Puerto Rican Prisoners of War are out of prison, but the imperialists attach strings and Torture technology advances in Wisconsin Eleven Puerto Rican prisoners of war were released from u.$. prisons in mid-September after accepting President Clinton's clemency offer. As MIM Notes reported when the offer was made, this release came with strings attached. MIM welcomes these revolutionaries back, but emphasizes that the conditions placed on their release illustrates continued u$ control over Puerto Rico. The struggle for Puerto Rican independence and freedom from imperialist control continues. The Puerto Rican heroes were required to renounce Amerikan-defined terrorism and will not be allowed to interact with people with a criminal record, including one another, in addition to being required to report regularly to a probation officer and follow other restrictive parole conditions. These Puerto Rican independentistas were convicted of seditious conspiracy, essentially charged with the crime of planning the overthrow of the u.$. government. Puerto Rico is a colony occupied by the United Snakes. Puerto Ricans cannot commit seditious conspiracy against another country. Their convictions just help to reveal the complete lack of justice in the Amerikan imperialist system. The Puerto Rican freedom fighters released from u.s. prisons are: Elizam Escobar, Ricardo Jimi'nez, Adolfo Matos, Dylcia Noemi Paga'n, Alicia Rod'iguez, Ida Luz Rodri'guez, Luis Rosa, Carmen Valent'n, Alberto Rodri'guez, Alejandrina Torres and Edwin Corte's. Two other prisoners rejected the clemency offer. Oscar Lopez, who has served 19 years in prison and must still serve another 25 years, spent ten years of his sentence in solitary confinement and was only offered clemency to reduce his remaining time to ten years. Antonio Camacho Negron, who also refused the clemency offer is scheduled to be released in 2002. Two of the released POWs are returning to Chicago and the other nine decided to return to Puerto Rico. Upon their return to Puerto Rican, they were received as heros of the people. Even political conservatives like the mayor of a small town in the south of Puerto Rico praised one released prisoner's actions as a fight to "defend his country."(1) Puerto Ricans have been Amerikan citizens since the U.$. forced commonwealth status on the island in 1917 by placing a willing puppet in power. But although they can be drafted into the army, Puerto Ricans have no vote in presidential elections and no representatives in congress. The U.$. has a tight grip on the economy of the island but the bones it has thrown the Puerto Rican people, including the right to receive welfare and other social programs, have bought some amount of allegiance from the majority of the Puerto Rican population which voted against independence from the U.$. Nonetheless, there is strong opposition to U.$. interference in Puerto Rican affairs. And in recent months a tremendous national outcry has been seen in ongoing protests against the U.$. military presence at the Puerto Rican island of Vieques. As the crowds greeted the returning patriots in San Juan, Puerto Rico, they responded with few comments, restricted by the conditions of their release. As one released POW, Adolfo Matos, said "My jail has now become a cell with invisible bars and the words I speak will be like those of a caged bird."(1) As Elizam Escobar pointed out, the parole conditions which prohibit him from associating with fellow convicts "are more proof of our colonial condition".(2) There has been a large and growing opposition to the imprisonment of the Puerto Rican POWs and this year alone activists submitted 75,000 signatures to the White House demanding their release.(1) After President Clinton offered clemency more than 100,000 people marched in San Juan to demand the prisoners unconditional release. At the airport, supporters gathered to greed the returning prisoners chanting "Colonialists! The Real Terrorists!"(1) The released Puerto Rican POWs recognize the reactionary nature of the u.s. government and understand that their release from behind the bars of u.s. prisons does not signal their freedom from persecution by the imperialists. They have planned to be accompanied by someone whenever they go outside, in case they are framed.(4) MIM agrees with this necessary caution and realistic approach to repression and the u.s. criminal injustice system. The condition that the independentistas renounce terrorism is laughable. The United Snakes of Imperialism commits genocide, imposes economic and military hegemony, and steals from the majority of the world's population. The Amerika-dominated imperialist system is responsible for the deaths of millions of people ranging from the Indigenous peoples slaughtered by early Amerikan settlers to children who have inadequate medical supplies in Iraq to victims of massacres committed by u.$.-armed fascists, and the list goes on. Yet, in Amerika, it is considered terrorism to fight for genuine self-determination and an end to the foreign annexation of Puerto Rico. Increasingly after the release of the revolutionaries, letters to the editor, radio shows and television commentaries have given extensive space to settler reactionaries who say that the Puerto Rican "terrorists" should not have been released. And politicians are tripping over themselves to condemn Clinton's action as a concession to terrorists; the House of Representatives voted 311 to 41 to condemn his action. The white nation chauvinist whiners completely ignore the fact that these Prisoners of War had already served longer than average sentences for the crimes for which they were convicted. If these closet-KKKers cannot reason based on that point, there is little chance of getting them to admit that U.$. domination of Puerto Rico is imperialist neo-colonization. Amnesty International revealed their pro-imperialist colors and spoke out about the clemency offer to explain why they will not give the Puerto Rican prisoners the status of "prisoner of conscience." ''To be a prisoner of conscience, you cannot commit violence, and you cannot advocate violence,'' said Amnesty International spokesman Sean Crowley. "This is a terrorist organization. These people don't qualify.''(3) MIM agrees with the supporters of the prisoners who pointed out that the colonialists are the real terrorists. The u.s. government commits and funds terrorism all over the world, only stepping forward to condemn violence when that violence is aimed at the imperialists or might hurt imperialist interests. Groups like Amnesty International occasionally take progressive stances on individual issues, like their recent condemnation of some aspects of the Amerikan criminal injustice system. But in general the position that pacifism is the only correct stance plays right into the hands of the imperialists. By pretending neutrality, Amnesty and other pacifists end up supporting the status quo by condemning the only viable fight against repression. MIM understands the necessity of armed struggle by the oppressed to end the tyranny of the imperialist minority. And we defend the right of oppressed peoples everywhere to engage in this revolutionary battle. But we also recognize the need to study history and carefully evaluate material conditions before waging armed struggle. Right now within u.s. borders the revolutionary forces are not strong enough relative to the imperialists to successfully begin armed struggle. Instead our battle is waged in the legal and educational arena. MIM does not agree with the actions of focoists who believe that a few sensational military battles will lead to a mass uprising and an overthrow of the Amerikan government. These actions reveal an incorrect analysis of Amerikan society and an underestimation of the strength of the government. The majority of people within u.s. borders, bought off with the superprofits of imperialism, will support the imperialists and call for greater militarization in the face of revolutionary focoist attacks. And the government will use such actions as an excuse to crack down on all activists. Without the support of the people, the revolutionary forces will not be able to defeat this counter attack from the government. As a Maoist revolutionary party based in a dialectical materialist analysis of history and current conditions, MIM is currently building a base of support within the belly of the imperialist beast and within the u.$.-occupied territory of Puerto Rico. We call on all activists to continue the fight for the release of all prisoners held for the crime of anti-imperialist organizing (or framed, like Mumia Abu Jamal, because of their revolutionary activism). At the same time, we call on activists to recognize that the nature of the criminal injustice system makes all prisoners political prisoners. This is illustrated by the imperialists denying oppressed nationals a trial by their peers, placing arrests, trials, and sentencing in the context of a chauvinist court system which is set up to serve the interests of the imperialist system. Join MIM in our fight to end the amerikan lockdown and ultimately to overthrow imperialism and replace this oppressive society with one that truly serves the interests of the majority of the worlds people! VOICE Torture technology advances in Wisconsin In September, more than 18,000 people from four states attended tours at an open house for Boscobel, Wisconsin's new SuperMax prison. Just as the torture techniques of the Illinois Tamms C-Max prison were modeled closely after other U.$. dungeons, this and other newer Super Maximum security prisons are replicating and expanding on the Tamms model. This inhumane project of torture is popular in the small town of Boscobel. The contract to build the 509-cell prison brought a $44 million boon to the region's budget.(1) Reactionary white Amerika supports the proliferation of such prisons because they simultaneously lock up the oppressed and provide jobs for rural whites. Amerika justifies the proliferation of SuperMaxes within the booming prison system as a way to allegedly control the worst criminals. Such a justification puts the issue of crime upside down. The worst criminals in Amerika are the imperialists because of their crimes against the peoples of oppressed nations throughout the world. SuperMaxes are certainly used as a method of control. Many politically active prisoners are housed in SuperMaxes as a means to deter prisoners from fighting for basic necessities and organizing against oppression. MIM does not see that all prisoners in SuperMaxes (or prisons in general) should be automatically freed, but we see that the current system is doing nothing to lead prisoners that have committed crimes to rehabilitate and contribute productively to society. Amerika's high-tech torture chambers The Pelican Bay State Prison Secure Housing Unit in far- Northern California is a model among SuperMax builders. Tamms C- Max in Illinois was built after planning visits to Pelican Bay. All SuperMax prisons pursue sensory deprivation tactics, though each puts on localized touches. A prisoner wrote in the Journal of Prisoners on Prisons: "colors when used, are muted, mostly just white, off-white and grey. ... Even though the region surrounding the prison uses local cable television or satellite broadcast, this prison points its dish at (of all places) Denver, Colorado. ... I suggest that the reason is to isolate us from local events."(2) Thirty-six u.$. states now have similar facilities and offer no pleasantries to cover the fact that QUOTE "we don't try to rehabilitate these guys," as an assistant to the warden at the Florence Federal Administrative Maximum prison put it.(3) The prison is designed to enforce conditions including complete isolation from other prisoners and from sunlight, a minimum of 23 hours per day in the cell, all concrete and steel furniture. Like most other prisons, the new supermax at Boscobel Wisconsin is a great distance the state's population center meaning visits with family, friends and attorneys will be difficult. In most control unit prisons, being confined without clothes in 50 degree cells, limited access to reading and writing materials, and rare visitor privileges are normal torture tactics for the pigs. Boscobel is unlikely to be any different. According to the State of Wisconsin's public relations department, "the SuperMax Prison will house the state's most violent inmates in the state's most secure facility." If this were true, it would make Wisconsin the only revolutionary authority in the united $nakes. The most violent prisoners in Wisconsin would have to be the governor and deputies running the prisons and police departments. Then, maybe we could also count on Wisconsin to seize and incarcerate chiefs of Amerikan military and political affairs when they traipse through on their campaign trails. The September issue of MIM Notes a Wisconsin prisoner reported on the preparations for the new SuperMax: "They are using all kinds of tricks to put us Africans and Hispanics on what they call 'Administrative Confinement.' The catch is that they say the ones on Administrative Confinement have a 75 to 90% chance of going to this super max. ... I believe the reason for this is to fill up the super max as soon as it opens. If it is filled immediately, they can justify to those fools in society the building of more prisons."(6) The pre-opening tour of the prison was designed to build support for an ever increasing police state. Visitors on the six-day "state fair" style tour of the prison believe these prisoners are getting more "privilege" than they deserve in the lower security facilities.(4). The tourists included more than 3,000 schoolchildren -- Amerika's newest inductees into the reactionary nation accustomed to dehumanization of oppressed nation members. The majority who spoke to newspapers about the prison approved either SuperMax repression or worse brutality against prisoners. A Milwaukee newspaper reported visitors saying of the SuperMax "it's a step in the right direction," and "they left their rights when they committed these crimes." A womyn said that executing the prisons prospective inmates would be a better use of tax money.(4) In the land of failure to do simple math and understand the function of prisons, many visitors to the SuperMax were shocked by the $32,000 it will cost to house a captive there for one year.(4) Including living expenses, it costs about a third of that cost, or $11,000, to send a student to the University of Wisconsin at Madison. But Wisconsin doesn't spend $32,000 a year to help prisoners. Billions a year are spent in Amerika first to repress the Black, Latino and Indigenous Nations, and second to subsidize rural white communities. MIM has long criticized the prison-building craze as part of a wild jobs-creation program for rural Amerikan labor aristocrats. In formerly farming or industrial towns, prisons bring construction and guard jobs -- turning a company town into a prison town. And in Boscobel Wisconsin, whites just got another boost while the pressure increases on the victims of Amerikan imperialism.