprisoners; about the Welfare Poets, go to
www.welfarepoets.com

Log on to myspace.com/freeourpolitcalprisoners for future information
regarding the project and planning meetings



The fight for Puerto Rico's Independence go as far back as indigenous
resistance to Spanish occupation. For well over 600 years, countless
and nameless individuals have fought for our islands sovereignty.
Some have paid the ultimate price with their lives.

Others have been held captive, arrested against their will, by a
court which held no jurisdiction over their cases and tramples on
their international right to fight for the lib-eration of their
homeland, our homeland, Puerto Rico. The Puerto Rican people have
been able to free many of our political prisoners. We did so because
we created unity amongst ourselves and because we welcomed the
solidarity of all our allies. This Freedom Al-bum is another example
of our creativity in building solidarity and unity amongst ourselves.

This album will educate, agitate and help further build our movement
to free our compañer@s behind the walls.
_______________________________________________________________________________

Our Political Prisoners are:

Oscar Lopez Rivera was born in San Sebastian, Puerto Rico on January
6, 1943. At the age of 12, he moved to Chi-cago with his family. He
was a well-respected community activist and a prominent independence
leader for many years prior to his arrest. Oscar was one of the
founders of the Rafael Cancel Miranda High School, now known as the
Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos High School and the Juan Antonio Corretjer
Puerto Rican Cultural Center. He was a com-munity organizer for the
Northwest Community Organization (NCO), ASSPA, ASPIRA and the 1st
Congregational Church of Chicago. He helped to found FREE, (a
half-way house for convicted drug addicts) and ALAS (an educa-tional
program for Latino prisoners at Stateville Prison in Illinois).

He was active in various community struggles, mainly in the area of
health care, employment and police brutality. He also participated in
the development of the Committee to Free the Five Puerto Rican
Nationalists. In 1975, he was forced underground, along with other
comrades. He was captured on May 29, 1981, after 5 years of being
persecuted by the FBI as one of the most feared fugitives from US
"justice". Oscar, who has a daughter named Clarissa, is currently
serving a 55-year sentence for seditious conspiracy and other
charges. He was convicted of conspiracy to escape along with Jaime
Delgado, (a veteran independence leader), Dora Garcia, (a prominent
community activist) and Kojo Bomani-Sababu, a New Afrikan political
prisoner.

Oscar was one of 13 Puerto Rican political prisoners offered some
form of leniency by the Clinton Administration in the fall of 1999.
According to the Chicago Sun Times, he "declined the president's
offer, which still would have him left with 10 years to serve on
conspiracy to escape charges. Now he faces at least 20 more years in
prison. His sister, Zenaida Lopez, said he turned the offer down
because he would be on parole. 'Accepting what they are offering him
is like prison outside of prison,' she said. Zenaida Lopez said her
brother 'was in total agreement' with the decision of the 11 others
to take the conditional clemency." Oscar is presently in prison in
Terre Haute, Indiana and his release date is 7/27/2027.


Carlos Alberto Torres was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico on September 19,
1952. His parents moved to New York, finally settling in Chicago. He
studied in the University of Illinois in Carbondale and Chicago. He
studied sociology at Southern Illinois University and the University
of Illinois at Chicago. Carlos Alberto was involved in the struggles
to recruit more Latin@s to the University, against racism, and police
abuse. Carlos was one of the founders of the Rafael Cancel Miranda
Puerto Rican High School now known as the Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos
Puerto Rican High School and participated in the Committee to Free
the 5 Nationalists. In 1976, Carlos was forced to go underground and
was on the FBI's 10 most wanted list. He was captured along with
other comrades and sentenced to 78 years on charges of seditious
conspiracy, among other charges.

Although the Clinton Administration offered clemency to 12 Puerto
Rican political prisoners in the fall of 1999, no leniency was
granted to Carlos Torres, whom prosecutors described as a leader of
the Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional (FALN), an underground
organization which fought for Puerto Rico's independence in the 1970s
and '80s. His release date is 2024. He is currently in prison in
Oxford, Wisconsin.


Haydee Beltran Torres was born in Arecibo, Puerto Rico on June 7,
1955. When Haydee was 12 years old, her parents moved to Chicago. At
Tuley High School, she organized a boycott that demanded the firing
of a racist principal. Haydee attended the University of Illinois
where she was an outspoken defender of Latino students’ rights.
Haydee was forced underground in 1976 and was captured April 4, 1980.
She has been sentenced to life in prison on charges including
seditious conspiracy. Haydee was the first POW to receive a life
sentence. She was kept in total isolation from the other prisoners of
war and was transferred to a special control unit which limited
visits. It was a year before she was allowed to see her family.

At the MCC in Chicago, she was classified as “no visitors allowed”.
Haydee was subject to physical abuse in interrogations for refusing
to implicate her comrades in unfounded crimes. This was done several
times by FBI and other government agents. These and other inhumane
acts by the U.S. government have led to serious injuries which prison
medical directors have misdiagnosed; also, Haydee has received
injections of unknown medications.


Jose Perez Gonzalez was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico on January 14th,
1968; he is the son of a butcher and his mother is retired government
worker. He is married with three children. He is a member of
Mayaguezano por La Salud y el Ambiente. He is well known in his
neighborhood, of Barrio Segundo in Ponce. He is a family man with
three children. He was a civil disobedient and served three months in
jail for his support activities. Jose was the only member of the
Vieques 12 who went to trial. He was found guilty and was sentenced
to five years in jail. His release is 1/17/2008.