The

Pue

rto

Ric

anP

riso

ners

of

War

The

Pue

rto

Ric

anP

riso

ners

of

War

by J

uan

Man

uel D

elga

do,

His

tori

an

On

Apr

il 4

, 19

80,

the

repr

essi

ve

forc

es o

f th

e U

nite

d S

tate

sar

rest

ed e

leve

n P

uert

o R

ican

s in

the

sub

urb

of E

vans

ton,

Illi

nois

.T

hey

wer

e im

med

iate

ly a

ccus

ed

of m

embe

rshi

p in

the

Arm

edFo

rces

of

Pue

rto

Ric

an N

atio

nal

Lib

erat

ion

(FA

LN

). T

he a

rres

tsto

ok p

lace

at

4:00

in t

he a

fter

noon

and

by

10:0

0 th

at e

veni

ng, t

hepa

trio

ts h

ad d

ecla

red

them

selv

es "

pris

oner

s of

war

".T

he e

leve

n ar

rest

ees

wer

e C

arlo

s A

lber

to T

orre

s, L

uis

Ros

a,F

redd

ie M

ende

z, A

dolf

o M

atos

, Eli

zam

Esc

obar

, Ric

ardo

Jim

enez

,Id

a L

uz

Rod

rigu

ez,

Dyl

cia

Pag

an,

Car

men

V

alen

tin,

Alic

iaR

odri

guez

and

Hay

ded

Tor

res.

Aft

erw

ards

, a

mas

sive

cam

paig

n w

as c

arri

ed o

ut t

o pu

blic

lyde

noun

ce t

he p

sych

olog

ical

tor

ture

of

Fred

die

Men

dez.

Men

dez

was

sub

ject

to p

sych

olog

ical

tor

ture

and

sop

hist

icat

ed "

pres

sure

"an

d br

ainw

ashi

ng t

echn

ique

s un

til

he b

ecam

e a

mou

thpi

ece

ofth

e fe

dera

l aut

hori

ties

.T

he p

rinc

iple

d po

siti

on o

f tho

se a

rres

ted—

the

pris

oner

of

war

posi

tion

—in

trod

uced

a n

ew f

ront

of

stru

ggle

to

the i

nter

nati

onal

aren

a. T

his

new

fro

nt w

as p

ubli

cly

back

ed b

y or

gani

zati

ons

that

supp

ort

Pue

rto

Ric

o's

righ

t to

arm

ed r

evol

utio

n of a

n an

ti-i

mpe

ri-

alis

t an

d an

ti-c

olon

ial

natu

re. H

owev

er, c

onfr

onte

d w

ith

the

fact

that

som

e co

mba

tant

s ha

d be

en c

aptu

red,

the

crea

tion

of

orga

niza

-ti

ons

to d

efen

d th

e pr

ison

ers

of w

ar b

ecam

e ne

cess

ary.

Bec

ause

of

the

circ

umst

ance

s des

crib

ed b

efor

ehan

d, t

he N

a-ti

onal

Com

mit

tee

to F

ree

Pue

rto

Ric

an P

riso

ners

of

War

was

im-

med

iate

ly o

rgan

ized

. Who

is

a P

riso

ner

of W

ar?

From

the

int

erna

tion

al v

iew

poin

t, a

pris

oner

of

war

is

any

com

bata

nt o

r re

serv

e, t

hat

in a

ny p

hase

or

circ

umst

ance

of

war

,ei

ther

by

indi

vidu

al o

r co

llec

tive

surr

ende

r, o

r by

bei

ng c

aptu

red,

falls

int

o th

e en

emy'

s ha

nds.

In a

ncie

nt ti

mes

, pri

sone

rs o

f war

wer

e as

sass

inat

ed o

r use

d as

slav

es to

car

ry o

ut b

ack

brea

king

task

s. I

n m

any

tow

ns, t

his w

as th

eor

igin

of

slav

ery.

In th

e M

iddl

e Age

s, th

is w

ay o

f thi

nkin

g ch

ange

d fa

vora

bly

for

the

pris

oner

giv

en th

at a

t lea

st th

eore

tical

ly,

one

coul

d pe

rcie

ve—

wit

hin

the

cont

ext o

f Chr

istia

n id

eolo

gy—

that

it w

ould

be

a si

n to

depr

ive

a pr

ison

er o

f his

life

or c

onde

mn

him

to s

lave

ry. L

ater

, the

Chu

rch

adva

nced

the

prac

tice

of c

onsi

deri

ng c

omba

tant

s, a

nd n

otth

e ci

vili

an p

opul

atio

n, a

s pr

ison

ers.

Thi

s w

as a

ste

p fo

rwar

d.Pr

ogre

ss w

as m

ade

in th

is a

rea

afte

r th

e M

iddl

e A

ges,

and

aft

er th

eFr

ench

Rev

olut

ion,

bas

ic p

rinc

iple

s w

ere

esta

blis

hed

for

the

hu-

man

itar

ian

trea

tmen

t of p

riso

ners

of w

ar. T

he C

rim

ean

War

and

the

war

bet

wee

n Fr

ance

and

Sar

deni

a pr

ovok

ed a

reac

tion

favo

rabl

e to

the

reco

gniti

on o

f an

inte

rnat

iona

l acc

ord

whi

ch w

ould

bet

ter

the

cond

itio

ns o

f wou

nded

and

inf

irm

sol

dier

s. I

t is

from

tha

t per

spec

-ti

ve th

at th

e G

enev

a C

onve

ntio

n is

cel

ebra

ted

in 1

864.

The

inte

rna-

tiona

l tr

eaty

, sig

ned

on A

ugus

t 22

of th

at y

ear,

was

app

rove

d by

twel

ve E

urop

ean

coun

trie

s and

by

Pers

ia. I

t was

late

r rec

ogni

zed

byal

mos

t all

sove

reig

n co

untr

ies.

At t

he 1

899

Hag

ue P

eace

Con

fere

nce,

the

Gen

eva

Con

vent

ion

acco

rds

wer

e ra

tifie

d an

d ex

pand

ed t

o in

clud

e m

arit

ime

war

. In

1906

, a

new

Gen

eva

Con

fere

nce,

sig

ned

by 3

5 co

untr

ies,

sup

er-

sede

d th

e 18

64 a

ccor

ds. A

noth

er c

onfe

renc

e to

ok p

lace

in 1

929

and

was

lar

gely

res

pons

ible

for

ach

ievi

ng a

max

imum

of

resp

ect,

fair

and

hum

ane

trea

tmen

t for

all

pris

oner

s of

war

. The

se a

gree

men

tsw

ere

expa

nded

in

1949

, the

pro

duct

of

four

int

erna

tion

al G

enev

aC

onfe

renc

es. T

he a

gree

men

ts t

ook

effe

ct i

n 19

50.

As

we

can

see,

ther

e ex

ists

a la

rge

body

of i

nter

nati

onal

law

whi

ch p

rote

cts

pris

on-

ers

of w

ar. O

rigi

n of

the

Pu

erto

Ric

an P

riso

ners

of

War

The

his

tory

of

Pue

rto

Ric

o de

mon

stra

tes

that

for

alm

ost

two

cent

urie

s, d

isti

nct s

ecto

rs o

f Pue

rto

Ric

an so

ciet

y ha

ve b

een

at w

arag

ains

t th

e in

vade

rs w

ho h

eld

polit

ical

, m

ilita

ry a

nd e

cono

mic

pow

er. F

irst

aga

inst

Spa

in a

nd s

ince

189

8 ag

ains

t the

Uni

ted

Stat

es,

the

stat

e of

war

has

exi

sted

and

exi

sts b

ecau

se th

e ro

ots

of th

e w

arex

iste

d an

d ex

ist i

n co

ntem

pora

ry P

uert

o R

ico.

Spai

n m

ade

war

on

the

eman

cipa

tion

mov

emen

t—th

e Nat

ion-

alis

t mov

emen

t. S

pain

als

o m

ade

war

on

Cen

tral

and

Sou

th A

mer

-ic

a an

d th

e A

ntil

les,

incl

udin

g P

uert

o R

ico.

Spa

in m

ade

war

on

our

peop

le t

hrou

ghou

t th

e en

tire

19t

h ce

ntur

y. W

hile

the

Lib

erat

ing

Arm

y, l

ed b

y Si

mon

Bol

ivar

cel

ebra

ted

a vi

ctor

y in

Boy

aca

and

ente

red

Bog

ota

as th

e li

bera

tor o

f New

Gra

nada

, the

Spa

nish

Arm

yca

ptur

ed a

sec

ret s

ocie

ty t

hat r

ebel

led

in Y

auco

in 1

820.

Som

e to

wn

hist

oria

ns s

usta

in

that

the

arm

y us

ed f

irin

g sq

uads

to

kill

the

lead

ers

of t

he u

pris

ing

in t

he p

ubli

c pl

aza.

Whi

le M

cKin

ley

cele

-br

ated

his

impe

rial

ist

vict

ory,

the

arm

y w

as e

xecu

ting

rebe

ls c

ap-

ture

d in

the

tow

n of

Cia

les.

Isn

't it

war

to

exec

ute

by p

ubli

c fi

ring

squa

d th

ose

who

reb

el a

gain

st t

he c

olon

ial

Stat

e? T

hat

is e

xact

lyw

hat

Spai

n di

d w

ith

the

smal

l pr

oper

ty-o

wne

rs,

jour

neym

en,

slav

es,

arti

sans

, in

dent

ured

ser

vant

s an

d ot

her

sect

ors

that

pro

-te

sted

aga

inst

the

col

onia

l Sta

te d

urin

g th

e en

tire

19t

h ce

ntur

y.

War

Boo

ty o

f 18

98

Pue

rto

Ric

o w

as i

nvad

ed a

nd o

ccup

ied

by m

ilit

ary

forc

es i

n18

98. T

ry a

s th

ey m

ay t

o ju

stif

y m

arti

al l

aw i

n P

uert

o R

ico,

bou

r-ge

oise

juri

sts

and

loca

l co

loni

alis

ts m

ust

acce

pt t

hat

the

colo

nial

legi

slat

ion

impo

sed

on th

e P

uert

o R

ican

peo

ple

(For

aker

and

Jon

esA

cts,

EL

A, e

tc) i

s th

e re

sult

of a

n ac

t of

war

.T

he s

tate

of

war

con

tinu

ed f

or t

he d

urat

ion

of t

he m

ilit

ary

dict

ator

ship

, im

pose

d fr

om 1

898-

1900

. A

fter

all

mil

itar

y re

sist

ance

had

been

sile

nced

, eit

her b

y di

sarm

ing

the

peop

le o

r des

troy

ing

the

arm

ed f

ocos

tha

t exi

sted

, th

e U

S go

vern

men

t in

itia

ted

psyc

holo

gi-

cal w

arfa

re. T

his

kind

of w

arfa

re w

as i

niti

ated

dur

ing

the m

ilit

ary

inva

sion

and

was

con

tinu

ed b

y or

gani

zing

all

col

onia

l st

ruct

ures

who

se p

urpo

se w

as th

e sa

me—

polit

ical

opp

ress

ion

and

econ

omic

expl

oita

tion

.A

lmos

t in

stan

tly,

a p

ubli

c sc

hool

sys

tem

was

est

abli

shed

to

mai

ntai

n im

peri

alis

m a

nd c

olon

ial

ideo

logy

.T

he in

vade

rs i

nsti

lled

fear

by

mea

ns o

f ter

ror

and

prop

agat

edth

e m

yth

that

if th

e U

S w

ere

to ''

aban

don"

Pue

rto

Ric

o, th

e pe

ople

wou

ld d

ie o

f hu

nger

.It

is a

litt

le-k

now

n fa

ct t

hat t

his t

ype

of te

rror

was

the

act

ion

byge

nera

ls s

uch

as g

ener

al D

avis

, who

clo

sed

dow

n va

riou

s ne

wpa

-pe

rs,

amon

g th

em,

Com

bat,

The

Mac

hine

gun

and

The

Bom

b, a

s

wel

l as

jai

ling

jou

rnal

ists

or

repo

rter

s w

ho s

uppo

rted

in

depe

nd-

ence

for P

uert

o R

ico

or w

ere

crit

ical

of

the

dict

ator

ship

. Acc

ordi

ngto

thed

isti

ngui

shed

his

tori

an L

oida

Fig

uero

a, g

ener

al D

avis

thre

at-

ened

to

shoo

t se

vera

l re

port

ers

if t

hey

cont

inue

d to

spe

ak o

ut i

nfa

vor

of i

ndep

ende

nce.

The

pol

itic

al h

isto

ry o

f tha

t era

is

wel

l kno

wn.

The

US

mil

itar

yfo

rces

and

pol

ice

mai

ntai

ned

a st

ate

of w

ar a

gain

st a

ll li

bera

tion

mov

emen

ts.

The

Inde

pend

ence

Mov

emen

t's

Rep

ly

Con

fron

ted

by t

his

impe

rial

ist

aggr

essi

on a

nd b

y th

is s

tate

of

war

mai

ntai

ned

by th

e oc

cupy

ing

forc

es, t

he in

depe

nden

ce m

ove-

men

t re

plie

d w

ith

revo

luti

onar

y vi

olen

ce. S

ince

the

beg

inni

ng o

fth

e 19

th C

entu

ry,

the

inde

pend

ence

mov

emen

t ha

s us

ed r

evol

u-ti

onar

y vi

olen

ce.

The

lis

t of a

ctio

ns is

ext

ensi

ve, r

angi

ng f

rom

the

cons

pira

cy a

t Sa

n G

erm

an i

n 18

09 t

o th

e up

risi

ng o

f C

iale

s, S

anG

erm

an a

nd S

aban

a G

rand

e in

189

8. T

he S

pani

sh o

ccup

atio

n fo

rces

wer

e th

e ob

ject

of

mor

e th

an t

hirt

y co

nspi

raci

es.

Som

e, l

ike

the

Lar

es U

pris

ing,

the

riot

s an

d se

ditio

n of

189

7 an

d th

e Se

cret

Soc

ie-

ties

at t

he e

nd o

f th

e C

entu

ry, b

ecam

e po

pula

r re

bell

ions

. Ano

ther

impo

rtan

t act

of r

evol

utio

nary

vio

lenc

e w

as th

at c

arri

ed o

ut b

y th

esl

aves

. B

y 18

73,

over

tw

enty

sla

ve c

onsp

irac

ies

had

been

car

ried

out,

incl

udin

g so

me

of g

reat

pol

itic

al im

port

ance

suc

h as

the

Ponc

ean

d V

ega

Baj

a co

nspi

raci

es.

Sinc

e th

e be

ginn

ing

of th

e N

orth

Am

eric

an in

vasi

on, t

he in

de-

pend

ence

mov

emen

t has

resp

onde

d w

ith

revo

luti

onar

y vi

olen

ce to

each

agg

ress

ion.

In

1898

, th

ere

was

mil

itar

y re

sist

ance

, alb

eit

iso-

late

d, b

y gu

erri

lla

grou

ps.

Thi

s sp

onta

neou

s m

ovem

ent,

whi

lene

ithe

r of a

pop

ular

cha

ract

er o

r su

ppor

ted

by th

e in

sti t

u tio

naliz

edin

depe

nden

ce m

ovem

ent,

rem

ains

a te

stam

ent t

o th

e vo

liti

on a

ndco

mm

itm

ent t

o ou

r na

tion

al so

vere

ignt

y. I

t was

a h

isto

ric

resp

onse

,sy

mbo

lic b

ecau

se i

t cam

e at

a d

iffi

cult

mom

ent

in w

hich

cer

tain

sect

ors

of th

e in

depe

nden

ce m

ovem

ent b

elie

ved

that

the

inva

sion

was

a l

iber

atin

g pr

oces

s an

d ot

her

sect

ors

of P

uert

o R

ican

sep

ara-

tism

bel

ieve

d in

ann

exat

ion.

Som

e de

sire

d in

depe

nden

ce

from

Spai

n in

ord

er t

o be

ann

exed

by

the

US.

As

I hav

e po

inte

d ou

t sin

ce19

76, b

y th

e en

d of

the

19th

Cen

tury

, Pue

rto

Ric

an s

epar

atis

m w

asdi

vide

d in

to t

wo

tend

enci

es,

inde

pend

ence

-ori

ente

d se

para

tist

s

and

anne

xati

onis

t-or

ient

ed s

epar

atis

ts. T

hat d

ivis

ion,

am

ong

othe

rfa

ctor

s, a

ffec

ted

the

deve

lopm

ent o

f th

e in

depe

nden

ce m

ovem

ent

afte

r th

e N

orth

Am

eric

an in

vasi

on a

nd o

ccup

atio

n.A

fter

end

urin

g a

peri

od o

f civ

il st

rife

fro

m 1

900

to 1

930—

ther

est

ill s

urge

d a

seri

es o

f in

depe

nden

ce c

onsp

irac

ies

in 1

899

and

1900

—Pu

erto

Ric

an n

atio

nali

sm w

as o

rgan

ized

to

achi

eve

inde

-pe

nden

ce b

y us

ing

vari

ous

mea

ns o

f st

rugg

le,

incl

udin

g ar

med

stru

ggle

. T

he 1

930'

s w

ere

char

acte

rize

d by

im

peri

alis

t rep

ress

ion

and

at t

he s

ame

tim

e, b

y re

volu

tion

ary

viol

ence

. The

Nat

iona

list

s'vi

olen

ce w

as o

f a re

tali

ator

y na

ture

. In

1950

, the

jayu

ya u

pris

ing,

an

anti

-col

onia

l reb

elli

on to

ok p

lace

and

the

rev

erbe

rati

ons

of li

bera

t-in

g gu

npow

der

wer

e he

ard

at B

lair

Hou

se. T

his a

ct o

f her

oism

was

repe

ated

in 1

954,

thi

s ti

me

at th

e U

S C

ongr

ess.

Sev

eral

cla

ndes

tine

orga

niza

tion

s ha

ve e

nter

ed t

he f

ight

for

Pue

rto

Ric

an i

ndep

end-

ence

by

the

end

of th

e 19

60's.

Thi

s inc

lude

d th

e A

rmed

Com

ando

sof

L

iber

atio

n (C

AD

, th

e P

uer

to

Ric

an

Po

pu

lar

Arm

y(M

ache

tero

s), t

he A

rmed

For

ces o

f Pue

rto

Ric

an N

atio

nal L

iber

a-ti

on (

FAL

N) a

nd t

he A

rmed

For

ces

of P

opul

ar R

esis

tanc

e (F

AR

P)am

ong

othe

rs. A

ll en

joy

grea

t pre

stig

e, a

dmir

atio

n an

d re

cogn

itio

nw

ithi

n th

e in

depe

nden

ce m

ovem

ent.

Inte

rnat

iona

l L

aw

Arm

ed

stru

ggle

, m

ilit

ary

resi

stan

ce a

nd

wha

teve

r fo

rm o

fst

rugg

le t

hat

lead

s to

the

ind

epen

denc

e of

nat

ions

that

are

col

o-ni

zed,

inv

aded

and

occ

upie

d by

for

eign

mil

itar

y tr

oops

, is

reco

g-ni

zed

as a

rig

ht b

y th

e U

N. P

uert

o R

ico,

by

virt

ue o

f bei

ng a

col

onia

lst

ate

is s

uppo

rted

by

Inte

rnat

iona

l Law

.O

n O

ctob

er

12,

1970

, U

N r

esol

utio

n 26

21 a

ppro

ved

by t

heG

ener

al A

ssem

bly,

dec

lare

d co

loni

alis

m a

n in

tern

atio

nal

crim

e.Sa

id r

esol

utio

n re

affi

rmed

the

rig

ht o

f an

y in

terv

ened

, col

oniz

edna

tion

to u

tili

ze w

hate

ver f

orm

of s

trug

gle i

s ne

cess

ary

to o

btai

n it

sin

depe

nden

ce.

Inte

rnat

iona

l L

aw is

als

o ve

ry s

peci

fic

in re

fere

nce

to p

riso

ners

of w

ar.

Acc

ordi

ng t

o th

e G

enev

a C

onve

ntio

n, c

omba

tant

s w

hoha

ve d

ecla

red

them

selv

es p

riso

ners

of

war

mus

t be

reco

gniz

ed a

ssu

ch.

Tho

se a

rres

ted

in E

vans

ton

wer

e ar

med

and

acc

used

of

belo

ngin

g to

the

Arm

ed F

orce

s of P

uert

o R

ican

Nat

iona

l Lib

erti

on.

The

nat

ure

of th

e ar

rest

and

the

US

gove

rnm

ent's

ow

n in

dict

men

t

only

ser

ves

to r

eaff

irm

th

at t

he e

leve

n w

ere

com

bata

nts

in t

hest

rugg

le f

or P

uert

o R

ican

inde

pend

ence

at t

he t

ime

of th

eir

arre

sts.

Acc

ordi

ng t

o th

e G

enev

a T

reat

y, r

atif

ied

by

the

UN

in

1949

,ca

ptur

ed s

oldi

ers

are

pris

oner

s of

war

. The

Uni

ted

Sta

tes w

as o

neof

the

sig

nato

rs to

the

Gen

eva

Con

vent

ion.

UN

Res

olut

ion

2621

als

o po

ints

out

tha

t eac

h pr

ison

er o

f w

arm

ust b

e tr

eate

d in

acc

ord

wit

h th

e G

enev

a C

onve

ntio

n, w

hich

was

appr

oved

on

Janu

ary

12,1

949.

(UN

Tre

aty

seri

es, v

olum

e 24

,195

0-52

). A

long

wit

h th

is r

esol

utio

n, t

here

exi

sts

othe

rs t

hat

clea

rly

esta

blis

h th

at a

ll c

omba

tant

s w

ho s

trug

gle

for

the

inde

pend

ence

and

self

-det

erm

inat

ion

of c

olon

ized

peo

ples

mus

t be

con

side

red

pris

oner

s of

war

at

the

mom

ent

of t

heir

cap

ture

. In

add

itio

n,ca

ptur

ed c

omba

tant

s mus

t als

o be

trea

ted

acco

rdin

g to

the s

tipu

la-

tion

s of

the

Gen

eva

Con

vent

ion.

Exa

mpl

es of

thes

e re

solu

tion

s ar

eN

o. 2

852

of D

ecem

ber

20,1

971

and

reso

luti

on 3

101,

app

rove

d on

Dec

embe

r 12

,197

3.In

a m

eeti

ng o

n Ju

ly 8

,197

7, th

e D

iplo

mat

ic C

onfe

renc

e on

the

Rea

ffir

mat

ion

and

Dev

elop

men

t of

Int

erna

tion

al H

uman

Rig

hts

appl

icab

le to

Arm

ed C

onfl

ict a

ppro

ved

the

addi

tion

al p

roto

cols

of

the

Gen

eva

Con

vent

ion

of 1

949

(Nos

. 1 an

d 11

). A

t thi

s co

nfer

ence

,th

e G

enev

a C

onve

ntio

n w

as e

xten

ded

in o

rder

to

pro

tect

th

eco

mba

tant

s who

stru

ggle

aga

inst

col

onia

lism

and

fore

ign

inte

rven

-ti

on. T

hat i

s, s

aid

Con

fere

nce

conf

ers

pris

oner

of

war

sta

tus o

n al

lan

ti-c

olon

ial

com

bata

nts.

Bef

ore

this

, at

the

197

4 se

ssio

n of

the

Dip

lom

atic

Con

fere

nce,

the

Cub

an d

eleg

ate

stat

ed t

hat h

e vo

ted

infa

vor

of a

rtic

le 1

, par

agra

ph 4

, und

erst

andi

ng t

hat

the

text

of

the

reso

luti

on w

as n

ot l

imit

ed t

o m

ovem

ents

rec

ogni

zed

by t

he O

r-ga

niza

tion

of A

fric

an U

nity

and

The

Lea

gue

of A

rab

Stat

es, o

r th

ose

mov

emen

ts t

hat

wer

e pr

esen

t at

the

Con

fere

nce,

but

ext

ende

d to

othe

rs, i

nclu

ding

the

Pue

rto

Ric

an N

atio

nal L

iber

atio

n M

ovem

ent.

(Roz

as, "

The

Leg

al S

tatu

s of

Pri

sone

rs o

f War

", H

elsi

nki,

1976

, pg.

274,

take

n fr

om L

iber

tad,

Vol

. II,

No.

I, M

ay 1

980)

.A

rtic

le 4

5 of

the

add

itio

nal

prot

ocol

s su

stai

n th

e ri

ght o

f an

ypr

ison

er o

f war

to

be h

eard

by

a fe

dera

l cou

rt u

ntil

his

sta

tus c

an b

ede

cide

d by

the

app

ropr

iate

int

erna

tion

al tr

ibun

al.

The

jud

ges,

pros

ecut

ion,

ju

ry a

nd

all

thos

e w

ho p

arti

cipa

te i

n th

is i

lleg

alpr

oces

s ag

ains

t the

pri

sone

rs o

f war

, do

so re

pres

enti

ng th

e fo

reig

npo

wer

tha

t oc

cupi

es

the

colo

ny.

For

thi

s re

ason

, th

e pr

ison

ers

dem

and

the

righ

t to

be

take

n be

fore

an

ad-h

oc m

ilit

ary

trib

unal

orga

nize

d in

a n

eutr

al c

ount

ry. I

nter

nati

onal

law

pro

tect

s th

em.

Lam

enta

bly,

th

e in

tran

sige

nce

of

the

impe

rial

ist g

over

nmen

tw

eigh

s he

avil

y on

int

erna

tion

al l

aw, a

ltho

ugh

the

US

itsel

f w

as a

sign

ator

y to

som

e of

thes

e ve

ry tr

eati

es.

Pat

riot

s, N

ot T

erro

rist

s

The

US

wan

ts t

o so

w t

he i

dea

that

tho

se w

ho u

se a

rmed

revo

luti

on a

s an

org

aniz

ed m

eans

of

resi

stan

ce,

as a

nti-

colo

nial

prot

est,

as p

rolo

nged

peo

ple'

s w

ar, a

s the

seiz

ure

of p

ower

, as a

n ac

tof

sel

f-de

fens

e ag

ains

t agg

ress

ions

whi

ch h

ave

incl

uded

ass

assi

na-

tion

s of i

ndep

ende

nce

acti

vist

s or

any

othe

r m

eans

of s

trug

gle,

are

terr

oris

ts.

The

Pue

rto

Ric

an i

ndep

ende

nce

mov

emen

t an

d ot

her

adva

nced

sec

tors

of o

ur p

eopl

e do

not

see

it th

at w

ay. T

hey

view

the

POW

s as

the

y sh

ould

be

seen

—as

pat

riot

s. A

nd t

hat

is h

ow t

hey

have

bee

n vi

ewed

sin

ce t

he 1

9th

Cen

tury

. Gre

at h

isto

rica

l fig

ures

have

bee

n ch

arac

teri

zed

by t

heir

def

ense

of

our

pris

oner

s of

war

.Fr

om R

amon

Em

eter

io B

etan

ces a

nd E

ugen

io M

aria

de

Hos

tos

toJu

an A

nton

io C

orre

tjer

, the

def

ense

has

bee

n th

at th

ey a

re p

atri

ots

and

not

terr

oris

ts.

For

mor

e in

form

atio

n on

the

cam

paig

n fo

r ge

nera

l am

nest

yfo

r th

e P

uert

o R

ican

pri

sone

rs o

f va

r an

d po

liti

cal p

riso

ners

,co

ntac

t:

Nat

iona

l C

omm

ittee

to

Fre

e P

uert

o R

ican

Pri

sone

rs o

f W

ar a

nd P

oliti

cal

Pri

sone

rs

P.O

.Box

613

Dor

ches

ter,

MA

021

2461

7.29

6.45

12