ANSWER statement on harassment of Puerto Rican independistas

The ANSWER coalition released a statement on the continuing FBI harassment of Puerto Rico's independence movement. Five months after the elderly leader of the Macheteros was gunned down by US government agents, raids and arrests continue. Just last week, police arrested five people for painting the mural above. (Tip: pr.indymedia.org and leftspot.com)

FBI Out of Puerto Rico!
Stop Attacks on the Pro-Independence Movement!

The A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition denounces the FBI's most recent wave of repression against the pro-independence movement of Puerto Rico. On February 10, the FBI raided homes and at least one workplace of independence activists, seizing belongings and information, in clear violation of their civil and human rights. FBI agents attacked and pepper sprayed the crowd that gathered outside these sites, which included journalists. Just four days later, on February 14, the FBI followed up with a series of arrests of five people for painting a mural depicting the criminality of the FBI.

In the colonial context of Puerto Rico, these raids represent an intensification of repression against the movement that has the potential of weakening and undoing the 107 year-old political and military occupation imposed by the United States on the Puerto Rican people. These most recent attacks are consistent with the U.S. government's drive against the antiwar and social justice movements here in the United States, which they justify with the pretense of anti-terrorism.

On September 23, 2005 - the most widely recognized of Puerto Rico's national holidays, El Grito De Lares, a day which commemorates a famous battle that attempted to achieve the country's independence, the FBI assassinated Machetero leader Filiberto Ojeda Rios.

The White House and the Pentagon have used the so-called "war on terror" as the rationale to inflate the Pentagon budget and expand U.S. military bases all over the world, to legitimize its wars of aggression against Iraq and Afghanistan, and to threaten countries like Iran, Syria, North Korea Venezuela and Cuba.

The Puerto Rican people rose up in a unified political movement to condemn the assassination of Filiberto Ojeda Rios. We are convinced that the United States government's most recent attack will likewise strengthen the resolve of those fighting for independence.

The A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition calls upon all antiwar and progressive people to link arms with the Puerto Rican people's struggle for justice, to denounce the war on Iraq, Palestine, and Puerto Rico with the same proud, unified voice. The White House and the Pentagon certainly understand the interconnectedness of Iraq, Palestine, and Puerto Rico; they attack liberation struggles with the same unified expression of brutality.

Standing together, the people have the power to push back U.S. imperialism.

FBI Out of Puerto Rico! Filiberto Vive - La Lucha Sigue!

[ANSWER statement]

Comments

[MR]

Monthly Review has a round-up of what's beeing going on:

http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/susler140206.html

[knight gold]

FBI Out of Puerto Rico! Filiberto Vive - La Lucha Sigue!

[Live Answering Service]

I hope this case will be solved as soon as possible, we all know that justice prevails.

Ben