DATE=9/10/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=PUERTO RICAN PRISONERS RELEASE(L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-253716
BYLINE=ALISHA RYU
DATELINE=LOS ANGELES
CONTENT=

VOICE AT:

Intro:  Eleven jailed Puerto Rican militants granted 
clemency by President Clinton were released on Friday 
from separate federal prisons all over the country.   
Most are headed back to Puerto Rico where they are 
expected to be warmly welcomed.  V-O-A's Alisha Ryu 
has details from California where four of the 
prisoners were set free.

Text:  // Sound of people cheering -- Establish and 
Fade //     

Carmen Valentin smiled broadly as she stepped out of 
the federal penitentiary in Dublin, California (near 
San Francisco) and into the arms of a small group of 
supporters. Ms. Valentin, who was serving a 90-year 
sentence, announced that she and her family were 
returning to Puerto Rico immediately.  

            // First Valentin Act //

      We are very anxious to go to our country and 
      resume our lives and be with our dear families 
      as soon as possible.


            // End Act //

Ms.Valentin was the last of the four prisoners to be 
released from the Dublin facility and the only one 
willing to speak at length to reporters. The others, 
Alicia Rodriguez, her sister Ida Rodriguez and Dylcia 
Pagan, quickly drove away in waiting cars.

The women were part of a group of 16 eligible Puerto 
Rican nationalists who were granted a presidential 
pardon. Seven others were freed earlier in the day 
from federal prisons in Connecticut, Pennsylvania and 
Indiana.   

They had all been serving sentences up to 90 years for 
their participation in a radical, pro-independence 
group, known by its Spanish acronym F-A-L-N. The group 
was held responsible for some 130 bombings in the late 
1970s and early '80s that killed six people and 
wounded dozens in New York and Chicago. 

By accepting clemency, the prisoners have agreed to 
renounce the use of violence and not to associate with 
other F-A-L-N members.
  
But when Carmen Valentin was asked on Friday if she 
would continue to press for Puerto Rican independence 
from the United States, she unhesitatingly answered, 
"yes".

            // Second Valentin Act //

      Every person in the world knows Puerto Rico 
      continues to be a colony of the United States.  
      That colonial status has to change and we will 
      work until our last living day to make sure the 
      colonial status of Puerto Rico changes. That is 
      without a doubt.


            // End Act //

Although Ms Valentin and the other released prisoners 
were never convicted of being directly responsible for 
death or injuries, critics of the clemency offer say 
that kind of defiant talk is proof that the 
nationalists are not ready to reject future use of 
violence.

Since the offer was made on August 11th, members of U-
S Congress and law enforcement officials have 
criticized President Clinton for sending a signal of 
leniency toward terrorism. They also charge Mr.Clinton 
of trying to help his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, 
gain favor with New York's Puerto Rican voters in her 
bid for a Senate seat there.

On Thursday, the President denied politics played a 
role in his decision, saying he was influenced by 
petitions from hundreds of people, including former 
President Jimmy Carter and South African Archbishop 
Desmond Tutu. 

The Caribbean island of Puerto Rico has been a U-S 
protectorate since 1898, but few on the island say 
they want to break away.  In December of last year, 
only three percent of the population voted for 
independence. (Signed)


NEB/PT  
     



10-Sep-1999 20:41 PM LOC (11-Sep-1999 0041 UTC)
NNNN

Source: Voice of America
.