wfn.org | UCC/Church leaders call for release of political

["Barb Powell"<powellb@ucc.org>]

prisoners
July 23, 1998
Office of Communication
United Church of Christ
Laurie Bartels, press contact
(216) 736-2213
bartelsl@ucc.org
On the Web: <http://www.ucc.org>

A D V I S O R Y :
Church leaders to call for release of political prisoners

EDITORS AND PRODUCERS:  Religious leaders will
urge the U.S. government to release 15 Puerto Rican
political prisoners -- most of whom have already served
more than eighteen years in prison -- during an ecumenical
service at National City Christian Church, 5 Thomas
Circle in Washington.  The service, set for noon on
Saturday, July 25, will include:

 *  Episcopal Bishop Antonio Ramos 
 *  the Rev. Dr. Paul H. Sherry, President of the United
Church of Christ 
 *  the Rev. Jose A. Torres, UCC minister and husband of
Puerto Rican political prisoner Alejandrina Torres
 *  Bruderhof Community Elder J. Christoph Arnold 
 *  the Rev. Eliezer Valentín-Castanon, minister of the
United Methodist Church Office for Church in Society. 

After the service, a procession will lead to a 2 p.m. rally
at Lafayette Park to call attention to the centennial of the
U.S. invasion of Puerto Rico in 1898. In addition to calling
for the release of the prisoners, thousands of Puerto
Ricans and their supporters will affirm the Puerto Rican
nationality and press for a true process of
self-determination for the Puerto Rican people as a means
of ending 100 years of U.S. colonialism in the island. The
rally will feature a concert by Puerto Rican singer and
composer Roy Brown.

The religious service, planned by the Interfaith Prisoners of
Conscience Project, is being coordinated with a national
campaign known as Jornada Nacional Puerto Rico '98,
involving representatives from California, Texas,
Minnesota, New York, Orlando, Cleveland, Chicago,
Philadelphia and Boston. Also planned is an overnight vigil
by relatives and friends of the Puerto Rican political
prisoners, set to take place in front of the White House
from noon on Friday, July 24, to noon on Saturday, July
25. Activities are also planned in Guánica, Puerto Rico,
San Francisco, Denver and New York for that day.

For more information, contact C. Nozomi Ikuta of the
United Church of Christ and the Interfaith Prisoners of
Conscience Project at 216-736-3280 or 216-496-7244;
or J. Marcos Vilar of the Jornada Nacional Puerto Rico
'98 organizing committee at 773-278-0885.

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