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Vol. 80/No. 39 October 17, 2016
Oscar López: Join fight for Puerto Rican independence!
A letter from Oscar López Rivera — jailed in the U.S. for more than 35
years for fighting for independence for Puerto Rico — was read by his
daughter Clarisa at a Sept. 24 program at New York’s El Museo del
Barrio, where longtime independentista Rafael Cancel Miranda was the
featured speaker. The Militant prints the slightly abbreviated letter
below. Subheadings are by the Militant. Cancel Miranda was one of five
Puerto Rican Nationalists who were imprisoned in the 1950s for carrying
out armed protests in Washington, D.C., to bring attention to U.S.
colonial rule over the island.
Born in Puerto Rico, López moved to Chicago when he was 14 years old and
was later drafted into the U.S. Army and sent to Vietnam. He grew to
oppose the war and joined the fight to win freedom for the five
Nationalists and independence for Puerto Rico. He was arrested in 1981
and railroaded to jail on frame-up charges of “seditious conspiracy.”
Despite more than 12 years in solitary confinement and being required to
report to prison authorities every two hours during the day, the U.S.
government has been unable to break López’s spirit or opposition to U.S.
colonial rule.
❖
It is an honor and a privilege for me to share with you what Rafael
Cancel Miranda means to me and how he has influenced my life. When I
came home from Vietnam I felt the need to search for a transformative
path in order to find new meaning and purpose in my life. It was a time
when the Puerto Rican youth were talking about Puerto Rican independence
and that we should get involved and do something about it.
I used to go every Saturday to get a haircut and I heard the barbers and
another client talking about Puerto Rican independence and the five
political prisoners who were in federal prisons. They caught my
attention. Up to that moment I knew nothing about the Five — Lolita
Lebrón, Irving Flores, Andrés Figueroa Cordero, Rafael Cancel Miranda
and Oscar Collazo López. The gentleman who was explaining what was going
on was a Nationalist who often made the rounds where young people were
hanging out. He would talk to us about them and ask us to get involved
in the struggle. And that was how I started to take interest in the
campaign for the freedom of our Five National Heroes.
Unjust and criminal Vietnam War
Because those were times when the issue of the opposition to the U.S.
war in Vietnam was very prevalent, one of the first things I discovered
about Rafael was that he had dared to refuse being drafted by the U.S.
armed forces. He had done what I had refused to do. Because I didn’t
want to go to prison I allowed myself to be drafted by the U.S. Army and
ended up participating in an unjust and criminal war.
I became an opponent of the war once I had experienced it and knew how
devastating and horrible it was. But Rafael at a very young age had had
the courage to stand strong on his patriotism, on his profound love for
Puerto Rico, for freedom and justice and had opted to go to prison
rather than be used as cannon fodder in the wars the U.S. government was
waging. He was about the same age I was in 1967 when on the first of
March 1954 he had decided along with Lolita, Andrés and Irving to bring
the issue of Puerto Rico’s colonial status to the U.S. Congress to let
the world know what the U.S. government was doing to Puerto Rico. And
what he and his compañeros did and the fact they were willing to
sacrifice their lives to save our beloved homeland meant a great deal to
me. They had set an example I chose to try to emulate.
Campaign for freedom
Soon the campaign for their freedom started to take shape in Chicago.
The campaign was already gaining momentum in Puerto Rico and in New York
City. When I started knocking on doors and talking with community
residents I was surprised to find out that some of them remembered both
cases — the 1950 attack on Blair House carried out by Griselio Torresola
and Oscar Collazo López and the 1954 one carried out by Lolita, Irving,
Andrés and Rafael — and that most of them thought they were no longer in
prison. They showed interest and concern for their plight and responded
positively to the campaign for their freedom. While working on their
campaign one of the moments I remember most was when Rev. José A. Torres
suggested we name our escuelita puertorriqueña Rafael Cancel Miranda.
And for a decade we were able to see the campaign gain more and more
support until Sept. 10, 1979, when four of our Five National Heroes came
home from prison.
During the 37 years that Rafael has been out of prison he has stood firm
on his patriotism with his profound love for Puerto Rico, for freedom
and justice, with his solidarity with the different factions of the
independence movement and with Cuba, the Sandinistas in Nicaragua, with
the FMLN in El Salvador, with the Palestinian struggle, with the
Zapatistas in Mexico et al. He is not only our national hero but also a
real universal citizen.
Only 23 months after the release of our Five National Heroes I was sent
to USP Leavenworth, the same prison where Oscar Collazo and Irving
Flores had been released. But from the moment I walked into that gulag I
knew I had the example of our Five National Heroes. And for over 35
years, especially Rafael has been my fountain of strength, hope and
courage.
In 1986 I was sent to USP Marion, from where Rafael had been released.
There were there several prisoners who knew him. They constantly asked
me about him and how he was doing. The love and respect they had for him
was immense and to this day I still run into prisoners who ask about
him. I share with them photos, books and articles I have of Rafael. And
when I have had the opportunity to talk with Rafael I tell them how he
is doing.
I have seen Rafael only twice, in courts while on trial. We have not had
many conversations. But there have been moments when I have heard him
being interviewed. There is one interview that stands strong in my mind,
it was by Radio Havana Cuba and he was accompanied by his beloved Angie.
And I could sense in the middle of the night how much love Rafael has
for our beloved homeland, but also for the struggle for a better and
more just world.
I also heard an interview made in Nicaragua and again his words were the
ones of the patriot who stands on his commitment to fight for freedom
and justice and of the universal citizen who will never stop struggling
for the independence and sovereignty of our beloved homeland, and
supporting every organization that needs his support.
He is my mentor, my brother and my compañero forever. Let’s keep his
example alive and let’s honor him every day by making his example our
legacy. Much love to all. Let’s dare to struggle and let’s dare to win.
En resistencia y lucha,
Oscar López Rivera
Terre Haute, Indiana
Related articles:
Free Oscar López! Independence for Puerto Rico!
Widespread support for López in Puerto Rico
Socialist Workers Party backs independence fight
Picket hits Washington's takeover of Puerto Rico's budget
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