Showing posts with label Carlos Alberto Torres. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Carlos Alberto Torres. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Former P.P. Carlos Alberto Torres in PDX 10/14

Friday, October 14 · 7:00pm - 9:00pm

Location

Portland State University: Smith Memorial Building Room TBA* Please check
outside doors of Smith Meorial Building for room number!
Portland State University 1825 SW Broadway
Portland, OR

The NW Jericho Movement Presents

Puerto Rico’s Past and Presence: Conversations with Former Political
Prisoner Carlos Alberto Torres

Friday October 14th 2011 12:30-3:30 Washington State University- MMC Room
214, 14202 NE Salmon Creek Avenue, Vancouver, WA 98686

Friday October 14th 2011 7-9pm: Portland State University- Smith Memorial
Building, Room 294

Saturday October 15th 2011 2:00-4:00 PM: The Evergreen State College- Room
SEM 2 E-1105, 2700 Evergreen Parkway NW, Olympia, Washington 98505

These events are free, open to the public and disability affirmative!

Arrested April 4, 1980, Carlos Alberto Torres was convicted of seditious
conspiracy and related charges, along with ten others, and sentenced to 78
years in prison. Through out his imprisonment he experienced both physical
and mental torture at the hands of the United States prison system. Carlos
Alberto Torres was one of the longest held Puerto Rican Political
Prisoners in the history of Puerto Rico. Imprisoned for his belief in
Puerto Rican Independence, he was paroled July 26, 2010, after serving
more than 30 years in prison.

Co-sponsors (Portland) International Socialist Organization, Oregon
Jericho (Olympia) TESC Academic Programs: Venezuela, Zinn and the Art of
Protest, Power in American Society, Reinterpreting Lib-eration; the
Academic Deans; Sustainability and Justice Planning Unit, Students for a
Democratic Society (SDS), (National/Regional) National Boricua Human
Rights Network, NW Student Coalition

Contact: oregon.jericho@gmail.com

PLEASE SHARE WIDELY.

Wednesday, October 05, 2011

SF - Former Puerto Rican Political Prisoner Carlos Alberto Torres - Sunday, Oct 16

West Coast Speaking Tour - first time after 30 years in federal prisons

CARLOS ALBERTO TORRES calling for the freedom of Puerto Rican
Political Prisoner Oscar Lopez Rivera

Culture/Music Rico Pabon and Las Bomberas de la Bahia- Afro Puerto Rican Bomba

WHEN: Sunday, October 16, 2011, 4 PM
WHERE: Mission Cultural Center (MCC)
2868 Mission Street, San Francisco (at 25th
Street/ 24th St BART)

$10-50 (no one turned away for lack of funds)

In 1980 and 1981 15 Puerto Ricans were arrested and charged with
seditious conspiracy -fighting for the independence of Puerto
Rico. In 1999, after many years of struggle both here and in Puerto Rico,
President Clinton commuted the sentences of most of those who
remained incarcerated. In 2010 Carlos Alberto Torres was granted
parole after serving 30 years. Oscar Lopez-Rivera remains in prison
having been recently denied parole. It is time for him to come home
and be with his family and community!

for more information or to endorse: freeprpp2011@gmail.com

SPONSORS: Bay Area Boricuas & National Boricua Human Rights Network

West Coast Speaking Tour - first time after 30 years in federal
prisons CARLOS ALBERTO TORRES calling for the freedom of Puerto Rican
Political Prisoner Oscar Lopez Rivera

Culture/Music Rico Pabon and Las Bomberas de la Bahia- Afro Puerto Rican Bomba

WHEN: Sunday, October 16, 2011, 4 PM
WHERE: Mission Cultural Center (MCC)
2868 Mission Street, San Francisco (at 25th
Street/24th St BART)

$10-50(no one turned away for lack of funds)

In 1980 and 1981 15 Puerto Ricans were arrested and charged with
seditious conspiracy -fighting for the independence of Puerto
Rico. In 1999, after many years of struggle both here and in Puerto
Rico, President Clinton commuted the sentences of most of those who
remained incarcerated. In 2010 Carlos Alberto Torres was granted
parole after serving 30 years. Oscar Lopez-Rivera remains in prison
having been recently denied parole.
It is time for him to come home and be with his family and community!

for more information or to
endorse: <mailto:freeprpp2011@gmail.com>freeprpp2011@gmail.com

SPONSORS: Bay Area Boricuas & National Boricua Human Rights Network

Friday, September 23, 2011

Former Puerto Rican Political Prisoner Carlos Alberto Torres Speaks - SF Sun, October 16

West Coast Speaking Tour - first time after 30 years in federal prisons

CARLOS ALBERTO TORRES calling for the freedom of Puerto
Rican Political Prisoner Oscar Lopez Rivera

Culture/Music Rico Pabon and others

Sunday, October 16, 2011, 4 PM
Mission Cultural Center (MCC)
2868 Mission Street, San Francisco (at 25th Street/ 24th St BART)

$10-50 (no one turned away for lack of funds)

In 1980 and 1981 15 Puerto Ricans were arrested and charged with
seditious conspiracy -fighting for the independence of Puerto Rico.
In 1999, after many years of struggle both here and in Puerto Rico,
President Clinton commuted the sentences of most of those who remained
incarcerated. In 2010 Carlos Alberto Torres was granted parole after
serving 30 years. Oscar Lopez-Rivera remains in prison having been
recently denied parole. It is time for him to come home and be with
his family and community!

for more information or to endorse: freeprpp2011@gmail.com

SPONSORS: Bay Area Boricuas & National Boricua Human Rights Network

Monday, May 30, 2011

Carlos Alberto talks about Oscar López Rivera

By Cándida Cotto Claridad Puerto Rico
Published: Tuesday May 24, 2011

On Monday, May 9, 2011, the United States Parole
Commission denied parole to Puerto Rican
political prisoner Oscar López Rivera, who on May
29 will mark 30 years of a cruel imprisonment.

Already here in the Homeland, ex political
prisoner Carlos Alberto Torres is about to
complete a year since his release from prison.
Comrades from the same struggle, both from
Chicago, the experience of their years in prison
and facing the procedure before the Parole
Commission, make Carlos Alberto and Oscar López
Rivera two sides of the same coin.

Claridad talked with Carlos Alberto about his
reaction to López Rivera’s procedure before the
Parole Commission.

Imprisonment
How do you face prison? is the question posed to
Carlos Alberto in view of the fact that Oscar
López is still in prison after 30 years. In a
low, serene tone, he described for us: "When
you're in prison, you're alone. Although there
are compañeros, you are alone because the
government made sure, with the exception of the
women, that all of us were going to be in
different prisons. They didn't want us together,
in part because their strategy was "we're going
to see how we can break this individual, change
his opinions, or extinguish his fervor." They put
you in a kind of isolation, not only separation
throughout the United States, but that isolation
... you feel it when you arrive at a place,
"wow," what am I doing in Alabama? Or what am I
doing in California? At the end of the day,
you're alone, you're surrounded by other people,
but they’re not your compañeros, they’re not your
family, they're people you don't know, maybe
people you are suspicious of. You make friends,
and even though there is support, a lot of
affection, it's always with certain caution ... separation."

The support you receive from the outside is what
makes the difference. "That strengthens you, but
at the end of the day you have to know who you
are, why you're there, and you have to have a
strong sense of yourself as a person who
struggles, and not allow the conditions to separate
you from that.

"With Oscar, I'm sure, knowing him, that he is a
person of verticality, his character, his
principles, he is one of the most generous people
you will ever know in your life. He is that type
of man who thinks of others, of the collective,
before thinking of himself. He's an individual we
all admire as a natural leader, a real man. His
conduct confirms it and affirms it every day. A
man of struggle, a man of conscience, brilliant,
of incredible intelligence."

The last time Carlos Alberto saw Oscar was April
4, 1980, the day he was arrested with the group
of then-members of the Armed Forces of National
Liberation (FALN). Oscar was arrested the
following year, on May 29, 1981, and has been in
prison ever since. "When I knew him, I already
had a mustache," recalls the current resident of Camuy.

He knew Oscar at the beginning of the "70's, when
he was at the University of Illinois. "He noticed
me because I was a young kid. He went to speak to
my parents about issues in the community. I was
already interested, had a social conscience. I
grew up thinking it was natural to integrate into
community work. That's the context in which I
started to work with Oscar. His influence over me
was total. I immediately recognized that he was a
person of conviction, commitment, with energy. He
reminded me and made me think a lot about my
concept of don Pedro (Albizu Campos) who put the
struggle and the people first. That's exactly how
Oscar was, putting the struggle and the people before
his own comfort."

Like a cruel game, the conditions imposed on the
Puerto Rican political prisoners didn't allow
Carlos Alberto to stay in contact with his eleven
compañeros freed in 1999, nor with Oscar during
the five years they were on conditions. The
compañeros, now free of all conditions, can
communicate among themselves and with Oscar.

In light of your experience, did you ever doubt
that Oscar López’ case would turn out the way it did?

"In Oscar's case, we were all hopeful. I was
really almost convinced because my experience in
prison taught me that if it's six in the morning
and time for sunrise, that's what will happen,
but also when you're in prison you always have to
have reservations, because anything can happen.

As for his reasons to be cautiously optimistic,
he commented that he was the only one who in 1999
wasn't offered a sentence commutation; Oscar was
offered release if he served 10 more years, which
would have been in 2009. "We already know that he
took a principled position, even though he told
everyone else to accept. I figured out that the
quarrel was with me. When I went for parole, they
treated me like any other social prisoner. There
was no extraordinary procedure. They conducted
themselves "well." I expected something like that
would happen with Oscar. I said, "well, obviously
there isn't such a strong resistance. The man
will have served 30 years." Under the law, any
person sentenced to more than 45 years, who has
good conduct, who hasn't been a risk to society,
has the right to parole. That was the criteria
they used with me, and it's the law."

He immediately questioned what it means to be, or
to not be, a risk to society. "In my case, from
what I know about how hearings go, I'd say with
few exceptions they treated me like they treat
everyone else, which is why I felt hopeful.
Obviously I assumed that they would see that
Oscar had served 30 years, there was no reason to
treat Oscar differently. I was in prison for 30
years. I've talked with hundreds if not thousands
of men who have been to parole hearings over the
years. I had more or less an idea how they were.
I've never heard of a case like Oscar's, where
they take you chain up. It was an Inquisition."

From a political perspective, he pointed out
that it wasn't anticipated that the right wing in
the United States would move in that way. He
called attention to the fact that one of those
who opposed the confirmation of the current U.S.
Attorney General Eric Holder, said during Oscar's
hearing that if they'd known that he " Torres "
were going to the Parole Commission, they would
have reacted in the same way.

"The Commission is an agency of the United States
government. They aren't sympathetic with us; they
are sympathetic with the system. There was truly
a lot of work done to demonstrate to the Parole
Commission that there was support among the
people, that there was support in the Puerto
Rican community from different interest groups
who supported Oscar's release. At the moment of
truth, they took sides. I think that the work
that was done this time was remarkable. The
difference was that now there was resistance from
the right, and that agency is going to respond to
the United States right before it will respond to
the Puerto Rican community or to the Puerto Rican
people in general," he reflected.

Like what happens in hardball, this hasn't ended,
which is why Carlos Alberto insisted on how very
important it is that Oscar continue receiving
letters from friends, students, receiving calls,
publications, postcards, information about the
various activities. "That fills you up. You get
your perspective back. If you were feeling a
little depressed, in those moments you see
Claridad, information about activities in New
York, Philadelphia, Chicago, about the Grito de
Lares ... you say, "I'm ok; they're working on
it; we are struggling; they haven't forgotten
about me." That's what we have to do, to let the
government know that even though they made that
decision, we're going to keep struggling, we're
going to keep organizing, we're going to keep
inviting people who haven't participated to
participate, that we're going to be with this
compañero until he is release, period.”

Habla Carlos Alberto sobre Oscar López Rivera

Publicado: martes, 24 de mayo de 2011

El lunes 9 de mayo de 2011 la Junta de Libertad Bajo Palabra (JLBP) del Gobierno de Estados Unidos le negó una salida condicionada al prisionero político puertorriqueño Oscar López Rivera, quien el 29 de mayo cumple 30 años de un cruel encarcelamiento.

Aquí ya en la Patria, el ex prisionero político Carlos Alberto Torres está a punto de cumplir un año fuera de prisión. Camaradas de una misma lucha, vecinos de Chicago, la experiencia de años de prisión y enfrentarse al proceso ante la JLBP, convierten a Carlos Alberto y a Oscar López Rivera en caras de una misma moneda.
Claridad conversó con Carlos Alberto sobre su reacción al proceso de López Rivera ante la JLBP.

El encierro
¿Cómo enfrentar la prisión? es la pregunta a Carlos Alberto ante el hecho de que Oscar López continúa encarcelado ya por 30 años. En tono bajo y sereno nos describió: “Cuando uno está preso tú estás solo. Aunque hay compañeros, tú estás solo porque el gobierno se aseguró, con la excepción de las mujeres, de que todos nosotros íbamos a estar en prisiones diferentes. No nos querían juntos, en parte porque la estrategia de ellos es ‘vamos a ver cómo nosotros rompemos a este individuo, cambiar su opinión o apagarle el fervor’. Te ponen en una especie de aislamiento, no es solamente la separación a través de todo Estados Unidos, sino ese aislamiento… tú lo sientes cuando llegas a un sitio, ‘wao’, ¿qué yo hago en Alabama, o qué yo hago en California?’. En fin de cuentas, tú estás solo, estás rodeado de otras personas pero no son tus compañeros, no son tus familiares, es gente que no conoces, quizás gente de la que tú sospechas. Haces amistades y aunque hay apoyo, mucho afecto, siempre es con cierta cautela… separación”.
Es el apoyo que se recibe de afuera el que hace la diferencia. “Eso te fortalece, pero al fin de cuentas tú tienes que saber quién eres, por qué estás ahí y tienes que tener un sentido fuerte de ti mismo como un luchador y no dejar que las condiciones te separen de eso.

“Con Oscar yo confío, conociéndolo, que es una persona de verticalidad, su carácter, sus principios, es una de las personas más generosas que puedas conocer en tu vida. Es de ese tipo de hombre que piensa en los demás, en el colectivo, antes de en sí mismo. Es un individuo que todos nosotros admiramos como un líder natural, hecho y derecho, su comportamiento lo comprueba y lo afirma todos los días. Luchador, hombre de conciencia, brillante, una inteligencia increíble”.

La última vez que Carlos Alberto vio a Oscar fue el 4 de abril de 1980, el día que le arrestaron junto al grupo en aquellos momentos miembros de las Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional (FALN). A Oscar lo arrestaron al año siguiente, 29 de mayo de 1981, desde ese momento se encuentra en prisión. “Cuando lo conocí ya tenía bigote”, recordó el hoy camuyano.

Lo conoció a comienzos de los años ‘70 del siglo pasado, cuando estaba en la Universidad de Illinois. “Él se fijó en mí porque yo era un chamaquito joven. Fue a hablar con mis viejos sobre cosas de la comunidad. Ya yo tenía un interés, una conciencia social, yo me crié pensando que era natural integrarme al trabajo comunitario. En ese contexto comencé a trabajar con Oscar. Su influencia en mí es total. Yo lo reconocí de inmediato como una persona de convicción, compromiso, con energía. Me recordaba y hacía pensar mucho en mi concepto sobre don Pedro (Albizu Campos) que ponía la lucha y el pueblo primero. Así mismo fue Oscar, que pone la lucha y el pueblo antes que su comodidad”.

Como un juego burlón, las condiciones de la excarcelación de los prisioneros políticos puertorriqueños no permiten que Carlos Alberto pueda mantener comunicación con sus once compañeros liberados en el 1999, ni con Oscar, durante los cinco años de su excarcelación condicionada. Los compañeros hoy libres de toda atadura con la ley del imperio pueden comunicarse entre sí y con Oscar.

A la luz de tu experiencia, ¿dudaste alguna vez de que los resultados en el caso de Oscar López fueran los ya conocidos?

“En el caso de Oscar todos estábamos esperanzados. Yo estaba casi, casi convencido porque la experiencia en la cárcel me ha enseñado que si son las seis de la mañana y el sol va a salir eso va a ser así, pero también cuando estás preso siempre hay que tener reservas, cualquier cosa puede suceder”.

Sobre sus razones para un optimismo reservado comentó que a él fue al único que en el 1999 no le dieron el indulto, a Oscar le ofrecieron salir tras extinguir 10 años más, lo que hubiera sido en 2009. “Sabemos que tomó una posición de principios, aunque él le dijo a todo el mundo que aceptaran. Yo analicé que la riña obvio era conmigo. Cuando fui al “parole” me trataron como cualquier otro preso común, no hubo ningún proceso ordinario, se portaron “bien”, yo esperaba algo como lo que le hicieron a Oscar. Dije ‘pues obviamente no hay una resistencia tan fuerte, el hombre va a cumplir sus 30 años’. Bajo la ley, cualquier persona condenada a más de 45 años, con buena conducta, que no sea presentado como un peligro a la sociedad, tiene derecho a la libertad condicionada. Ese fue el criterio que usaron conmigo y es ley”.

Acto seguido cuestionó lo que significa ser, o no ser, un riesgo a la sociedad. “En mi caso, de lo que yo sé como son las vistas, diría con poca excepción que me trataron como tratan a cualquiera, por lo que me sentía esperanzado. Obviamente yo asumí que miraban que ya Oscar cumplió 30 años, no hay razón por qué tratar a Oscar diferente. Yo estuve 30 años, he hablado con cientos, sino miles de hombres que han pasao por esas audiencias a través de los años, tenía una idea más o menos cómo son, nunca había escuchado una como el caso de Oscar, donde lo llevan esposado, fue una Inquisición”.

En el aspecto político, apuntó que no se pensó que la derecha en Estados Unidos se iba a mover de esa manera y trajo a la atención que una persona que se opuso a la confirmación del actual secretario de Justicia de EUA, Erick Holder, dijo durante la audiencia de Oscar que si ellos hubiesen sabido que él – Torres- había acudido a la JLBP hubiesen reaccionado igual.

“La Junta es una agencia del gobierno de Estados Unidos. Ellos no son afines con nosotros, ellos son afines con el sistema. De veras que se hizo un trabajo fuerte para demostrarle al “parole” que había apoyo en el pueblo, que había apoyo en la comunidad puertorriqueña de diferentes grupos de interés, que apoyaban la libertad de Oscar. En el momento de la verdad ellos tomaron su parte. Creo que el trabajo que se hizo esta vez estaba al palo o más. La diferencia es que ahora había resistencia de la derecha y esa agencia va a responder a la derecha de Estados Unidos antes que a la comunidad puertorriqueña, al pueblo puertorriqueño en general”, reflexionó.

Como sucede en la pelota dura, esto no se ha acabado, por lo que Carlos Alberto insistió en que es sumamente importante que Oscar continúe recibiendo cartas de amigos, estudiantes, recibir llamadas, publicaciones, postales, información sobre las diversas actividades. “Eso te llena. Tú coges perspectiva otra vez. Si estabas sintiéndote un poco deprimido, en esos momentos ves Claridad, información sobre actividades en Nueva York, Filadelfia, Chicago, sobre el Grito de Lares… tú dices ‘estoy bien, se está trabajando, estamos luchando, no se han olvidado de mí’. Eso es lo que tenemos que hacer, dejarle saber al gobierno que aunque ellos tomaron esa decisión nosotros vamos a seguir luchando, vamos a seguir organizando, vamos a seguir a invitar a otras personas que no han participado a que participen, que vamos a estar con ese compañero hasta que salga, punto”.


Comentarios a: ccotto@claridadpuertorico.com