BK/NY – Tuesday, May 26 – Letter-writing to Oscar López Rivera

WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinner
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday, May 26th, 2015
WHERE: The Base – 1302 Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn, New York 11221 (directions below)
NOTE: The Base is on the ground floor, is wheelchair accessible, and has a gender neutral toilet.
COST: Free
In 2014, at our last letter writing dinner for the Puerto Rican political prisoners, we wrote letters to Norberto González Claudio and Oscar López Rivera. Since then, Norberto was released from prison and returned to Puerto Rico leaving Oscar as the last remaining Puerto Rican political prisoner.

On May 30th to mark the anniversary of Oscar’s 34th year in prison, and to demand his immediate release, a broad and vocal contingent of community organizations, churches, labor groups and more are organizing a huge rally and march. So, in a lead up to this event, NYC ABC is focusing on Oscar for our upcoming political prisoner letter-writing dinner.

Oscar López Rivera, regarded as a member of the FALN and a champion in the fight for Puerto Rican independence, was convicted and sentenced to 55 years in federal prison for seditious conspiracy, use of force to commit robbery, interstate transportation of firearms, and conspiracy to transport explosives. In 1988 he was sentenced to an additional 15 years in prison for allegedly conspiring to escape from prison. In 1999, clemency was offered to Oscar and 13 others but he refused, citing that it was not offered to his two co-defendants (Carlos and Haydee Beltran Torres). Oscar has been denied parole but continues to speak out and write on salient topics.

We will be joined by Benjamin Ramos, of ProLibertad who will provide information about Oscar, recent events in Puerto Rico, and the struggle for a free and independent Puerto Rico.

We expect to see you on Tuesday. If you can’t make it, please take the time to write letters to Oscar:
Oscar López Rivera #87651-024
FCI Terre Haute
Post Office Box 33
Terre Haute, Indiana 47808

The deal, as always, is that you come bringing only yourself (and your friends and comrades), and we provide you with a delicious vegan meal, information about the prisoners as well as all of the letter-writing materials and prisoner-letter-writing info you could ever want to use in one evening. In return, you write a thoughtful letter to a political prisoner or prisoner of war of your choosing or, better yet, keep up a long-term correspondence. We’ll also provide some brief updates and pass around birthday cards for the PP/POWs whose birthdays fall in the next two weeks thanks to the PP/POW Birthday Calendar.

Directions:
Getting to The Base is simple:
From the M Train:
Central Avenue Stop: Walk east on Myrtle Avenue (away from Hart Street, toward Cedar Street). We’re about two blocks down on the south side of the street.

Knickerbocker Avenue Stop: Walk west on Myrtle Avenue (away from Harman Street, toward Himrod Street). We’re about three blocks down on the south side of the street.

From the L Train:
DeKalb Avenue Stop: Walk south on Stockholm Street (away from Wyckoff Avenue, toward Irving Avenue). We’re about four blocks down, at the intersection of Stockholm Street and Myrtle Avenue.

From the J Train:
Myrtle Avenue Stop: Transfer to the M train and follow the above directions.