[News] Special UN Commitee on Decolonization Calls on the US to Expedite Puerto Rico’s Self-Determination Process
Anti-Imperialist News
news at freedomarchives.org
Fri Sep 29 16:26:20 EDT 2017
https://www.un.org/press/en/2017/gacol3312.doc.htm
Special Commitee Approves Text Calling on United States to Expedite
Puerto Rico’s Self-Determination Process, Welcomes Release of
Long-Time Independence Activist
61-78 minutes
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Special Committee on Decolonization today sent a draft resolution to
the General Assembly calling on the Government of the United States to
assume its responsibility to expedite a process that would allow the
people of the island to fully exercise their inalienable right to
self-determination and independence.
Approving the text (document A/AC.109/2017/L.12) without a vote, the
Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of
the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries
and Peoples called on the United States to move forward with a process
to allow the Puerto Rican people to make decisions in a sovereign
manner, and to address their urgent economic and social needs, including
unemployment, marginalization, insolvency and poverty.
The Special Committee also noted with concern that by virtue of the
decision of the United States Congress under the Puerto Rico Oversight,
Management and Economic Stability Act — which mandated the creation of
the Financial Oversight and Management Board — the already weakened area
in which the prevailing regime of political and economic subordination
in Puerto Rico operated was reduced further.
Expressing deep concern over actions carried out against Puerto Rican
independence activists and encouraging investigations into those
actions, the draft also welcomed the release of Puerto Rican patriot
Oscar López Rivera, who served 35 years in United States’ jails for
reasons related to the struggle for Puerto Rico’s independence.
Also by the text, the Special Committee urged the United States’
Government to complete the return of occupied land and installations on
Vieques Island and in Ceiba to the Puerto Rican people, and to expedite
and cover the costs of cleaning up and decontaminating areas previously
used for military exercises, with a view to protecting the health of
their inhabitants and the environment.
By other terms, the General Assembly was asked to comprehensively
consider the question of Puerto Rico and decide on that issue as soon as
possible.
During the day-long meeting, speakers stressed that Puerto Rico indeed
must take its rightful seat as a sovereign State in the General
Assembly. The first step towards that goal would be to inscribe Puerto
Rico on the list of Non-Self-Governing Territories, speakers said.
Mr. López Rivera, who had recently been released after 35 years in
prison in the United States, joined more than 50 petitioners in calling
for an end to United States occupation and for the granting of
independence to Puerto Rico.
Mr. López Rivera, of the Fundación Oscar López Rivera Libertá, said
Puerto Rico had the potential to become a strong nation and an asset to
the Caribbean and Latin American economy. “We want a country that is
worthy of our people and that can be part of the world community,” he
said, requesting that the Special Committee take the case of Puerto Rico
to the General Assembly and ask it to fulfil its responsibilities to
bring an end to colonization.
Highlighting the most deleterious colonialism-related problems, he said
a recent “brain drain” had contributed to the more than 5 million Puerto
Ricans living in the diaspora, with fewer than 3.5 million remaining on
the island. The Financial Oversight and Management Board — a fiscal
control entity imposed by the United States — now had the power to
dictate, among other things, the payment of the $72 billion debt Puerto
Rico owed to banks and hedge funds. Meanwhile, the construction of
$1 million condominiums due to accelerated gentrification was displacing
poor people and leading to further depopulation. “Colonialism is a
crime against all humanity,” he said. “If the United States Government
is the nation of laws it claims to be, then it behooves it to decolonize
Puerto Rico by adhering to the tenets of international law that prohibit
the crime of colonialism.”
Echoing that call, many speakers said Puerto Rico was clearly a colony;
some asserted that its free association status was a farce. Many cited
the recent 11 June plebiscite on the island as an example, noting that
only 23 per cent of the electorate had voted and more than 70 per cent
had actively boycotted the entire United States-led process. Moreover,
there were limited options on the ballot.
Jan Susler, of the National Lawyers Guild, who had served as Mr. López
Rivera’s lawyer, said the Puerto Rican people were fighting for their
future, spurning the pro-statehood colonial administration’s recent
purported referendum on status as non-binding, unauthorized and
illegitimate. He called on the United States’ Government to withdraw
its police and military forces from the island and formally commit to
negotiate in good faith a solution to its colonial situation. The
current financial situation was an example of colonialist rule, he said,
stressing that rather than allowing the island the option of declaring
bankruptcy or restructuring its more than $72 billion unpayable debt,
the United States had enacted a law by which it promised to pay
bondholders and vulture hedge funds, “leaving the people of Puerto Rico
in the lurch”.
Special Committee members shared their perspective. Speaking on behalf
of the Non-Aligned Movement, Venezuela’s representative called on the
Government of the United States to expedite the self-determination
process, stressing that the political subordination of the Puerto Rican
people impeded their sovereign decision-making over serious economic and
social problems.
El Salvador’s representative, speaking on behalf of the Community for
Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), reiterated the importance
of the Latin American and Caribbean nature of Puerto Rico, which had
also been emphasized at a high-level summit in Punta Cana, Dominican
Republic, in January. CELAC took note of the resolutions adopted by the
Special Committee and reiterated that the situation of Puerto Rico was a
matter of great interest.
Many petitioners, representing Puerto Rican groups and international
organizations and member States of the Special Committee, called for
further action. Ramon R. O’Neill Santos, of Coordinadora Mexicana de
Apoyo al Estado Nacional Soberano de Borinken, said the United States
had sought to close off the possibility for Puerto Ricans to invoke
international doctrine and have recourse to international arbitration.
Such behaviour violated the principle of non-interference in State
affairs. Recourse should not be the use of force to resolve debts
derived from contracts between one country and another. “All nations
are equal before the law,” he said, pressing the General Assembly to
grant Puerto Rico a seat with full rights and obligations.
Echoing his call for justice, some speakers asked the Special Committee
to play its role to reach that objective. Urayoán Jordán Salivia, of
Juventud Boricua, said he could imagine the Special Committee’s
frustration that, after more than 30 resolutions in favour of
self-determination for Puerto Rico, the United States remained
indifferent. Moreover, young people had few opportunities and limited
training due to red tape. Those employed full-time earned low pay, he
said, noting that some of his colleagues had foregone food so their
children could eat. “And these are people who have jobs,” he said,
stressing that hunger often brought about violence. “Does the United
States need to wait for violence in order to react?”, he asked.
Lourdes García, of A Call to Action on Puerto Rico/Un Llamado a la
Acción por Puerto Rico, said “Puerto Rico is a nation with the capacity
to govern itself”, with natural resources, including copper and nickel,
and an educated and literate working class and the potential to develop
renewable solar and hydroelectric energy. She urged the United Nations
to send a delegation to investigate the effects of the island’s economic
and humanitarian crisis.
Elaborating on the current situation of Puerto Ricans at home and
abroad, Digna Sanchez, of DiaspoRicans, underscored that, although many
had successfully settled into life in the United States, many were not
doing as well as they could be. Puerto Ricans had among the highest
rates of unemployment of all Latino groups in the United States and the
people in Puerto Rico faced a major fiscal crisis brought on by decades
of an economy premised on responding to United States’ corporate
interests and not to a self-sustaining economy that could meet the
Puerto Rican people’s needs.
During the meeting, many speakers applauded the release of Mr. López
Rivera while drawing attention to other political prisoners who remained
incarcerated, including Ana Belén Montes, who was currently serving a
25-year sentence and was battling cancer.
Also delivering statements were representatives of Bolivia, Syria,
Nicaragua, Ecuador, Cuba and China.
Also speaking were representative of Colegio de Abogados y Abogadas de
Puerto Rico, Movimiento Independentista Nacional Hostosiano, Comité de
Puerto Rico en Naciones Unidas, Gobierno de Puerto Rico, ProLibertad
Freedom Campaign, Coordinador de Solidarida Diáspora Boricua, Estado
Nacional Soberano de Boriken, Movimiento Amplio Soberanista de Puerto
Rico, Coalición Puertorriqueña contra la Pena de Muerte, Fundación Yo
Soy Boricua, Inc., Comité Pro Derechos Humanos de Puerto Rico,
Actividades Del Cerro de los Mártires, Ateneo Puertorriqueño,
LatinoJustice PRLDEF, Asociación de Residentes de Piñones, Puerto Rican
Independence Party, La Cacica Cimarrona Inc., Green Party of the United
States, Brigada Guarionex, Partido Nactionalista de Puerto Rico, Fuerza
Resistencia Divica Boricuá, National Sovereign State of Borinken,
Colegio de Profesionales del Trabajo Social de Puerto Rico, Movimiento
Unión Soberanista, Organization for Culture of Hispanic Origins, New
York Solidarity with Vieques, American Association of Jurists, Mesa de
Trabajo por Ana Belén Montes en Puerto Rico, Grupo por la Igualidad y la
Justicia de Puerto Rico, New York State Nurses Association, Socialist
Workers Party, Asociación Puertorriqueña de Profesores Universitarios,
Asociación de Economistas de Puerto Rico, International Law Students
Association, Latino Law Student Society, La Coordinadora, Compañeros
Unidos para la Descolonización de Puerto Rico, Teachers Federation of
Puerto Rico, Juventud Hostosiana, Alianza Patria, Inc., El Centro de
Immigrante, Indigenous Womens Knowledge, Frente Socialista, Institute
for Multicultural Communications, Cooperation and Development and
Concilio de Veteranos y Soldados de Puerto Rico.
_Question of Puerto Rico_
RAFAEL DARÍO RAMÍREZ CARREÑO (Venezuela), Chair of the Special Committee
on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on
the Granting of Independence of Colonial Countries and Peoples,
introduced Oscar López Rivera, calling him a hero like Nelson Mandela.
Mr. López Rivera had been incarcerated for almost half of his life and
was a symbol of the movement that supported a free Puerto Rico.
OSCAR LÓPEZ RIVERA, _Fundación Oscar López Rivera Libertá_, highlighting
his release from prison on 17 May after 35 years, said that the Special
Committee’s resolutions that had been passed during his incarceration
had been a fountain of hope and strength. Unfortunately, more political
prisoners remained incarcerated in the United States, including Ana
Belén Montes, who was serving a 25-year sentence and was battling cancer.
Highlighting to the most deleterious problems that had been caused by
United States colonialism in Puerto Rico, he said more than 5 million
Puerto Ricans were living in the diaspora and less than 3.5 million
remained in Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico was subjected to a fiscal control
board imposed by the Government of the United States, which had the
power to dictate to the colonialists who had helped to administer the
colony, especially concerning the payment of the $72 billion debt Puerto
Rico owed to banks and hedge funds. The construction of $1 million
condominiums due to accelerated gentrification was displacing poor
people in Culebra and Vieques and leading to depopulation.
Depopulating Puerto Rico, he said, had been the United States’
Government’s goal since its invasion and occupation. Since 2016, more
than 1 million Puerto Ricans had joined the diaspora, causing the
largest “brain drain” in its history, as jobs were scant and
professionals left the island to find work. As a result, the population
was ageing and becoming poorer, with fewer medical and social services,
at a time when young people were leaving and more foreigners were buying
luxury properties. The fiscal control board’s worrisome actions were
another concern, he said, emphasizing that, by August, 169 schools would
close and the future of the University of Puerto Rico was being
threatened by defunding.
Despite the bleak reality, he said, many Puerto Ricans believed that now
was the best moment to wage an effective decolonization process. Puerto
Rico, with human resources and other basic resources, had the potential
to become a strong nation and an asset to the Caribbean and Latin
American economy. He asked the Special Committee to take the issue of
the decolonization of Puerto Rico to the General Assembly and ask it to
fulfil its responsibilities to bring an end to colonization by the
United States Government.
“Colonialism is a crime against all humanity,” he said. “If the United
States Government is the nation of laws it claims to be, then it
behooves it to decolonize Puerto Rico by adhering to the tenets of
international law that prohibit the crime of colonialism. I hope you
will do whatever you can to bring to an end the colonial status of
Puerto Rico and to help it be part of the community of nations.”
He said Puerto Rico today was being threatened by privatization with the
criminal goal of extracting the “last dime from every pocket of every
Puerto Rican person”. If the depopulation of Puerto Rico succeeded, its
people would lose their land and history. “We want a country that is
worthy of our people and that can be part of the world community,” he
said, asking that the Special Committee considered actions that were
taking place in the United States that affected the entire world. The
interference of the United States in many countries was a problem, he
said, referring to recent occasions when the United States had dictated
what should happen in Cuba, Venezuela and other Latin American States.
Highlighting positive changes that had been made by the leaders and
people of such countries, including Hugo Chávez Frías in Venezuela and
Evo Morales Ayma in Bolivia, he called for a renewed fight for a more
just world.
ALEJANDRO TORRES RIVERA, _Colegio de Abogados y Abogadas de Puerto
Rico_, said his organization was the oldest civil society institution in
Puerto Rico, and since 1 September 1994, it had condemned the
colonization of Puerto Rico. It had called on the United States to hold
bilateral negotiations on the right to self-determination. In 2016, the
United States had established a control entity. The Supreme Court had
resolved the issue, determining that sovereignty resided in Congress,
which could annul any law that violated the Constitution. Yet, the
United States sought to extend colonization in Puerto Rico. “The case
for free self-determination must be assured by the United States,” he
said, which should facilitate that process without interference. The
international community must meet its obligations and he called on the
Special Committee to support Puerto Ricans’ push for independence and
self-determination. He demanded that the United States not interfere in
Puerto Ricans’ enjoyment of self-determination, which included an end to
harassment, and to ensure that a mechanism was in place for that. He
proposed convening a constitutional assembly, as recognized by
international law.
WILMA E. REVERÓN COLLAZO, _Movimiento Independentista Nacional
Hostosiano_, said “we are making history today”, reaping the fruit of
decades of struggle. In Puerto Rico, the colonizing Power had imposed a
dictatorship. “This has occurred under your watch,” she stressed, noting
that the fiscal prosecutor worked for Wall Street and sought to strip
Puerto Ricans of all their assets, including pensions, and had
privatized such services as energy and water. All such efforts had
deprived Puerto Ricans of their heritage and rights. “Puerto Rico is
facing a crisis,” she said, which more than justified the Special
Committee urging the General Assembly to demand that the United States
cease and desist in the destruction of our nation. “We need urgently
that you send a visiting mission to Puerto Rico, recommending to the
General Assembly to evaluate the question of compensation of damages
caused by colonialization, and begin a process of decolonization,” she said.
OLGA I. SANABRIA DÁVILA, _Comit__é de Puerto Rico en Naciones Unidas_,
noted that 2020 would mark the seventy-fifth anniversary of the United
Nations establishment. Among its achievements, she cited the
decolonization efforts of the Special Committee, which had freed people
from colonization. Yet, Puerto Rico continued to be a colony. Of its
8 million people, 2.5 million lived on the island, while 5 million lived
in the United States. Puerto Ricans were a Latin American and Caribbean
people who lacked freedom. In addition, 2020 would mark more than
122 years since Puerto Rico had been handed over to the United States as
“war booty”, as though the island was “a big ranch”, where people could
not leave unless they wished to travel to the United States. “Our
people are oppressed,” she said, living with major social problems under
a colonial yoke.
LUIS GERARDO RIVERA MARÍN, Secretary of State of the _Gobierno de Puerto
Rico_, highlighted the effects of the fiscal control board’s efforts to
help the elected government on the island and of recent related
consultations. The time had arrived that the Special Committee must
defend the legal status of Puerto Rico. The fiscal board and electoral
board were bodies that represented colonial actions. In 2012,
54 per cent of voters in Puerto Rico had demonstrated a desire for
decolonization. In April, the United States Department of Justice had
changed requirements. Noting that the United Nations Charter recognized
the fundamental right to self-determination, he said the United States
had previously recognized that statehood was an option.
BENJAMIN RAMOS ROSADO, _ProLibertad Freedom Campaign_, said Puerto Rico
was a colony and its people were victims of the United States’ economic
and political exploitation and manipulation. Signs of colonial
oppression could be seen with the institutionalization of the Puerto
Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act, known as PROMESA,
which had created a fiscal control board that had adopted an austerity
plan, which was increasing unemployment and poverty. Puerto Ricans were
resilient and that was why colonialism was destined to fail, he said,
emphasizing that “we’re a nation that has been forged in the fires of
oppression and has always been able to survive, thrive and win”. He
asked the Special Committee to pass a resolution to end colonialism in
Puerto Rico.
JESÚS MANGUAL, _Coordinador de Solidarida Diáspora Boricua_, said the
decolonization process must be accelerated because there was a strong
movement from the colonial Power to further exert its control. He
appealed to the Special Committee to play its role to put Puerto Rico on
the list of Non-Self-Governing Territories. Puerto Rico must achieve its
sovereignty immediately so it could deal with the current economic and
humanitarian crises. An appropriate mechanism must be put in place so
the United States’ Government could address issues of colonialism.
During the 11 June referendum, only 23 per cent of the electorate voted,
while the abstention rate was more than 70 per cent, reflecting a
boycott of the plebiscite. The referendum’s design demonstrated that
the colonial Power had manipulated its own victory and the Special
Committee must investigate that issue.
FRANCIS A. BOYLE, _Estado Nacional Soberano de Boriken_, said the
Special Committee’s resolutions had already called on the United States
to meet its obligations. He called on the Special Committee to submit
the case of Puerto Rico to the General Assembly. The new colonial
Government had ordered a plebiscite, which had been fraudulent. It had
been the fifth referendum that still had not addressed the issue at
hand. There was no other current viable path than one that led to
statehood, he said, asking the Special Committee to send a resolution to
the General Assembly so a decision could be made later this year.
IVÁN RIVERA, _Movimiento Amplio Soberanista de Puerto Rico_, said the
current situation reflected that a future approach could help advance
towards decolonization. The opinion of the International Court of
Justice could be sought, as had been the case with the building of a
wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The Court could and should
make a decision on Puerto Rico, he said. Actions had been taken on the
options available to Puerto Rico concerning its future. Moving forward,
he said his organization was ready to work towards putting an end to
colonization.
MÁDELIN COLÓN PÉREZ, _Coalición Puertorrique__ña contra la Pena de
Muerte_, said the death penalty in Puerto Rico was illegal.
Twenty per cent of all death‑penalty sentences had been commuted.
In 2018, however, the death penalty would be administered, demonstrating
that the colonial Power was continuing to exert its control in Puerto
Rico, she said, adding that Spanish was the most commonly spoken
language on the island, but that English was continuously used. The
United States Congress had reaffirmed the colonial nature of Puerto
Rico. As such, the Special Committee must bring the case of Puerto Rico
to the General Assembly.
VILMA M. MACHÍN VÁZQUEZ, _Fundación Yo Soy Boricua, Inc._, said the
oppressive colonial system imposed by United States since 1898 involved
tyrannical policies, which threatened to destroy Puerto Rico. “Our
people are facing the most horrendous period in our history,” she said,
stressing that the Financial Oversight and Control Board sought to
restructure the $73 billion debt, which would impoverish millions of
people. The Nuevo Progresista party had been complicit. The goal was
to ensure people paid a debt to vulture funds. She supported a
sovereign national state of Borinken and for the General Assembly to
allocate a seat to it at its next session. She pressed the Special
Committee to free Ana Belén Montes, a University of Puerto Rico student
who was on hunger strike. Stressing that the Board was imposing illegal
acts, she said the unique employer law violated trade union rights,
$502 million had been cut from the University’s budget, and the colonial
legislature had removed people’s right to determine what should be done
with the debt.
EDUARDO VILLANUEVA MUÑOZ, _Comité Pro Derechos Humanos de Puerto Rico_,
said the colonial situation was worse than ever. There had been cuts to
the University, while the “despotic” work of the Board and the current
Governor included the creation of laws that imposed jail terms for
protest. Even judges were subject to undue pressure, indicating
interference into cases for those involved in protests. Authorities had
ignored calls for due process. She called for the release of all who
fought for Puerto Rico’s independence, stressing that the Financial
Oversight and Control Board sought to destroy the University of Puerto
Rico. Only victory and full freedom could be the results. “Puerto Rico
needs to be respected,” she stressed.
FRANCISCO RAFAEL JORDÁN GARCIA, _Actividades Del Cerro de los Mártires_,
supported the petition by the national sovereign state of Borinken to
allocate a seat in the United Nations for that state. “Our people are
now in an indefensible situation,” he said, as the United States had for
119 years imposed its regime. He called for the release of Ana Belén
Montes. Forty per cent of people over age 60 — who numbered more
than 760,000 — were older than 65 years, living in extreme poverty and
in dangerous health situations. Many had a disability. There had been
a 2.1‑per‑cent increase in food prices and a 7.4‑per‑cent increase in
the cost of drinking water. There had been a 10‑per‑cent drop in the
value of pensions. “We are on the eve of a humanitarian catastrophe,” he
said, pressing the Special Committee to ensure that people of Borinken
had legal representation in the United Nations and to advance that
request to the General Assembly.
MARCO ANTONIO RIGAU, _Ateneo Puertorriqueño_, said the United States and
those favouring statehood in Puerto Rico, must understand that, in
accordance with resolution 1514 (XV), the Special Committee was called
on to implement its mandate and work to ensure the right to
self-determination. Puerto Rico must achieve sovereignty either through
full independence or free association, in accordance with international
law, a point which must be included in this year’s resolution. The
United States must understand that it had to be involved in the
decolonization process, which it would do when it understood that Puerto
Rico could be financially successful with sovereignty. Such a situation
would be one fewer burden for the United States Treasury, especially as
Puerto Rico could be an invaluable interlocutor in Latin America.
NATASHA LYCIA ORA BANNAN, _LatinoJustice PRLDEF_, said that, since
colonialism was immoral and illegal, the United States’ Government had
not met its obligations. Instead, it had imposed austerity measures
that were worsening conditions for the people of Puerto Rico. The
people’s economic interests were being ignored and private workshops
with Wall Street demonstrated a model for an extremely undemocratic
system. The University of Puerto Rico was even being affected by fiscal
board decisions, which were also ordering hospital and school closures.
Such actions violated the Puerto Rican citizens’ human rights, she said,
drawing attention to United States’ military activities and related
pollution and sanitation conditions that were harming people’s health.
MARIA ISABEL RIJOS, _Asociación de Residentes de Pi__ñones_, said
gentrification and luxury-building projects were taking a toll on the
population. Civil resistance had achieved some gains, yet the people
were still living with the uncertainty of such land grabs. Many civil
society organizations had shown support to prevent forced displacement
of people from their land, including through education, sports and
health projects, as well as mobilizing funding to build houses and
gardens. She called on the Special Committee to play its role to ensure
that the General Assembly took action with a view to making sure that
the national sovereign state of Borinken would take a seat in that world
body.
MANUEL RIVERA, _Puertorique__ños Unidos En Acción_, said 2017 had been a
great year of triumph and challenges. The imposition of the fiscal
board had demonstrated the accelerated deterioration of the current
situation, due in part to the Government’s inability to successfully
address Puerto Rico’s problems. Yet, Mr. Lopéz Rivera had been released
from prison and the 11 June plebiscite had shown the population’s strong
desire for independence, with a majority of the electorate boycotting
the process, the options that had been presented and the current
colonial status. Puerto Rico was a nation geographically and
sociologically different from the United States. Colonialism had
divided the people and it was time for all to join together to support
the decolonization process.
MARIA DE LOURDES SANTIAGO, _Puerto Rican Independence Party_, said
Puerto Rico was facing truly scandalous circumstances, including the
imposition of a fiscal board that had veto power to overrule any
decision by Puerto Rico. The management of its public debt was under the
United States’ legal structure, which had “removed the last fig leaf”
that was hiding its role as a colonial Power. The 11 June referendum
was no more than an action supporting colonialism by consent, she said,
emphasizing that colonialism was in fact a crime against humanity. The
case of Puerto Rico should be brought to the General Assembly, she said,
calling for the independence of her country.
LOURDES GARCÍA, _A Call to Action on Puerto Rico/Un Llamado a la Acción
por Puerto Rico_, expressing pride that Oscar López was present at the
meeting, reaffirmed what the independence movement had presented to the
Special Committee for years: that the free association status was a
farce. Puerto Rico was a possession of the United States. Its courts
were viewed with disdain by the colonial Power, which had imposed a
financial oversight board that had taken drastic measures to pay a huge
debt to Wall Street vultures. “Puerto Rico is a nation with the
capacity to govern itself,” she insisted. The working class was
educated and literate, and had the potential to develop renewable solar
and hydroelectric energy. There were copper and nickel resources. “It’s
not as though Puerto Rico could not exist as an independent nation,” she
said, urging the United Nations to send a delegation to investigate the
effects of economic and humanitarian crisis due to the colonial
situation. She recommended that the Assembly place Puerto Rico on the
List of Non-Self-Governing Territories, and press the United States to
enter into a decolonization process, which would include attention to
compensation to Puerto Ricans for allowing the United States military
presence on the island.
JAN SUSLER, _National Lawyers Guild_, recalled that many of the Guild’s
resolutions since its inception in 1937 had affirmed the right of the
Puerto Rican people to self-determination and called for the release of
political prisoners. Noting that he had served as Oscar López Rivera’s
lawyer, he described events since the Special Committee’s hearings last
year, which had further unmasked the colonial relationship between the
United States and Puerto Rico. Rather than allowing the island the
option of declaring bankruptcy or restructuring its more than
$72 billion unpayable debt, the United States had enacted a law by which
it promised to pay bondholders and vulture hedge funds, “leaving the
people of Puerto Rico in the lurch”.
Pointing out that world-renowned economists had called the austerity
measures imposed on the island “draconian”, he said the Puerto Rican
people were nevertheless fighting for their future, spurning the
pro-statehood colonial administration’s recent purported referendum on
status as non-binding, unauthorized and illegitimate. University
students had gone on strike and Puerto Ricans continued to resist the
criminalization of their legitimate protests. Outlining the importance
of Mr. López Rivera’s release to that cause, he urged the Special
Committee to adopt a resolution calling for the General Assembly to
consider the case of Puerto Rico. He further called on the United
States Government to undertake a variety of actions, including
withdrawing its police and military forces from the island and formally
committing to negotiate in good faith a solution to its colonial situation.
DIGNA SANCHEZ, _DiaspoRicans_, underscored that, although many Puerto
Ricans had successfully settled into life in the United States, many
were not doing as well, particularly as Puerto Ricans had among the
highest rates of unemployment of all Latino groups in the United
States. The people in Puerto Rico faced a major fiscal crisis brought
on by decades of an economy premised on responding to United States’
corporate interests and not to a self-sustaining economy that could meet
the needs of the Puerto Rican people. Population loss in Puerto Rico
was squeezing businesses, forcing schools to close and depleting the tax
base. The current economic crisis had its roots in Puerto Rico’s
colonial status as a possession of the United States, with Puerto Rico
becoming a huge “garage sale” for United States’ capitalist interests.
MARA CLEMENTE LOPEZ, _La Cacica Cimarrona Inc._, urged that the national
state of Boriken be recognized, expressing support for the case of the
island and demanding justice. “What gives the United States any right
in Puerto Rico or in the world, except force?”, she asked, stressing
that the United States had used tricks and local alliances to bring
about Puerto Rico’s free association status, which she called the
greatest illegal absurdity, blaming the United States, the Vatican and
the media for being complicit in such “euthanasia”. Puerto Rico merited
a constitutional assembly without interference. Comparing Yankee
hegemony to cancer, she said it was the cause of global warming, slavery
and other ills. She demanded respect for the rights of the Borinken
people, who were facing genocide, and a direct media campaign to raise
awareness about their situation.
RAMON R. O’NEILL SANTOS, _Coordinadora Mexicana de Apoyo al Estado
Nacional Soberano de Borinken_, emphasized the close connection between
his group and the Boricuas. The situation had been created by the
United States in 1952, after its armed invasion. Recalling that Puerto
Rico’s sovereignty was under the United States Congress, he said the
United States had sought to close off the possibility for Puerto Ricans
to invoke international doctrine and have recourse to international
arbitration. Such behaviour violated the principle of non-interference
in State affairs. Recourse should not be the use of force to resolve
debts derived from contracts between one country and another. “All
nations are equal before the law,” he said, pressing the Assembly to
grant Puerto Rico a seat for a State with full rights and obligations.
DARLENE ELIAS, _Green Party of the United States_, said the United
States must sever its ties with Puerto Rico and allow its people to live
free from colonial rule “once and for all”, as imperialism had only
oppressed prosperity. The Financial Oversight and Management Board,
otherwise known as “the Junta”, sought simply to ensure that United
States’ benefactors continued to prosper from predatory lending by banks
and corporations under the guise of helping Puerto Ricans. With
50 per cent poverty and 12 per cent unemployment, Puerto Rico was on the
brink of collapse, lacking the revenues to stabilize its economy. Yet,
Puerto Ricans were expected to carry the debt burden, despite the fact
that they had no say in their future. They had lost faith in the
political system. Puerto Rico should be allowed to govern itself as an
independent State or sovereign entity, based on what its people decided.
URAYOÁN JORDÁN SALIVIA, _Juventud Boricua_, supported the request for
sovereignty for Borinken, which should have a seat at the United
Nations. Calling for the release of Anna Belén Montes, he said he could
imagine the Special Committee’s frustration that, after more than
30 resolutions in favour of self-determination for Puerto Rico, the
United States remained indifferent. The same was true in Puerto Rico.
Added to that frustration was a negative situation that was leading to
despair, as people were not able to take productive measures to address
the $73 billion debt. There were no reasons to feel anything other than
frustration. Moreover, young people had few opportunities and faced
limited training due to red tape. Those who did work received low pay,
he said, noting that some of his colleagues, who worked full-time for
the minimum wage, had foregone food so their children could eat. “And
these are people who have jobs,” he said, stressing that hunger often
brought about violence. “Does the United States need to wait for
violence in order to react?”, he asked. Recalling other measures that
were destroying the University of Puerto Rico, he urged the Special
Committee — and all fraternal countries — to support efforts to achieve
decolonization.
HENRY ALFREDO SUÁREZ MORENO (_Venezuela_), speaking on behalf of the
Non-Aligned Movement, it reaffirmed the right of Puerto Rico’s people to
self-determination and independence. It called for expeditious
implementation of resolutions on Puerto Rico, many of which had been
adopted by consensus by the Special Committee. The Movement also called
on the Government of the United States to expedite the process that
would allow the Puerto Rican people to fully exercise their inalienable
right to self-determination and independence.
He went on to urge the Government of the United States to return to the
Puerto Rican people the occupied land and installations of Vieques
Island and the Roosevelt Road Naval Station. Member States of the
Movement also reiterated their concern over legislation adopted by the
United States Congress to impose a fiscal control board over the
government of Puerto Rico that would effectively infringing on that
government’s limited power over its budget and fiscal affairs. The
political subordination of the Puerto Rican people impeded their
sovereign decision-making regarding their serious economic and social
problems.
LUIS MAURICIO ARANCIBIA (_Bolivia_), associating himself with the
statement of the Non-Aligned Movement and Community of Latin American
and Caribbean States (CELAC), welcomed the release of Oscar López
Rivera, calling the Special Committee the proper forum to give space for
discussing the freeing of peoples who were under various forms of
colonial domination and ensuring they had territorial freedom. Puerto
Rico had a very clear cultural connection and ties to Latin America.
Its sovereignty had been violated and an unfair colonial status had been
imposed. It was time for Puerto Rico to return to the Latin American
family and everything possible must be done to achieve that goal. The
Government of the United States must launch a process by which the
people of Puerto Rico could pursue a path of self-determination and
independence. Bolivia reasserted its appeal to the United States to
ensure that the people of Puerto Rico would regain all the lands that
had been occupied and assume the costs of cleaning up the areas that had
been contaminated by military exercises.
LOUAY FALOUH (_Syria_), associating himself with the statement of the
Non‑Aligned Movement, underscored that many years had lapsed since the
people of Puerto Rico began their struggle for the right of
self-determination, which was guaranteed by the principles of the
Charter. He recalled that it had been 119 years since the United States
had interfered with Puerto Rico, while the Special Committee had been
looking at the situation of Puerto Rico for more than 40 years,
resulting in the passage of many resolutions. He hoped the draft
resolution under consideration would be adopted by consensus, which
would affirm the inviolability of the right of international legitimacy
and the principles upon which the United Nations had been built,
especially the right to self-determination.
JAIME HERMIDA CASTILLO (_Nicaragua_) stressed that the Special Committee
must step up efforts to ensure that non-self-governing people could
exercise their right to self-governance and independence. The members
of the Special Committee did not have any other choice except to
intensify efforts to eradicate colonialism from mother earth. Latin
America and the Caribbean was a zone of peace and it was important that
it was freed from colonialism. Puerto Rico was a nation with an
identity and history tied to the Latin America and Caribbean region,
despite the fact that Puerto Rico’s right to independence had been
harmed by the imposition of colonialism. The closure of schools, cuts
in government jobs, the rationing of health, education and other
services important for the most vulnerable population was troubling.
Recalling that, for years, the Special Committee had called upon the
General Assembly to consider in a broader way the situation of Puerto
Rico, he called for an intensification of those efforts.
HORACIO SEVILLA BORJA (_Ecuador_) reiterated support for Puerto Rico’s
inalienable right to self-determination and independence, associating
himself with the Non-Aligned Movement and CELAC. Puerto Rico was a Latin
American and Caribbean nation with its own identity. Recalling the
economic, social and financial collapse had shown the failure of the
so-called “commonwealth” in terms of public affairs management and
regarding the self-determination process. The appointment of the
Financial Oversight and Management Board had made clear that a colonial
situation existed in Puerto Rico. Also, 77 per cent of Puerto Ricans
had decided not to take part in the so-called referendum, which had not
met international standards, on the annexation of Puerto Rico as a
United States state. The international community was obliged to support
Puerto Rico’s process for statehood, as was the administrating Power.
DOUGLAS NICOMEDES ARCIA VIVAS (_Venezuela_), endorsing the statements of
CELAC and the Non-Aligned Movement, welcomed the release of Oscar López
Rivera. Much remained to be done to achieve the inalienable right to
self-determination, despite more than 30 resolutions adopted by the
Special Committee. The Boricua people demonstrated the consequences of
the colonial yoke, as the colonial Power’s laws had made it impossible
for Puerto Rico to carry out economic agreements or join regional or
subregional alliances, which had changed its Caribbean nature. The debt
owed to the United States had created a deceptive situation. The Board
determined the use of public funds and could make extreme austerity
cuts, with education, transport and housing affected. The governor,
elected in 2006, had called for a plebiscite, which many politicians had
found questionable. “Colonialism is a shame for humanity and a violation
of international law,” he said, calling for redoubled efforts to
accelerate decolonization so Puerto Ricans could determine their
sovereign system free from interference. He urged the Special Committee
to ensure the draft resolution under consideration was adopted by consensus.
ANAYANSI RODRÍGUEZ CAMEJO (_Cuba_), associating with the Non-Aligned
Movement and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States,
called her people “the other wing of the bird” in describing their
friendship with Puerto Rico. Urging greater efforts to ensure that
Puerto Rico enjoyed the right to self-determination, she said the
“commonwealth” was means for the United States to mask its domination
over the island. Puerto Rico was under the power of Washington, D.C.,
meaning it was a colonial territory. No progress had been seen, she
said, calling the June referendum on self-determination “a farce”
imposed by the United States. The economy was depressed amid a
$73 billion debt, which would be impossible to pay without cuts to
education, health and security. Further, the financial board had put in
place spending controls and “draconian” austerity measures. Asserting
Puerto Rico’s right to self-determination and independence, in line with
resolution 1514 (XV), she urged the Assembly to consider the case in all
its aspects.
RUBÉN IGNACIO ZAMORA RIVAS (_El Salvador_), speaking on behalf of the
Community for Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), reiterated
the importance of the Latin American and Caribbean nature of Puerto
Rico, which had also been emphasized at a high-level summit in Punta
Cana, Dominican Republic, in January. CELAC took note of the
resolutions adopted by the Special Committee and reiterated that the
situation of Puerto Rico was a matter of great interest. He welcomed
the recent amnesty granted by the United States for the independence
leader, Oscar López Rivera, which had been supported by all Heads of
State across the continent. He hoped that the Special Committee would
continue to work in support of General Assembly resolution 1540 (1960)
to ensure that the Latin American and Caribbean region became a
territory free of colonialism.
JOSE NIEVES, _Brigada Guarionex_, said that Puerto Rico had been
inhabited, governed and made the property of foreign invaders starting
in 1492, when Spain invaded and robbed it by force and deceit. A
similar practice had also been carried out by the United States. Puerto
Rico did not recognize the Spanish, nor the United States, invaders.
Colonialism was illegal and in that context, Puerto Rico did not
recognize the colonialist forces as a legitimate government. How was it
possible that in the twenty-first century the United States was
committing such a crime against the people of Borinken?, he questioned.
Everything in Puerto Rico was under the control of the United States,
which was a nation that took far more than it gave.
GERARDO LUGO SEGARRA, _Partido Nactionalista de Puerto Rico_, said that,
since the United Nations had been established, the nationalist party had
spoken out about the colonial case of Puerto Rico and demanded the
recognition of its right to independence. Puerto Rico was experiencing
a profound societal crisis, which had been perpetrated by the United
States Congress. In that context, the United States had a debt to Puerto
Rico due to its exploitation and the collapse of human rights, beginning
with the right to life. Given that the situation in Puerto Rico was not
a domestic affair, it was important that it was recognized that the
interests of those living in the territory were inalienable rights. He
called on the United Nations to submit a report on the current
conditions and what had been taken by the administering Power, to ensure
that Puerto Rico achieved independence.
KRYSTAL BODON RAMOS, _Fuerza Resistencia Divica Boricuá_, described
educational activities aimed at promoting a peaceful settlement to the
colonial system under which her people lived. The civil disobedience
which Mahatma Gandhi had used to address British imperialism was
replaced with civil resistance, which sought to eliminate the system and
create a new one based on justice, freedom and equality. Indeed, the
colonialism imposed by the United States was illegitimate. It placed
Puerto Rico into a social and economic crisis and imposed a recent
fraudulent referendum. She cautioned against collaborating with that
regime in any way. She demanded that a process be launched to achieve a
sovereign national Borinken state in the General Assembly and urged the
Special Committee to submit a resolution to that end. She also urged it
to break with its tradition of annual resolutions on the topic.
DAMARIS ORTEGA, International Human Rights Association of American
Minorities, read a statement on behalf of the _National Sovereign State
of Borinken_, calling the 11 June plebiscite a “sick” joke. “We most
respectfully request that this Committee officially condemn this Yankee
‘plebiscite’ in the strongest terms”, as a gross violation of the right
to self-determination, as well as illegal, null and void. Had it been a
genuine plebiscite, it would have been supervised by the United
Nations. The Yankees would have had to confine their military forces,
security agencies, intelligence services and other activities to their
military bases before the electoral process. Afterward, Puerto Ricans
would have needed a substantial period of time in which to engage freely
and without fear of Yankee intimidation to educate themselves about the
various options available, with free access to the media, so that
genuine debate could transpire. Before the process, a guarantee would
have been needed that the will of Puerto Ricans would be honoured. The
Special Committee must proclaim that all those conditions must be
satisfied for a plebiscite to be held. Puerto Rico had complied with
all the requirements for United Nations membership as a full Member
State, as set forth in its 12 July 2014 letter.
LARRY ALICEA, _Colegio de Profesionales del Trabajo Social de Puerto
Rico_, said his people had experienced repressive actions by the federal
court, as well as hate crimes. The United States House of
Representatives had imposed the financial control board, which had
outlined the Government’s priorities. “Nobody voted for it,” he said,
and yet it had supreme power. Puerto Ricans’ rights, democracy and
claims were not being respected, he said, citing special education for
children and either limited or no access to medicine, despite that many
children lived in extreme poverty. Laws were being created in the
interests of creditors. Public universities were being undermined and
there was a lack of political power to devise solutions for problems.
He urged the Special Committee to submit the case to the General
Assembly and called on the United States to advance the decolonization
process. He also called for a genuine plebiscite.
Ms. RODRÍGUEZ (_Cuba_) then introduced the draft resolution
(document A/AC.109/2017/L.12), which she said sought a solution to the
situation in Puerto Rico. It outlined that Puerto Rico represented a
Latin American and Caribbean nation with its own national identity,
which its people had defended despite a long history of colonization. A
worsening economic and tax crisis prevented Puerto Ricans from taking
sovereign decisions to define their future, particularly to address
unemployment, marginalization, indebtedness, poverty, education and
health. The draft recalled that the United States Congress was the
original source of power in Puerto Rico, and thus, made clear that any
concession of self-governance to Puerto Rico could be unilaterally
revoked by Congress. It also recognized statements made at recent CELAC
summits and welcomed the release of Oscar López Rivera. A new paragraph
took note of the June referendum, she added, expressing hope that the
text would be approved by consensus.
LIU SUNG (_China_) expressed support for the draft text.
The Special Committee then approved the draft resolution
(document A/AC.109/2017/L.12), without a vote.
Ms. RODRÍGUEZ (_Cuba_) thanked all Special Committee members for their
support for the draft resolution. She said the approval of the text was
a symbol of the efforts of the people of Puerto Rico, who would always
enjoy Cuba’s support.
REINALDO MARTÍNEZ VELÁSQUEZ, _Movimiento Unión Soberanista_, said that,
for too long, the colonial status of Puerto Rico had been swept under
the carpet. But, recent events had shown that it was indeed a colony,
including a recent United States court decision that recognize that
reality, which was in fact a violation of the United Nations Charter.
Calling for all to denounce the United States for holding Puerto Rico as
a colony, he said the United States must take steps to let it go. The
recent referendum was illegal due to foreign intervention and the
massive boycott of the process. Given that and other colonialist
actions, which violated General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV) of 1960,
he supported a dialogue with the United States to remedy the situation.
WALTER ALOMAR, _Organization for Culture of Hispanic Origins_, said the
Special Committee had not even listed Puerto Rico as a colony, despite
repeated calls for independence. He asked the Special Committee what
needed to be done to change that, noting that the administering Powers
had failed and the Special Committee had failed to hold them
accountable. Conditions were fragile, he said, including overcrowding
in schools, families broken apart by poverty, and basic services were
either too expensive or failing. The Special Committee was the point of
contact for the people who could decolonize Puerto Rico, he said,
expressing anger that inaction had prevailed. Colonialism involved
genocide and extinction of cultures. Puerto Rico was suffering, he
said, asking the Special Committee: “What are you doing about it?”
MARIE CRUZ SOTO, _New York Solidarity with Vieques_, said that 60 years
of constant bombing had left Vieques suffering from environmental
devastation and governmental neglect. Loved ones were dying from cancer
without so much as $5 in their wallet, which could not be explained away
by citing the fact that Vieques was an island. Militarized colonialism
had degraded people who had been silenced, marginalized and made
vulnerable for the benefit of others. The environment had also been
degraded not only through contamination, but also by the lack of
infrastructure that would be required for empowerment and well-being.
Militarized colonialism was not a thing of the past, particularly when
taking into consideration that the United States military still dictated
the clean-up process there, even after having officially left Vieques
in 2003.
OSVALDO TOLEDO GARCÍA, _American Association of Jurists_, said colonies
were exploited by an imperial Power, which was indeed the case for
Puerto Rico. Facing a fiscal crisis and the war-like purposes of the
colonizer, Puerto Ricans had been recruited into the United States
military and prohibited from signing treaties or engaging in trade. The
United States had delegated itself plenary powers to deal with Puerto
Rico, which itself had been in recession since 2006. Governor Alejandro
García Padilla had recognized the severity of the $73 billion debt
burden and called for a renegotiation with creditors. On 30 June 2016,
the United States President had signed a law establishing a mechanism to
restructure the debt. Today, the Financial Oversight and Management
Board refused to hear any references to that law, and instead, said it
was responsible for the debt. The United States refused to comply with
international covenants, Special Committee resolutions or human rights
bodies. Labour opportunities in Puerto Rico had been limited by massive
immigration.
MIRIAM MONTES-MOCK, _Mesa de Trabajo por Ana Belén Montes en Puerto
Rico_, said Ana Belén Montes was a prisoner of conscience who had been
condemned to 25 years in prison for showing solidarity with Cuba, she
said, noting that Caribbean islands were fighting in solidarity with
each other. Stressing that Puerto Rico was being discriminated against,
she said acts of solidarity by Ms. Belén Montes in defence of Cuba’s
solidarity was part of such support. From the Puerto Rican diaspora,
her family had immigrated to the United States. Ms. Belén Montes had
tried to understand the experience of Latin American and Caribbean
countries, and crimes perpetrated by the United States. Born on
28 February 1956 on a military base in Germany, she had studied foreign
relations in Virginia, and later pursued studies at George Washington
University. Employed by the Pentagon, she was arrested in 2001 for
releasing information and had since lived in a restricted prison. She
now suffered from cancer and had undergone a mastectomy. She was
provided Panadol by fellow prisoners, which was the only treatment she
had received. Her efforts merited the support of all Cubans and Puerto
Ricans.
HECTOR BERMUNDEZ ZENON, _Grupo por la Igualdad y la Justicia de Puerto
Rico_, said the Special Committee had reiterated the colonial nature of
Puerto Rico over the years, yet the United States had not paid any
attention, despite 36 resolutions passed on the topic. The Financial
Oversight and Management Board was a trick by the United States through
its Congress, where Puerto Rico did not have representation. Such
colonialism exploited his people. “They’re millionaire thieves stealing
the property of their brothers,” he said. Like Oscar López Rivera, the
people of Puerto Rico must be released. Before he had become President,
Donald Trump had defrauded Puerto Ricans through his golf courses. The
people had elected a man who admitted placing his hand under women’s
skirts. “A Puerto Rican woman, if Trump were to confront her, would
give him an appropriate slap,” he said.
JUDY SHERIDAN, President of the _New York State Nurses Association_,
described the impact of colonization on Puerto Rico’s health-care
system, including the rise of “diseases of poverty”, which generated a
downhill spiral of illness and disability. Puerto Rico’s poverty was
magnified by its political disenfranchisement, which had been a
contributing factor in severe environmental destruction. “Colonizing
Governments view the lives of the colonized as having lesser value,” she
said, recalling that Puerto Rican women had served as unsuspecting
guinea pigs in the 1950s and 1960s as pharmaceutical companies tested
the safety of oral contraceptives and that one third of Puerto Rican
women between the ages of 20 and 49 had been surgically sterilized
without appropriate informed consent. Today, “medical tourism”
speculators had explored the possibility of creating an “organ
transplant mecca” in Puerto Rico, citing the availability of healthy
organs due to the high death rate of young people. Puerto Rico had also
been used as a testing ground for weapons and military training.
Meanwhile, the United States’ “one-crop economy” policy on the island
meant that 90 per cent of its food was imported and the Jones Act
continued to foster exorbitant prices for poor quality foodstuffs, she said.
OSBORNE HART, _Socialist Workers Party_, said a successful struggle for
Puerto Rico’s independence from Washington, D.C.’s domination was also
in the interests of working people in the United States. The United
States Government and the capitalist ruling class it represented were
responsible for the current unprecedented global crisis. “This disaster
comes crashing down harder on Puerto Rico’s working people and others
because of its colonial bondage to Washington,” he stressed. In the
United States, workers and farmers also faced attacks by their bosses
and their Government. Describing some of his acts of solidarity with
working people — including Puerto Ricans — as the Social Working Party
candidate for mayor of New York City, he also vowed to stand with the
hundreds of thousands of Puerto Rican workers forced to migrate to the
United States because of the island’s economic catastrophe. While the
ruling class campaigned vigorously to convince Puerto Ricans that their
survival depended on Washington, D.C., Cuba’s socialist revolution
demonstrated what workers and farmers could accomplish when they
organized themselves to take State power out of the hands of the
capitalist class.
MARTA M. BUSTILLO, _Asociación Puertorriqueña de Profesores
Universitarios_, said schools were being threatened and the current
situation must be addressed. Funding reductions would affect schools’
efforts to help people break out of poverty through education. She
called on the Special Committee to denounce attacks by the colonial
Power that threatened health and education services and to recognize
that the University of Puerto Rico offered a great service to the
population.
MARTHA QUINOÑES DOMÍNGUEZ, _Asociación de Economistas de Puerto Rico_,
said the United States was continuing to assert its control over the
island. She questioned the source of the current debt, pointing out
that no audit could be ordered. The colonial Power had criminalized
protest, which was primarily that the debt was impoverishing the people,
thus removing Puerto Rico’s opportunity to improve living conditions.
The Government was persecuting the people, she said, pointing to funding
reductions for schools, trade laws that favoured foreigners and court
decisions that promoted pollution.
AMY RUIZ GOYCO, _International Law Students Association_, said the
reality was that Puerto Rico was today managed by a financial oversight
board, created by Congress. Its colonial status prevented Puerto Rico
from properly developing.
ANTONIO CAMACHO, _Latino Law Student Association_, stressed that Puerto
Rico was under extermination; people were leaving, work was
disappearing, schools were closing and taxes kept increasing. The
United States had lied to the United Nations and to the world when it
stated in 1953 that Puerto Rico was a self-governing State. A year ago,
the United States approved, directed and sponsored a seven-member regime
to manage Puerto Rico, which had complete authoritarian power. The
Special Committee had the global responsibility and integrity to ensure
equal human rights for all. For more than 30 years, people had demanded
that the issue of Puerto Rico be brought to the General Assembly and
that the United Nations accept that Puerto Rico was a colony of the
United States, he emphasized.
ANA M. LÓPEZ, “_La Coordinadora_”, a collective of human rights
organizations that freed Oscar López Rivera, recalled that following
Mr. López Rivera’s release on 17 May from house arrest his planned
participation in the National Puerto Rican Day parade had “ruffled some
feathers” of the parade’s corporate sponsors. A “disgusting millionaire
media campaign”, funded by a small elite and backed by the United States
Federal Bureau of Investigation, had also been launched against
Mr. López Rivera, aimed at distorting and manipulating the facts and
creating such a hostile environment that his life was put in danger.
Meanwhile, she said, the austerity measures imposed on Puerto Rico had
amounted to a humanitarian crisis on the island. “In Puerto Rico and in
the Puerto Rican diaspora, Oscar has become an emblematic symbol of
freedom and a role model for social justice” due to his strength,
perseverance and resilience, she concluded, adding that his release had
brought a glimpse of the start of a decolonization process.
JOSÉ M. LOPEZ SIERRA, _Compañeros Unidos para la Descolonización de
Puerto Rico_, said recent events had demonstrated the grim current
situation, including corporate boycotts of the Puerto Rico Day parade
and decisions that had been made in United States’ courts. Further, the
United Nations had kept Puerto Rico off its list of colonies. According
to international law, the aggressor in the current situation was the
United States.
MERCEDES MARTINEZ PADILLA, _Teachers Federation of Puerto Rico_, said
500 years of colonialism had seen Spain and the United States provide
education, which had evolved into a systematic process to change the
culture, with the English becoming the dominant language in the
curriculum. Changes since the 1940s had given some control over
education to Puerto Ricans, which had raised the literacy rate. Yet,
there was no real education philosophy that was in line with Puerto
Ricans’ vision, particularly cuts for schools.
JOSELYN SANTOS VALDERRAMA, _Juventud Hostosiana_, underlined that for
more than 500 years, Puerto Rico had been a colony, first under the
Spanish flag and for 119 years under the United States Government. She
came from an island with 3.5 million inhabitants, where 45 per cent of
the people lived under poverty, where unemployment rates surpassed
12 per cent and where last year 99.5 per cent of the population drank
contaminated water. That crisis had taken root under the colonialism of
the United States and to tackle those issues, radical change would be
required. The United States could not remain indifferent, nor ignore the
political situation there, she said, adding that it was no longer a
political issue, but also a humanitarian one.
CIRILO TIRADO RIVERA, _Alianza Patria, Inc._, said that, normally,
elections attracted approximately 70 per cent of the electorate, yet the
recent plebiscite had only seen a 23‑per‑cent voter turnout, thus
providing a very unclear representation of the views of all Puerto
Ricans. Puerto Rico was a colony and the United States must take the
necessary steps to change that.
FAVIO RAMIREZ-CAMINATTI, _El Centro de Immigrante_, said thousands of
lost jobs and other injustices were among current pressing problems,
with the United States further exacerbating the situation with its
recent decisions, including establishing a fiscal board that implemented
an austerity plan. Despite the Special Committee’s discussions over the
past decade, nothing concrete had happened, he said, calling on it to
ensure that a dialogue began with the United States to end colonization.
MONIKA PONTON-ARRINGTON, _Indigenous Womens Knowledge_, spoke as a Taino
woman whose land had been under foreign colonial rule since the
fifteenth century. Noting that those rulers had worked to take away
their basic human right “to be who you are”, she voiced support for the
2014 Petition by the National Sovereign State of Boriken to the
Secretary-General for full membership in the United Nations, recalling
that the Organization’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
guaranteed the rights to self-determination and autonomy, among others.
“We cannot trust the colonizer to protect the interests of the
colonized,” she stressed, calling for a representative mechanism to
facilitate access to the highest authorities and forums of the
international community. “We must have a voice in the international
arena, to speak truth to power, and to hold powerful interests
accountable to the basic standards of common decency and human rights,”
she said.
JOCELYN VELÁZQUEZ RODRÍGUEZ, _Frente Socialista_, drew attention to the
situation of human rights. During the past weeks, many cases had been
reported of men and women who had been arrested by the Government and
detained without legal counsel or access to their families. The
resistance will not be stopped, she said. There was an urgent need to
take the current situation to higher forums to ensure that promises that
had been made were fulfilled.
ISMAEL BETANCOURT, JR., _Institute for Multicultural Communications,
Cooperation and Development_, said he believed this month would go down
in history as the beginning of the end of the colonization of the Puerto
Rican people under United States rule. He recommended that Puerto Rico,
once independent, should remain so for 10 years before choosing any
other form of government desired by its people. For its part, the
United States would remove a colonial hole in its democracy and regain
its moral standing in the international community, he said.
NELSON ROCHET-SANTORO, _Concilio de Veteranos y Soldados de Puerto
Rico_, said the United States practised a colonial slavery in Puerto
Rico, which should cause it shame, as it called itself a defender of
liberty. Stressing that Puerto Rican veterans had fought in war, he
said: “We come before you so that this Committee sends communications to
the Government of the United States demanding that it respect
resolution 1514 (XV),” the magna carta of decolonization. He rejected
having his country enslaved, which stemmed from the racism of white
American power. “They have made us the victims of colonial slavery,” he
said, against which he protested. “We need the solidarity for the cause
of liberation for the Puerto Rican people.”
For information media. Not an official record.
--
Freedom Archives 522 Valencia Street San Francisco, CA 94110 415
863.9977 https://freedomarchives.org/
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://freedomarchives.org/pipermail/news_freedomarchives.org/attachments/20170929/2f01b308/attachment.htm>
More information about the News
mailing list