Peltier Defense Committee condemns Ojeda assassination

Leonard Peltier

This Sept. 29 statement, “Incident at Oglala Repeated in Hormigueros, Puerto Rico—Filiberto Ojeda Ríos: He crossed over to the Spirit World like a warrior,” is posted on leonardpeltier.org, where you can find out more information on how to get involved in the struggle to free political prisoner Leonard Peltier of the American Indian Movement.

The Leonard Peltier Defense Com mittee strongly condemns the assassination of the Puerto Rican independentista movement leader Filiberto Ojeda Ríos by the FBI and urges its supporters to understand the parallels with our history and extend their solidarity to the Puerto Rican freedom fighters.

On Friday, Sept. 23, 2005, a day in which Puerto Rico celebrated the 137th anniversary of its [first declaration of] independence from Spain, a day when the people renew their struggle against colonialism in all its forms, the U.S. government sent its forces to strike right at the heart of the Boricua people.

As hundreds gathered to hear the recorded words of Filiberto Ojeda Ríos exhorting all to unite for truth, justice and a better life for the hard-working people of that beautiful island, the FBI executed a paramilitary operation, surrounded Ojeda Ríos’s house and started shooting hundreds of rounds, just like they did in the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation on June 26, 1975 (one day after the anniversary of the Battle of Greasy Grass, when the Lakota nation was victorious over [General George] Custer and the invader army).

He tried to defend himself and his family, just as our beloved warrior Leonard Peltier did, and was murdered by an FBI sniper, just like our own Joe Stuntz. The colonial forces then blocked access to ambulances and anybody who could help so that Filiberto would bleed to death. There was no need to kill this man. Even in the colonial courts he had been absolved from any wrongdoing and had only been accused of robbery. He was considered a fugitive because he removed the electronic anklet used to track him and lived in hiding tending his garden in the mountains.

The government’s real reason for targeting him was that he wanted to lead the people towards freedom from colonialism and injustice. We need to understand that this is the reality and it makes all of us who struggle for justice potential targets. Just as Don Filiberto called for the unity of the Puerto Rican independentista movement, we must also unite through the threads of our collective history of struggle.

We do not need to use our imagination to see that this is a long-standing modus operandi of the U.S. government and its leading paramilitary agency. The only difference is that today this terror is wanton and global. When will the so-called American people wake up from the stupor of their indulgences and comfort to put a stop to this? They are the only ones that can rein in the monster that goes on killing and destroying in their name. For the sake of the planet, our mother Earth, the international community also has the responsibility to face the real criminals and let them know their behavior is intolerable and must cease immediately. After centuries of the same practices, our colonial oppressors should wise up and learn they do not work. Our thirst for justice is not placated through more injustice, the murder and imprisonment of our leaders, this only deepens it. Those of us who are left are guided by those brave spirits and so inspired. If they gave so much, how can we be in peace doing nothing? Their call, from the Spirit World and from behind the iron bars and stun lethal fences, is irrepressible.

Wanbli Watakpe
Director, Leonard Peltier Defense Committee