[News] Oscar Lopez Rivera Asks UN to Respect His Country

[Anti-Imperialist News]

http://plenglish.com/index.php?o=rn&id=29767&SEO=puerto-rican-independentist-asks-un-to-respect-his-country 



  Puerto Rican Independentist Asks UN to Respect His Country

United Nations, Jun 18 (Prensa Latina)

Puerto Rican independence fighter Oscar Lopez Rivera denounced today the 
disastrous impact on Puerto Rico''s economy, culture and society of the 
U.S. imposition of a colonial model.

The United States wants the cage, but not the pigeons, he said in an 
intervention at the U.N. Decolonization Committee, which is analyzing on 
Monday the Puerto Rican case and the demand for independence.

That is why the American government encourages migration in my country. 
 From the first moment the United States invaded and occupied the 
island, one of its main objectives was to depopulate the territory and 
destroy our culture, our identity and our language, he stressed.

The majority of those who leave are professionals and young people, 
which endangers the future of the country, there is a loss of brains and 
the country is left without its human resources, Lopez Rivera added.

Increasingly, Puerto Rico's economy is becoming dysfunctional: it has no 
capacity to create jobs, while the United States prevents the 
development of a domestic market and all the capital produced on the 
island ends up in northern banks, the Independence fighter detailed.

The fiscal control board imposed by the U.S. Congress controls the 
decisions of local officials and the people don't know how and on what 
they spend their tax dollars, he observed.

In addition, he added, the threat of public school closures continues, 
there is a loss of investors and Puerto Rico is left without human capital.

We cannot allow Puerto Rico to become another Hawaii, so more Puerto 
Ricans are joining the fight for independence and the end of colonial 
rule, Lopez Rivera affirmed.

This demand must be taken to the UN General Assembly, because it is up 
to it to address a crime against humanity such as colonization, 
emphasized the independence fighter who was imprisoned in U.S. prisons 
for more than 36 years.

Despite this, the UN General Assembly continues to ignore the issue and 
the situations of danger that threaten the future of our people and of 
an entire nation under colonial rule, he reiterated.

Lopez Rivera expressed his gratitude to the Decolonization Committee for 
the support they have given to the Puerto Rican people in their struggle 
for independence.

How can the U.S. government be allowed to continue to perpetrate this 
crime of colonialism, the United Nations should study all these negative 
consequences generated in the last 120 years of domination, and how 
destructive and dehumanizing this colonial situation is, the fighter 
stressed.

The UN Decolonization Committee is once again addressing the issue of 
Puerto Rico today and supporting its call for independence.
________________________________________________

http://www.plenglish.com/index.php?o=rn&id=29770&SEO=oscar-lopez-rivera-urges-un-to-end-u.s.-colonialism-in-puerto-rico 



  Oscar Lopez Rivera Urges UN to End U.S. Colonialism in Puerto Rico

18 de junio de 2018 - Ibis Frade Brito

United Nations, Jun 18 (Prensa Latina) Independence activist Oscar Lopez 
Rivera said today that the UN and its General Assembly must take into 
account as soon as possible Puerto Rico's case and put an end to the 
colonialism imposed by the United States.

As time passes and this issue is not resolved, conditions on the island 
go from bad to worse, so it should not be another year without 
addressing the matter at the United Nations, said Lopez Rivera in 
exclusive statements to Prensa Latina.

We have enormous problems caused by the U.S. government, for example, 
that issue of creating a fiscal control board that dictates to the 
Puerto Rican people how they will spend their money and where to use it, 
he said.

We are also suffering the consequences of privatization: living 
conditions have been declining because public corporations -which 
previously provided services- no longer exist or are in foreign hands, 
especially American industries, he added.

Puerto Rico is still a guinea pig not only for U.S. corporations, but 
also for the government of that country, so we will continue with our 
claim for independence, he said.

The United States, as Pedro Albizu Campos said, wanted the cage, but not 
the pigeons. In other words: it seeks to stay with Puerto Rico and, at 
the same time, eliminate its people, depopulate the territory, force 
people to leave Puerto Rico, warned the anticolonialist fighter.

Lopez Rivera, who was imprisoned for more than 36 years for his 
independence ideas, recalled how five million Puerto Ricans live outside 
the country and only about three million remain in the territory.

The United States has been achieving one of its goals, depopulation, and 
now more than ever we need the UN to hear our demand for independence, 
he said.

The General Assembly is the one that has the responsibility and the 
strength to address the independence issue and can make a decision to 
decolonize Puerto Rico, he noted.

That body has to force the U.S. government to stop the crime against 
humanity that is colonialism and even more in Puerto Rico's case, the 
oldest colony in the world, he stressed.

We need the support of the entire world, because the United States has 
the veto power in the Security Council, and this gives it an opportunity 
to decide what the future of Puerto Rico will be, he warned.

We need the support of all the people who believe in justice, in freedom 
and are against the crime of colonialism; the whole world has to fight 
for the independence and sovereignty of Puerto Rico, he reiterated.

Puerto Ricans must govern Puerto Rico, they should have control and not 
the foreign entities and the United States Government.

That was the claim of the independence fighter supported on Monday by 
the United Nations Decolonization Committee.



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