Gutierrez criticizes Clinton for FALN clemency
Where Terrorists Belong
Taking A Soft Tack On Terrorism
White House Does Not Know If They Exist
La Casa Blanca no sabe si existen

Información enviada a Mario Rojas, Director de Tlahui. Puerto Rico, a 1 de Septiembre, 1999. update 9/1/99.

Gutierrez criticizes Clinton for FALN clemency
September 1, 1999
BY LYNN SWEET SUN-TIMES WASHINGTON BUREAU

WASHINGTON--After working for years to win a pardon for jailed Puerto Rican nationalists, Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) said Tuesday that President Clinton's offer of clemency was disappointing and the conditions unfair and excessive.

"These conditions are objectionable, and in the spirit of fairness and reconciliation, Mr. President, you should reconsider," said Gutierrez, a leader in the congressional drive for the prisoners' freedom.

"I would have hoped that we could have closed this chapter and moved on," said Gutierrez. "And in that sense I am disillusioned."

Clemency was offered to 11 prisoners eligible for parole. They were linked to a spree of guerrilla acts in Chicago and elsewhere.

Gutierrez's criticism came the same day a New York congressman denounced the clemency offer as wrong and called for congressional hearings.

Senate hearings are now also likely. On Tuesday, House Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Texas) called on Clinton to rescind his offer.

Gutierrez, along with two other House members of Puerto Rican descent, Rep. Nydia Velazquez and Rep. Jose Serrano, both New York Democrats, have pressed the White House for years for a pardon, not parole. Parole, which is part of the clemency offer, routinely involves restrictions on travel and personal associations.

Clinton made renunciation of violence the primary condition of release. Gutierrez said, "I have absolutely no problem with the prisoners renouncing violence."

Gutierrez said he should have pushed for a meeting with Clinton, but "we never did that," dealing instead with former White House counsel Charles Ruff and other aides. "We should have insisted."

While not satisfied with the offer, Gutierrez said: "I think the president knew he was going to be criticized. It would have been a lot easier for him to say and do nothing."

Jan Susler, the Chicago attorney of 15 of the prisoners, 11 offered conditional clemency by Clinton, said, "What I think [Clinton] might have done is to try to please everybody and ended up pleasing nobody." Gutierrez and Susler attended a rally in Puerto Rico last weekend protesting the conditional clemency.

Today, Susler leaves on a cross-country trip to visit all 15 prisoners.

"We regard this as an offer and we are seriously considering it," Susler said. "The prisoners want to respond to this in a collective way."

The FALN prisoners will hold a second telephone conference Thursday to discuss the deal, according to Jose E. Lopez, executive director of the Puerto Rican Cultural Center.

The reaction to Clinton's decision has spilled into the New York Senate race, where first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton is expected to make a Democratic bid.

Rep. Vito Fossella (R-N.Y.) denounced the clemency offer and called for congressional hearings. Anthony Senft, a New York detective who lost the sight in one eye during a terrorist bombing believed planned by the FALN but never connected to the prisoners, said Clinton made the offer to curry favor with New York's large Puerto Rican population to help his wife's Senate bid.

Contributing: Ana Mendieta

August 31, 1999
Where Terrorists Belong
By FRANK KEATING

KLAHOMA CITY -- On April 23, 1995, President Clinton came to Oklahoma to stand with us in the wake of the worst domestic terror bombing in American history. He called that act "a terrible sin." He told us justice must be done. And as we buried 168 friends and neighbors and cared for hundreds who were grievously wounded, we believed him. Today, one of the Oklahoma City bombers, Timothy McVeigh, is awaiting execution. His co-conspirator, Terry Nichols, faces life in prison with no possibility of parole. Those sentences are just.

Sadly, President Clinton is now considering offering clemency to 16 other terrorists, members of the Puerto Rican group F.A.L.N. This group's terror cells have been responsible for some 130 bombings in American cities. They killed at least six people and injured more than 70. The terrorists to whom he has offered clemency were convicted of crimes that directly supported bombers and killers, from conspiracy and transporting weapons to aiding in an armored car robbery -- acts very similar to those committed by Mr. Nichols in support of Mr. McVeigh. The F.A.L.N. terrorists deserve to serve the sentences imposed on them by American juries.

Some have suggested that the President's clemency offer may be political -- an effort to help his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, in her Senate campaign in New York, which has many voters of Hispanic descent.

This seems hard to believe. I remember that many American law enforcement officers endorsed the President in his 1996 re-election campaign, in part because they believed he had taken a firm stand against terrorism after the bombing in Oklahoma. Eight Federal law enforcement officers were among the dead.

Not surprisingly, our Federal law enforcement agencies have unanimously condemned the F.A.L.N. clemency proposal.

Richard Pastorella, a retired New York City police officer, agrees with them. Mr. Pastorella retired because he is blind -- the result of an F.A.L.N. bomb. He also said he still has "nightmares and cold sweats."

"It never leaves," he said. "It never goes away."

Lots of Oklahomans still have nightmares and cold sweats. Some of the victims limp on prosthetic limbs and face other lifelong physical limitations. The children and grandchildren of the dead will never benefit from the wisdom of a grandparent who was blown up on April 19, 1995, by the terrorists the President so rightly called "sinners."

Mr. Clinton has suggested that the 16 F.A.L.N. terrorists could simply promise not to be violent anymore in exchange for clemency, despite reports from officials at the Federal Bureau of Prisons that the prisoners' behavior and comments suggest they are likely to resume criminal and terrorist activities. I would hope that no American President could ever be that naïve. I'm sure Timothy McVeigh would now make a similar promise if there was a chance he could escape execution for his crimes. Promises should make no difference when someone has engaged in mass murder -- whether as the man who lit the fuse, like Timothy McVeigh, or as active supporters of terrorism. New York's Police Commissioner, Howard Safir, said this about Mr. Clinton's clemency proposal: "This type of action will encourage terrorism worldwide. We should never make deals with terrorists." Precisely. Or, as the President said in Oklahoma City on April 23, 1995, "Those who trouble their own house shall inherit the wind."

If he meant that, he'll reject clemency for the 16 F.A.L.N. terrorists. Leave the ones who are still incarcerated in jail where they belong.

Frank Keating, the Republican Governor of Oklahoma, is a former F.B.I. agent.

LA Times Op Ed
August 31, 1999

TAKING A SOFT TACK ON TERRORISM
by James P. Pinkerton

The Clinton administration has enmeshed itself in the politics of terrorism or, more precisely, the politics of forgiving and forgetting terrorism, from the US to Puerto Rico to Italy. The White House and the Justice Department have sent a clear signal; Even convicted violent terrorists who remain defiantly remorseless for their crimes can expect lenient treatment if they have friends in high or vote-rich places.

And so the key question isn't just what role, if any, prospective New York Senate candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton played in the department's sudden decision to appease powerful Puerto Rican-American politicians in New York by offering to release 16 Puero Rican terrorists. It's also whether the proposed release is linked to the actual release of an Italian national, who went to prison in part because she refused to testify against those same Puerto Ricans. At a time when, the president is trying to rally the forces of international antiterrorism, it seems strange that the US is unlocking the terrorists it has managed to catch at great cost.

On Aug. 11, the Justice Department offered clemency to 16 members of the Armed Forces of National Liberation (FALN in its Spanish acronym), a pro-Puerto Rican independence group that detonated 130 bombs, killing six, from 1974 to 1983 mostly in the New York area. The 16 were not convicted for any deaths, but revealingly, they have refused Justice's offer, since in doing so they would have to formally forswear "the use or threatened use of violence."

In the meantime, a backlash has blossomed. Police organizations denounced the clemency; the entire career federal law enforcement establishment is said to have opposed the decision. And three Big Apple cops blinded or maimed in FALN attacks have stepped forward to accuse the Clintons of pandering to whatever pro-terrorist Latino voting bloc might exist in New York.

So what did the Clintonians do after being accused of playing leftist ethnic politics? They upped the ante again. On Aug. 24, the Justice Department announced the release of Silvia Baraldini, an Italian-botn freelance radical who had been sentenced in 1983 to 43 years in prison for aiding "revolutionary" armed robberies in which, as the department itself noted, "two Brink's guards and two Nyack, N.Y., police officers were killed." Technically, Baraldini was remanded to the custody of the Italian government, which pledged to keep her incarcerated until 2008 - - in its notoriously lax and leaky prisons. But any pretense of punishment was undermined by the hero's welcome she received from the left-wing government of Prime Minister Massimo D'Alema.

Moreover, Baraldini is no more sorry than the FALN gang, who received sentences ranging from 35 to 90 years. "I have never repented for what I have done in the past," she told an Italian newspaper. So what's the connection other than a shared lack of regret? The Justice Department tried to bury the link in the same Aug. 24 announcement; "In a second subsequent trial she was convicted of serious criminal contempt and was sentenced to three additional years in prison."

Does that seem a little vague? Maybe that's because the department wants to obscure the documented relationship between Baraldini and the FALN; Baraldini and a co-defendant earned their contempt sentence for refusing to testify against the same Puerto Ricans. For its part, the FALN was vocal in its gratitude. About40 boisterous FALN supporters turned out for Baraldini's sentencing, reported United Pres International on April 19, 1984. "They shouted 'independence for Puerto Rico' and addressed the defendants as 'FALN freedom fighters,' the report added.

The administration wants to liberate 16 Puerto Rican terrorists but runs into trouble when the uncontrite criminals balk at the wrist-slapping terms, stretching out and boomeranging the story. Next, the administration turns loose an Italian terrorist. Why?

There are two plausible explanations: First, the administration's rhetoric about fighting terror, from Afghanistan to Oaklahoma City, is simply hollow. Second, the Clinton people want Baraldini out of U.S. custody, where she might yet be inveigled into telling what she knows about the FALN; any loose talk from her could turn a public relations contretemps into a political catastrophe.

It's a good thing that Osama bin Laden and Timothy McVeigh don't have more fans in New York.

WHITE HOUSE DOES NOT KNOW IF THEY EXIST
AUGUST 31, 1999 TUESDAY
El Nuevo Dia by Leonor Mulero

Washington. The Federal Buerau of Prisons and the White HOuse said yesterday that they were unaware of the existence of telefonic recordings in which the Puerto Rican Political Prisoners allegedly said they would return to violent struggle, if freed.

"We have no knowledge whatsoever of said recordings. That information did not originate here" said Scott Wolfson, spokesperson for the Federal Bureau of Prisons concerning information published by Newsweek.

Jeffrey Farrow, co-president of the Puerto Rican group in the White House, indicated that "the Department of Justice did not inform us of any recordings. We have no knowledge that they exist."

Newsweek wrote that the Bureau has telefonic recordings in which some of the prisoners allegedly say from the jail that "as soon as they are released, they would return to violence". Newsweek which did not identify it's government source (from the public order) said tht the Bureau strongly opposed the clemency to the 16 imprisoned independentists, 15 of them in prison.

Wolfson said that the Bureau records all telefonic conversations of every prisoner. If there is criminal content, the Bureau refers them to the Department of Justice, he added.

INCORRECT INFORMATION

Asked if the Bureau found criminal content in the conversations of the Boricua prisoners, Wolfson insisted that he had no knowledge of said recordings.

Woflson commented that the information published by Newsweek did not mention the date, the hour nor the person with whom each prisoner was speaking when the conversation was recorded.

If these recordings do not exist, Newsweek would not be the only US publication to have published incorrect information or out of context concerning the Puerto Rican Prisoners. The Wall Street Journal newspaper wrote in an editorial that pres. Bill Clinton had offered clemency to Victor Gerena, a supposed participant in the robbery of more than $7 million from Wells Fargo. But, Gerena is a 'fugitive' from justice.

True or false, this type of information puts the White House in a bad light. It is rumored that there is a growing concern in the White House because of the negative turn that the offer of clemency has taken.

The US press has published information from the Federa Bureau of Investigation that links the independentist prisoners with several deaths and injuries in attacks by diverse groups of the organization FUERZA ARMADAS DE LIBERACION NACIONAL [Armed Forces of National Liberation] (FALN in spanish). Only a few publications, such as the Washington Post have clarified that none of the prisoners is linked to these deaths or injuries.

The intense debate over the offer of clemency has grown because of the struggle between the first lady Hilary Rodham Clinton and the mayor of New York, Rudolph Guliani, to win the senatorial seat, that is being vacated by the New York democrat, Daniel P. Moynihan.

The Republicans accuse Clinton of seeking votes for his wife and are threatening with promoting a resolution in Congress to oppose freedom for the prisoners. The intense attack by the FBI to the clemency of the prisoners, occurs when that agency is under fire by new revelations about it's participation in the incident at Waco, Texas, which in 1983 ended with the death of 80 members of the davidian cult.

El Nuevo Día Interactivo - San Juan, Puerto Rico

La Casa Blanca no sabe si existen
martes, 31 de agosto de 1999
Por Leonor Mulero
El Nuevo Día

WASHINGTON - El Negociado de Prisiones y la Casa Blanca dijeron ayer desconocer la existencia de grabaciones telefónicas en las que presos políticos puertorriqueños hayan dicho que volverán a la lucha violenta de ser excarcelados.

"No tenemos conocimiento alguno de tales grabaciones. Esa información no salió de aquí", dijo Scott Wolfson, portavoz del Negociado de Prisiones, sobre información publicada en Newsweek.

Jeffrey Farrow, copresidente del Grupo de Puerto Rico en la Casa Blanca, señaló que "el Departamento de Justicia no nos informó de ninguna grabación. No tenemos conocimiento de que exista".

Newsweek escribió que el Negociado tiene grabaciones telefónicas en las que algunos de los prisioneros supuestamente dijeron en la cárcel que "tan pronto cuando salgan, regresarán a la violencia". Newsweek, que no identifica a su fuente del orden público, dijo que el Negociado se opuso fuertemente a la clemencia a 16 convictos independentistas, 15 de ellos presos.

Wolfson dijo que el Negociado graba todas las conversaciones telefónicas de todo prisionero. Si hay contenido delictivo, el Negociado las refiere al Departamento de Justicia, añadió.

Informaciones incorrectas

Preguntado si el Negociado encontró contenido delictivo en las conversaciones de los presos boricuas, Wolfson insistió en que no tiene conocimiento de tales grabaciones.

Wolfson comentó que la información publicada en Newsweek no menciona la fecha, la hora ni la persona con quien estarían hablando cada preso cuando se grabó la conversación.

De no existir tales grabaciones, Newsweek no sería la única publicación estadounidense que haya publicado información equivocada o fuera de contexto sobre los presos políticos puertorriqueños. El periódico The Wall Street Journal escribió en un editorial que el presidente Bill Clinton había ofrecido clemencia a Víctor Gerena, supuesto participante en el robo de más de $7 millones a la Wells Fargo. Pero Gerena es prófugo de la justicia.

Cierta o falsa, ese tipo de información pone en mala lupa a la Casa Blanca. Se comenta que en la Casa Blanca hay preocupación creciente por el giro negativo que ha tomado la oferta de clemencia.

La prensa estadounidense ha publicado datos del Negociado Federal de Investigaciones (FBI) que vinculan a estos presos independentistas con varias muertes y heri dos en atentados de diversos grupos de la organización Fuerzas de Liberación Nacional (FALN). Sólo algunas publicaciones, como The Washington Post, han aclarado que ninguno de estos presos está relacionado con esos muertos y heridos.

El intenso debate sobre la oferta de clemencia ha tomado auge por la lucha entre la primera dama Hillary Rodham Clinton y el alcalde de Nueva York, Rudolph Giuliani, por llevarse el asiento senatorial que deja el demócrata por Nueva York, Daniel P. Moynihan.

Los republicanos acusan a Clinton de buscar los votos para su esposa y amenazan con promover en el Congreso una resolución en contra de la excarcelación. El intenso ataque del FBI a la clemencia a los presos se produce cuando esa agencia esta bajo fuego por nuevas revelaciones sobre su participación en el incidente de Waco, Texas, que en 1993 concluyó con la muerte de 80 miembros del culto davidiano.

(c) 1999 El Nuevo Día - Derechos Reservados

From: ALM alm1998@aol.com
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