Hillary opposes Clinton plan, angers Hispanics

Hillary Clinton's public opposition to a controversial clemency offer by President Bill Clinton to 16 imprisoned members of a Puerto Rica...

Hillary Clinton8217;s public opposition to a controversial clemency offer by President Bill Clinton to 16 imprisoned members of a Puerto Rican terrorist group has been denounced by Hispanic political leaders in New York and has exposed the perils of having the President8217;s wife involved in a political campaign while her husband remains in the White House.

Clinton announced on August 11 that he was offering conditional clemency to the 16 members of the FALN 8212; a terrorist group which seeks independence of Puerto Rico from US colonial rule 8212; on condition that they renounce all future acts of violence. The 16 have been in prison in the United States for periods of up to 25 years following a campaign involving 130 separate bombing incidents between 1974 and 1983 aimed at US political and military targets, in which six people died and many others were injured. None of the 16 has ever been directly linked to the deaths and injuries.

Clinton offered to release 11 of the prisoners, to reduce the sentences of threeothers and to scrap fines against a further two, one of whom is already out of prison. The 16 have until Friday to accept or reject the offer. Clinton8217;s move was widely seen at the time as a ploy to boost Hillary8217;s popularity with Hispanic voters in New York state, where America8217;s First Lady is planning to run for the US senate next year. The state has the third-largest Hispanic population in the US and has been the principal centre of Puerto Rican immigration since the 8217;50s.

Although popular with Hispanic voters and welcomed by human rights campaigners, including former president Jimmy Carter and South Africa8217;s Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the offer triggered a fierce backlash among conservatives, law and order chiefs and the non-Hispanic New York political establishment, including the man Hillary hopes to succeed 8212; the Democratic Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan.

The mounting backlash led Hillary Clinton to issue a statement on Saturday opposing the clemency offer and attacking the 16 FALN members for notrenouncing violence. 8220;It8217;s been three weeks and their silence speaks volumes,8221; her statement said. She had 8220;no involvement in or prior knowledge of8221; the clemency offer, the statement added. 8220;She believes the offer of clemency should be withdrawn now,8221; her spokesman, Howard Wolfson, said. Just as Clinton8217;s original clemency move was seen as a gesture to Hispanic voters, so now Hillary8217;s denunciation is being seen as a move aimed at conservative voters, most of whom admire the law and order record of Hillary Clinton8217;s probable Republican opponent next year, the New York city Mayor, Rudolph Giuliani, who has condemned the White House proposal.

The angriest reaction came from Jose Serrano, a Democratic congressman from the Bronx, who is one of three New York Puerto Ricans in Congress. Serrano announced that he was withdrawing his support for her candidacy.