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Background
The Special Committee had before it a report (document
A/AC.109/2007/L.3) prepared by the Rapporteur of the
Special Committee per a resolution adopted on 12 June
2006. The report highlights Puerto Rico’s general
constitutional and political status. It notes that under
the current Commonwealth arrangements, authority over
defence, international relations, external trade and
monetary matters remains with the United States, while
Puerto Rico has autonomy on tax matters, social policies
and most local affairs. Given the current deadlock among
Puerto Rico’s political parties as to whether the
island’s territorial status should change, an agreement
on how to address the question of future status is
unlikely during the current administration, the report
states.
However, the United States Congress reopened debate
over Puerto Rico’s political status in early 2007. The
Puerto Rico Democracy Act of 2007 was introduced in the
House of Representatives in February and urged a
plebiscite to be conducted no later than 31 December
2009. It called for the ballot to provide voters with
two options: to continue the existing form of
territorial status or pursue a path toward a
constitutionally viable permanent non-territorial
status. Another bill, cited as the Puerto Rico Self-Determination
Act of 2007, also was introduced in February in the
House of Representatives.
Regarding military developments, the report noted
that three issues remained to be clarified following the
official end on 1 May 2003 of the United States Navy’s
presence on the island of Vieques, located eight miles
off the east coast of Puerto Rico: the future
development and environmental clean-up of Vieques;
definitive conclusions regarding the effects of military
exercises on the health of residents; and the future of
the Roosevelt Roads Naval Station on the island of
Puerto Rico. The Navy later announced it had budgeted
$76 million for the clean-up of Vieques for the
2006-2009 period.
Regarding previous actions taken by the United
Nations, the report noted that the United States
maintained that Puerto Rico had exercised its right to
self-determination, had attained a full measure of self-government,
had decided freely and democratically to enter into a
free association with the United States and was,
therefore, as stated explicitly in resolution 748 (III)
of 1953, beyond the purview of United Nations
consideration.
Adopting on 13 June 2005 a decision by consensus, the
Special Committee reaffirmed the right of the Puerto
Rican people to self-determination and independence in
conformity with General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV).
It reiterated that the Puerto Rican people constituted a
Latin American and Caribbean nation that had its own
unequivocal national identity.
Also before the Committee was a draft resolution on
the Special Committee decision of 12 June 2006
concerning Puerto Rico (document A/AC.109/2007/L.7).
Introduction of Draft Resolution
Introducing the draft resolution on the Special
Committee decision of 12 June 2006 concerning Puerto
Rico (document A/AC.109/2007/L.7), RODRIGO MALMIERCA
DÍAZ (Cuba) said the high number, and great variety of,
Puerto Rican political and social forces represented at
the present meeting was proof of the high interest
regarding the Puerto Rico “colonial question”.
He said that, notwithstanding 30 years of effort on
the Committee’s part, the Puerto Rican people remained
unable to exercise its right to self-determination. The
United States, the colonial power, had tried by all
means to consolidate its economic, political and social
domination over the people of Puerto Rico. For its part,
the Committee had adopted 25 resolutions and decisions
on the issue, reaffirming the right of Puerto Rican
people to self-determination and independence, in
accordance with General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV).
He said the present resolution called, once again, on
the United States Government to accept responsibility to
foster a process allowing the Puerto Rican people to
exercise its inalienable rights. It also reiterated the
principle that any initiative for the solution of Puerto
Rico’s political status must first spring from the
Puerto Rican people. The text urges the United States
Government to complete the return to the Puerto Rican
people all occupied lands and the facilities in Vieques
and Ceiba, and to accelerate execution and costs of the
cleaning up and decontamination of the areas of impact,
through methods that did not worsen the consequences of
its military activities on the health of the inhabitants
of Vieques Island and the environment.
He said the resolution noted statements made by the
Non-Aligned Movement at its 2006 summit in Havana, in
which its 118 members reiterated their solidarity with
the people of Puerto Rico. The draft also noted the
Proclamation adopted within the framework of the Latin-American
and Caribbean Congress for the Independence of Puerto
Rico, held in Panama in 2006, with the participation of
33 political parties from 22 countries.
He said the resolution further reiterated the Special
Committee’s deep concern for the continued “violent
actions” against Puerto Rican independence fighters in
Puerto Rico, and urged that investigations be conducted
on such actions. The President of the United States was
called on to release political prisoners that had been
serving sentences for more than 26 years in United
States jails, on charges related to the struggle for
independence.
Petitioners
CELINA ROMANY SIACA, representative of the Colegio de
Abogados de Puerto Rico, said her organization was
charged with defending the fundamental rights of Puerto
Rican citizens, noting that it had opened a dialogue to
advocate for self-determination for them. For years, the
Puerto Rican Bar Association had advanced that position.
Despite the torturous route travelled in that process,
only once in the last 35 years had Puerto Rico been the
subject of General Assembly discussion, in 1953.
The democratic deficit and human rights violations
persisted, she said. In keeping with the current reform
process of the United Nations, the time had come for
Puerto Rico’s case to be brought to the General Assembly.
The Puerto Rican Bar Association had reiterated that
position, informed by resolution 1514, and all delays
lacerated the island’s dignity. Rarely was it heard that
the level of poverty in Puerto Rico doubled levels found
in certain areas of the United States. Further, the
island was undergoing a governance crisis.
The island was facing the gradual disappearance of
its economic model and a new, post-colonial transition
model was needed, she continued. Manifestations of
colonialism remained, including the imposition of the
death penalty for federal crimes and environmental
contamination. Legislation on the issue of Puerto Rico
was under consideration in the United States Congress.
For the first time, Puerto Ricans were recognizing the
right to self-determination and a procedural mechanism
had been created to help bring that about. Another bill
advocated for a plebiscite. She called for a
consultative opinion from the International Court of
Justice on the issue of Puerto Rico and demanded that
the United Nations defend Puerto Rico’s right to free
determination.
FERNANDO MARTIN, Puerto Rican Independence Party, said support for the cause seemed to extend beyond the
Committee. Indeed, a build up of “continental will” in
favour of solidarity with Puerto Rico was being seen
among the citizens of Latin America and the Caribbean,
bringing to mind the episode surrounding the transfer of
sovereignty of the Panama Canal from the United States
to Panama. The swelling of support was evident in the
success of the Latin American and Caribbean Congress in
Panama last November, where members expressed support
for Puerto Rico, and in the resolution passed in
December 2006 by the Latin American Parliament
expressing support for decolonization.
He said recognition of the failure of “the system of
colonial subordination”, coupled with the trend towards
the demilitarization of countries, had obliged the
United States Government to re-examine its “relations of
domination”. In its recent formal declaration, the
United States Congress had openly recognized the
colonial character of the regime in Puerto Rico. Three
major political parties in Puerto Rico had unanimously
voted in 2005 to call on the President of the United
States and Congress to respond to the call of Puerto
Ricans to provide them with alternatives that were not
territorial or colonial in nature. That represented a
“majority feeling” in Puerto Rico, with the exception of
a minority party, including the Governor, which tended
to support the status quo. The draft law on Puerto Rico,
currently being examined in Congress, indicated that a
process was underway to overcome the present regime, but
the “colonial Governor” could derail such an initiative.
He said the people of Puerto Rico, in one way or
another, must hold electoral consultations on the issue
of decolonization, whether under the auspices of the
United States Congress or another mechanism based in
Puerto Rico itself. He thought it important that the
issue was taken to the General Assembly, to exert
further pressure on the United States to intensify its
moves towards decolonization. He expressed support for
the draft resolution submitted by Cuba, especially its
provisions relating to Vieques and the demands for the
freedom of Puerto Rican political prisoners. He hoped
Puerto Rico would proceed on the path towards
independence, and reach its goal before the end of the
second decade for the eradication of colonialism.
EDUARDO VILLANUEVA MUÑOZ, representative of the Human
Rights Committee of Puerto Rico, requested the immediate
release of prisoners held in federal jails, some as long
as 27 years. The United States Congress had held
discussions on the colonial status of Puerto Rico, and
the release of prisoners was a precondition for any
discussion. All political prisoners had been subjected
to torture and degrading treatment. One prisoner had
been placed in a special cell and his isolation had been
intensified for years. Despite the fact he had been
diagnosed with cataracts, he had not been given the
opportunity to correct that problem. He faced the
possibility of dying in jail. Another prisoner who had
been entitled to provisional release was denied that
opportunity. A third inmate, imprisoned over the Vieques
situation, had been attacked in jail, however, no
investigation had been conducted. He’d often been placed
in solitary confinement.
The moral strength of a country was derived from its
human rights actions, he said. However, how could those
who imposed human rights guidelines on other countries
keep prisoners in such awful conditions? The United
States was violating the most fundamental human rights
of prisoners.
After 27 years of unfair treatment, Puerto Rico
called for the unconditional and immediate release of
prisoners, he said, noting that last October, a 2,000
person march had taken place calling for their release.
Further, an open letter had been sent to President Bush
calling for their release. That letter had been signed
by legislators, mayors and party chairpersons. A
recommendation approved in the Special Committee could
be a real contribution for Puerto Rico’s call for the
release of prisoners.
ENRIQUE BAQUERO, Fundación Acción Democràtica
Puertorriqueña, whose organization was committed to
improving the quality of democracy in Puerto Rico, urged
the Committee to arrange for the General Assembly to
take up the issue of the decolonization of Puerto Rico.
The Assembly should seize on the formal recognition by
the Bush Administration of the “territorial”, and, thus,
colonial relationship between the United States and
Puerto Rico, to question the argument made in 1953 by
the United States to the Assembly that peoples of those
two countries had an “agreement” that exempted them from
reporting annually to the United Nations on the economic
and social development of Puerto Rico’s inhabitants.
He said it was urgent that the Assembly take action,
given that the United States House of Representatives
had begun considering a draft resolution on a possible
plebiscite in Puerto Rico on the issue. The Committee
was urged to ask the Assembly to call on the United
States to organize a plebiscite that presented all valid
alternatives for self-determination, in line with United
Nations resolution 1514 (XV) and others, and that the
plebiscite not limit people’s choices to “colonial
options” alone. The current, so-called commonwealth
relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico
was not of a kind that the United Nations accepted. He
noted that the United States, and the General Assembly
in turn, had recognized the sovereignty of the Marshall
Islands, Micronesia and Palau.
He said that, in its resolution this year, the
Committee should include a provision urging the United
States Congress to deal with the issue seriously and in
good faith, given that, in past years, the issue was
often taken up and then left to fall by the wayside. He
supported the option of establishing a Puerto Rican
constitutional assembly with the authority to decide how
the status of its people should be taken up. He noted
that the United States House of Representatives had
another bill before it, recognizing the right of Puerto
Ricans to convene such a constitutional assembly. He
also supported the freeing of Puerto Rican political
prisoners.
WILMA RIVERÓN, of the Comit é Puerto Rico En La Onu,
said that from the outset, the United Nations had
included in its Charter the recognition of peoples to
their right to self-determination, to freely establish
their political situation, and to provide for their
economic, social and cultural development. The right to
self-determination was a fundamental right, she stressed,
without which it was not possible to enjoy other rights.
The right to decolonization was outlined in the United
Nations Charter, as well as the International
Declaration on Human Rights, and in many General
Assembly resolutions, particularly resolution 1514, the
main guideline for decolonization.
All those instruments repeated the inadmissibility of
the intervention of States in the sovereignty of peoples,
and protected peoples subject to colonialism,
particularly their right to self-determination and
independence. It should be clear that on the basis of
the adoption of resolution 1514, any claims to
sovereignty of a territory were no longer be valid,
because they violated the principle of the right to self-determination.
On the basis of new international law, old colonial
entitlements no longer existed.
In the case of Puerto Rico, the “legality” that the
intervening Power, the United States, used to justify
its subjugation was based on resolution 748 (1953). Its
position was that the Puerto Ricans had already
exercised their right to self-determination by creating
their own Government.
However, in the inter-agency group report on Puerto
Rico adopted in April 2007, the United States reiterated
that Puerto Rico belonged to, but did not form part of
the United States and, thus, was subject to the full
powers of Congress. That declaration served as proof
that the adoption resolution 748 was truly an act of
international public relations, and that the United
States had no desire to comply with the law on
decolonization. Puerto Ricans had denounced that
situation each year in this Committee. Implementation of
resolution 1514 recognized the inalienable right of
Puerto Rico to self-determination and independence. Some
35 years had passed and 25 resolutions had been adopted
without the United States fulfilling its obligations.
The Special Committee resolution of 2006 stated what
was expected of the United States, she said, noting that
the inter-agency working group affirmed that Puerto Rico
was subject to the congressional authority of the United
States. It noted the debate in Puerto Rico for a
procedure that would allow for a decolonization process.
She joined denunciations of others on the expropriation
and control by the United States of Puerto Rican
environmental resources. She also called for the release
of political prisoners.
MANUEL RIVERA, Puertorriqueños Unidos En Accion,
thanked Cuba and Venezuela for the unconditional support
they have shown to the people of Puerto Rico, so far. He
also paid tribute to the efforts of various other
international supporters, such as members of the Non-Aligned
Movement, whose efforts in the final months of 2006 had
led to a declaration reaffirming Puerto Rico’s right to
self-determination, and to the Latin American and
Caribbean Congress, which had produced the Panama
Proclamation in favour of Puerto Rico’s independence.
He said Amnesty International had issued a report
that condemned various human rights violations by the
United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI),
including the assassination of a major independence
leader, Filiberto Ojeda Ríos, as well as the excessive
use of force by the FBI against Puerto Rican journalists.
Efforts must be made to guarantee a respect for the
human rights of Puerto Ricans, as they worked to achieve
their self-determination and decolonization. That
included the rights of political prisoners condemned to
excessive jail time in United States jails, where they
were submitted to psychological pressure and physical
mistreatment.
The exercise of Puerto Rican self-determination must
be full and just, he said, and must ensure the
participation of Puerto Ricans residing in the United
States, through a constituent assembly. The idea for
such an assembly had received support from the Puerto
Rico bar association, workers groups, the religious
sector and political parties. However, the United States
had taken measures to confound world public opinion
regarding the true nature of its power over Puerto Rico
and seemed to “discard” ideas for convening such a
constituent assembly. Indeed, the United States seemed
to be using its influence to prevent the issue from
being taken up by the General Assembly, and to prevent
the people of Puerto Rico from exercising their rights.
After 500 years of struggling against colonialism, the
people of Puerto Rico must be careful not make the
mistake of supporting a process that failed to uphold
the principles of resolution 1514 (XV).
PAULA SANTIAGO, representative of the Nationalist
Party of Puerto Rico, denounced all crimes against the
Puerto Rican people, particularly colonialism. She hoped
the commitment of the Committee would help to achieve
Puerto Rico’s independence and membership in the United
Nations system. She understood that the Committee’s work
was important for Puerto Ricans’ full enjoyment of their
rights within a legal framework. When resolution 1514
was adopted, the Committee had decided to examine the
question of Puerto Rico.
She urged the President of the United States to help
the island ensure its self-determination and desist from
all actions that harmed its freedom fighters. Moreover,
she called for the immediate release of those held in
federal prisons, and the halting of “electronic warfare”
conducted by the FBI.
Further, she said the United States Government should
stop violating the fundamental human rights of Puerto
Ricans, particularly in the area of health. Puerto Rico
had the second-highest level of death from HIV/AIDS, but
lacked the funds necessary to deal with that epidemic.
Also, the United States should decontaminate areas it
had ruined with experiments.
Since 1898, the United States had tried to destroy
Puerto Rican nationality and imperialism again was
sharpening its sword, she continued. The United States
kept the island as a personal corporation and that
exploitation made its citizens poor. Puerto Rico was the
last significant colony in the world, and its fate was
in the hands of the United States Congress. It was time
for the international community to overturn the
situation. Puerto Rico needed self-determination,
according to international law. The island must be a
free and independent nation. She asked all Committee
members to help take the question of Puerto Rico to the
General Assembly.
ARGIRIS MALAPANIS, representative of the Socialist
Workers Party, called for the immediate release of all
Puerto Rican independence fighters from United States
prisons, particularly the “Cuban Five”, whose real crime
was fighting for their country’s sovereignty. The fight
for Puerto Rico’s independence was in the interests of
the majority of United States people, he continued,
noting that as long as the island remained a United
States colony, the fighting capacity of the working-class
movement was weakened. The United States Government had
used Puerto Rico as a springboard for launching assaults
on countries, from its 1983 invasion of Grenada to the
occupation of Iraq. Further, it continued to use Puerto
Rican youth as fodder in its imperialist wars. The
successful 60-year struggle by the Puerto Rican people
to remove the United States Navy from Vieques had
educated millions about those realities.
The ongoing incarceration of four Puerto Rican
“independentistas” was another case of turning the
victim into the criminal, he said, as was the case with
the 12 million undocumented immigrants. Those workers
had become a growing section of the United States
working class, and provided a pool of “super-exploited
labour” to satisfy the bosses’ greed for profit. The
United States rulers had the gall to tell the Puerto
Rican people -- while assaulting then on wages, job
safety and living conditions -– that they had no choice
but to depend on Washington and that independence would
only bring them ruin. Indeed, the Committee’s
condemnation of Washington’s colonial rule would serve
the interest of those fighting everywhere for the right
to self-determination and against oppression.
LUIS VEGA RAMOS, representative of the House of
Representatives of Puerto Rico, said he had come to
inform the Committee about the situation in Puerto Rico.
In accepting Puerto Rico’s Constitution in 1952, the
United States had committed to accept petitions on
freedoms. It was time for the United States to respond
to its lack of compliance in those matters. Puerto
Rico’s claims for autonomy and self-determination had
always been heard. In 1962, the development of a free
associated state was urged, based on the sovereign
capability of the Puerto Rican people. Further, the
respect for the sovereignty and identity of Puerto
Ricans was outlined in resolution 1514.
He demanded that Puerto Rico’s right to self-determination
be respected. Moreover, he reaffirmed the island’s right
to sovereignty, saying that since 1978, that right had
included the right of free association. There were two
measures before the United States Congress on self-determination,
and while his party had not expressed a preference, he
demanded that any action by Congress include the option
of an associated State. He supported bill 1230 to
establish federal mechanisms to negotiate future
discussions with the United States. He also had put
forward draft legislation in the Puerto Rican Chamber of
Representatives, which had been developed by a
multiparty committee.
Finally, he said, the United States had not complied
with promoting the processes that would ensure Puerto
Rico’s right to self-determination. If Congress did not
adopt either draft before it, he hoped Puerto Rico,
nonetheless, would become a free associated State to the
United Nations. He asked the Committee to urge the
General Assembly to re-examine the issue of Puerto
Rico’s self-determination. He called for full membership
of Puerto Rico in the United Nations, as the time had
come to seek mechanisms that would allow for Puerto
Rico’s full exercise of self-determination.
ALEDIA CENTENO RODRIGUEZ, Frente Patriotico Arecibeño,
said her organization had spoken last year on the United
States strategy to authorize a nuclear weapons
production facility in Puerto Rico, in violation of the
Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. She
explained that Arecibo was home to the Arecibo National
Astronomy and Ionospheric Centre (NAIC), which was used
as an “ionospheric heater” [an array of antennae which
are used for heating the uppermost part of the
atmosphere]. Arecibo was also mentioned as a test-site
for the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Programme
(HAARP), in a patent filed by an individual in the
United States, to conducted experiments related to
ionospheric manipulation. HAARP could function as an
anti-missile and anti-aircraft defence system, permit
interception and disruption of communications, weather
and submarine and subterranean communications, among
other things. The HAARP patent papers also stated that
the invention could “simulate and perform the same
function as performed by the detonation of a heavy type
nuclear device”.
She said Arecibo was also mentioned in connection
with the Puerto Rico Karst Conservation Act, which
included authorization for the deployment of a nuclear
weapons production facility. Aerial photos taken in the
region showed antenna-like devices directed towards the
ground, present since the mid-1990s. The citizens of
Arecibo had not been made aware of the consequences or
possible effects of those atmospheric experiments.
Statements found in the literature regarding those
experiments admit to the use of laser rays aimed at the
atmosphere and there have been witnesses to the use of
such rays for decades. There was a high rate of cancer
cases of unknown origin in that region.
She said documents from the United States Department
of Defence and Energy, and the National Nuclear Security
Administration appeared to be directed to the use of
Puerto Rican territory for the production of nuclear
weapons. On 17 May, a United States House Bill on the
safety for Americans from nuclear weapons testing was
introduced, which states that “alternate locations for
nuclear testing were being considered”. The bill also
stated that the Department of Energy, acting under the
National Environmental Policy Act, would be responsible
for handling cases of contamination in the United States.
In addition, Puerto Rico was designated as a territory
under the purview of the Radiological Assistance
Programme, which was ready to intervene in cases of
radioactive contamination. It would seem that that
entity was in charge of the well-being of the people of
Puerto Rico in case of a nuclear accident.
A document on land acquisition, available at the
property registry of Puerto Rico, Arecibo Section,
showed the consolidation of various estates into a
single 114 acre estate purchased by the United States
Government. More purchases would follow. The people of
Arecibo were wary of the intentions of the Untied States
Department of Defense, and denounced the fact that the
people of Puerto Rico were not being included in plans
that affected its security and future. The Committee was
urged to refer the case of Puerto Rico to the General
Assembly, and to take the necessary precautions to
guarantee the security of the hemisphere.
DINORAH LA LUZ, of the American Association of
Jurists, said her organization was a non-governmental
organization with consultative status in the Economic
and Social Council. She reiterated her call for the
eradication of colonialism and support for resolution
1514, which dealt with decolonization. The General
Assembly should take up the political status of Puerto
Rico without delay.
She denounced the violations of human rights
instruments by the United States, especially those
treaties dealing with self-determination, and reiterated
support for such instruments, including the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights. As the United States had
not fulfilled its obligations to various international
treaties, she said there was a lack of sovereignty among
those governing Puerto Rico.
Turning to the issue of Vieques, she said the island
was awaiting the decontamination and return of its lands.
Moreover, it was a cruel punishment that Puerto Rican
prisoners were under disproportionate jail terms. The
United States was not complying with the General
Assembly decision that stated that nations that
maintained colonies should dismantle their military
bases. Clearly, resolutions on decolonization and racial
discrimination should be implemented. She hoped the case
of Puerto Rico could be solved without further delay and
that its important issues could be brought to the
General Assembly.
EDUARDO BHATIA, Office of the Governor of Puerto Rico
in the United States, said he stood ready to work with
the Committee and the United Nations General Assembly to
reach a new agreement that would reflect the political,
economic and social realities of the twenty-first
century. The relationship of association between Puerto
Rico and the United States should evolve to ensure
compliance with present legal realities, and serve the
best interests of Puerto Ricans in terms of their
economic and social well-being. A majority of Puerto
Ricans treasured their United States citizenship; yet,
there were many who recognized that there were
alternatives beyond annexation, which would lead to
assimilation, and independence, which spelled separation.
He said Puerto Ricans were divided into factions
where 49 per cent supported the status of associated
free state; 46 per cent supported annexation; and 5 per
cent supported independence. Puerto Ricans rejected
colonialism in all its manifestations and, for that
reason, the territory’s alternative status needed to be
non-colonial and respectful of modern principles of
sovereignty, while also respecting the wish to associate
with the United States. Various political forces in the
United States and Puerto Rico were pushing certain anti-democratic
processes, which must be stopped. Last year and the year
before, the Governor had made clear his commitment to
establishing a process of free-determination for Puerto
Rico that would be inclusive; represent self-determination
and not imposition; and would respect ideological
differences among Puerto Ricans. It would involve
participation not just from political parties, but also
from of civil society.
He said the process promoted by the Governor, the
Status Constitutional Assembly, enjoyed wide support
among the Puerto Rican bar association, civil society
leaders, and the Special Committee itself. The proposal
had generated more support in last two years than in
previous decades, including from Puerto Ricans residing
in the United States, American Government officials and
others. There was a need to turn such “historic support”
into immediate action. In February, a bill was presented
to the United States House of Representatives, with the
help of Governor Acevedo Vilá, in which Congress
recognized the authority of Puerto Ricans to convene a
constitutional assembly, but also committed to a formula
that was favoured by a majority of Puerto Ricans. The
draft law calls for the inclusion of four million Puerto
Ricans living in the United States. Members of the
Committee were asked to maintain solidarity with the
people of Puerto Rico to ensure that the Constitutional
Assembly became a reality.
He said the “Puerto Rico Democracy Act”, H.R. 900,
proposed imposing a controversial vote in two rounds,
eventually proceeding to a vote where people would
choose between forming a federated state or an
independent one. The objective of such a strategy was to
ensure annexation of Puerto Rico against the people’s
will.
He said the Government of Puerto Rico stood ready to
begin work to resolve the present dilemma, by
establishing a non-traditional relationship of
association that was free, stable and democratic, and
which was underpinned by modern political reasoning.
DOMINIQUE A. GILORMINI-DE GARCIA, representing the
Fuerza Electoral Puertorriqueña Movement, said his
organization represented university students. For the
last four years, he had encouraged young people to
participate in elections and other activities that would
have an impact on the development of the island. He
reiterated that his organization stood ready to educate
young people. Although he did not affiliate himself with
a particular position on the question of status, he
encouraged a fair and democratic process. In recent
years, Puerto Ricans had been dragged into a sterile
debate on the status of the island, and it was his
understanding that a Constitutional Assembly on status
had offered the best hope for the future.
The United States Congress had two bills before it,
he continued. Bill 900 was designed to make Puerto Rico
the fifty-first State, while Bill 1230 recognized a
Constitutional Assembly. Bill 900 was the result of the
poor work of the task force created by United States
President Bush, he said, noting that such a bill
represented an attack on the integrity of Puerto Ricans.
Those imposing status on others without taking into
consideration the wishes of those affected were an
attacking democracy. He urged a fair, democratic and
inclusive process, and asked the Committee to support
the island of Vieques in calling for the clean up of its
contaminated areas.
CÉSAR PÉREZ LIZASUIN, Estudiantes de Derecho
Hostosianos Pro Independencia, speaking on behalf of the
Law Students Association, said that since the illegal
North American invasion of 1898, the people of Puerto
Rico had not had an opportunity to exercise their
legitimate and inherent right to self-determination,
based on resolution 1514 (XV) and the pacts and
covenants on civil, political and economic and
sociocultural rights. Resolution 2621 (1970) stated that
in territories where there had been no exercise to the
right to self-determination and independence, the
General Assembly must shoulder responsibility for them
until their inhabitants had had an opportunity to
exercise their rights. Resolution 2621 also stated that
there was an inherent right for all colonial people to
struggle by all means necessary against colonial powers.
Meanwhile, resolution 2625 provided for a separate and
different legal status vis-à-vis administering States
for their territories, until they could exercise right
to self-determination.
He said for national liberation movements, such as
the Boricua People’s Army, must be able to take action
against anybody opposing their right to self-determination
through assassinations; brutal persecution by the FBI of
independistas and members of the press; 60 years of
bombing in Vieques; the federal Government’s seizing the
best lands; and sending Puerto Rican to fight in Iraq.
Unfortunately, the demands of Puerto Ricans had been
ignored, and, meanwhile, the country was in danger of
disintegrating. There was a 50 per cent poverty rate,
high economic dependency, 30 per cent unemployment, and
an economy that could not grow more than 1 per cent per
year. The situation was closely linked to the
relationship of subordination to the United States, and
he recommended that Puerto Rico’s case be taken up to
the General Assembly.
He drew attention to the 2005 report of the
Presidential Task Force on Puerto Rico, which indicated
a clear change in the United States position as compared
to the decision of 1953, which established the status of
free associated state for Puerto Rico. That status meant
that Puerto Rico was no longer on the list of self-
governing territories, and could not be treated as a
colony; the United States Government has now changed its
tune and acknowledged the colonial nature of the
relationship. He urged the Committee to expose these
contradictions.
ISMAEL GUADALUPE ORTIZ, Vieques Si, recalled a time
when his siblings were removed from Vieques and his
parents’ house destroyed. His story was the same as that
of thousands of others from Vieques. Four years had
passed since the navy left the area, but the land
remained under federal authority, with a few plots of
land handed to the municipality. The rest were under the
control of a United States federal wildlife agency,
which kept the people of Vieques from visiting their
land.
For years, he said, the group had denounced the
environmental contamination taking place in Vieques. The
plan for conservation and environmental impact
assessments was an excuse to maintain control over the
area. The plan called for public participation, but in
truth there was no room to ask for the return of that
land to its rightful owners. The Navy used that land to
build a system of radars, which was for purely military
purposes. The type of clean-up undertaken in Vieques was
also suspect -- they were openly detonating bombs, with
support the navy. The Government of Puerto Rica and the
Environmental Protection Agencyhad rejected the burning
of grasses to clean the land anddetect the presence of
bombs, because it was damaging to people’s health. Yet,
that method was openly being proposed to the clean-up
group. In april 2007, civil disobedience groups
intervened to protect the mangroves and the grasses, but
they were nevertheless set on fire.
He said the Navy refused to listen to the community
regarding their concerns. The Committee should call for
a halt to the open detonation of bombs and open burning
of grasses, as well as the return of decontaminated
lands and a true clean up. Also, those responsible for
the deteriorating health of the people must be held
accountable.
MARIE MERILL RAMIREZ, representative of the Colectivo
de Trabajo Pro-Independencial de Mayagüez, said she had
supported independence for Puerto Rico and the release
of political prisoners for 20 years. She was here today
to discuss various incidents of harassment of those
supporting independence, including searches by the FBI
of the homes and offices of trade union leaders and
community leaders. There also was unnecessary
involvement of local police. Such incidents were not
isolated; rather, they formed part of a long and cruel
tradition against those supporting independence, and the
true dimensions of such harassment were being exposed
today.
Proof of repression by the United States Government
against those promoting independence was seen in the
168,000 documents recently declassified by the FBI and
today found in the legislative library of Puerto Rico.
In the last 20 months, she recalled that a friend had
reported over 40 incidents in which he and his family
had been followed or investigated. Other activists had
been called for interrogation without warning or reason.
All those involved were ready to offer sworn statements
about what had happened and some had approached human
rights commissions.
She was a witness to the fact that those questioned
were upstanding citizens who were respected in their
communities, she said. Many had lost their jobs and all
continued to cope with courage and dignity. The
Committee had a great responsibility to ensure that the
aspiration to eliminate colonialism was guaranteed. She
urged the Committee to request the General Assembly to
reopen consideration of the case of Puerto Rico.
JANNETTE RAMOS GARCIA, Unidad en La Acción,
Coordinadora Nacional Rompiendo el Perímetro, urged an
investigation into the Rios assassination and asked that
those responsible be brought to justice. Last year, her
group denounced the harassment and threats against those
fighting for Puerto Rico’s independence, and she
repeated the same message today. Her organization was
personally familiar with such incidents of harassment.
In the last few months, United States police agents
acted with impunity and were a constant threat to those
advocating the decolonization of Puerto Rico.
She said she had called on the FBI to provide the
names of agents involved in such incidents, but the FBI
had declined. But the Bar Association of Puerto Rico
stood ready to investigate the matter. The United States
Courts seemed to act in favour of the FBI, and seemed to
provide legal cover for instances of police “insolence”;
meanwhile, the people of Puerto Rico were left with no
legal recourse.
She said the people of Puerto Rico grieved along with
victims suffering from similar occurrences in other
countries. For example, in any other incidents in Milan
a few days ago, a case had arisen against 26 CIA agents,
accused of kidnapping a man and bringing him to Egypt
via a United States base in Germany. Her group had a
deep aspiration for justice and wished to defend human
rights. She called for the issue of Puerto Rico’s
independence to be brought to the General Assembly.
MARY ANNE GRADY FLORES, representative of the Ithaca
Catholic Worker Vieques Support Group, said she had
participated in the non-violent struggle in Vieques to
stop 60 years of United States Navy bombing. The United
States military continued to impose itself unjustly in
Vieques, and also through its proxy nations such as
Israel. Recalling her recent trip to Palestine, she said
that parallel struggles existed in Vieques and Palestine.
Further irony lay in the fact that the United States was
responsible, directly and indirectly, for colonization
in both cases. Other parallels existed: the confiscation
of lands, forced removal of people, demolition of homes
and the holding of political prisoners were just a few.
The people of Vieques believed that their struggle to
remove the United States military was intertwined with
the fate of others around the globe.
She said the people of Vieques demanded: the United
States Navy stop detonations of unexploded bombs; the
immediate removal of all hazardous materials; the
immediate return of lands occupied by the Department of
Fish and Wildlife; and the inclusion of Vieques citizens
in the development of their island. Further, they called
for a moratorium on the sale of Vieques lands to large
developers.
Turning to the issue of nuclear weapons, she said the
United Nations subcommittee on human rights had
condemned weaponry containing depleted uranium as a
weapon of mass destruction. Yet, some 9,500 residents of
Vieques live 11 miles west of the bombing range where
the United States Navy is detonating unexploded
ordinance today. Fine radioactive particles were forced
2000 metres into the atmosphere and carried by the winds
and hurricanes to populated areas throughout Puerto Rico
and the Caribbean.
She added that cancer rates in Vieques were 27 per
cent higher than the main island of Puerto Rico. No
hospital in Puerto Rico was able to test for the
presence of depleted uranium, and, like United States
veterans of both Iraq wars, the people of Vieques did
not have base line information about the presence of
depleted uranium in people’s bodies. But the military’s
decision to use that radioactive metal, in spite of
obvious health risks, showed a blatant disregard for
human life and well-being.
JULIO MURIENTE PEREZ, Co-President of the National
Independence Hostosiano Movement of Puerto Rico (MINH),
said that 25 July would be the one hundred-ninth
anniversary of the United States military invasion of
Puerto Rico. During all those years, the United States
Government had not taken a single step to advance the
decolonization of Puerto Rico. On the contrary, it had
fortified its presence and control on Puerto Rico and
its people in all the facets of their lives. The
official political condition that prevailed in Puerto
Rico was called a Free Associated State or Commonwealth.
That was a fraud promoted as a decolonization process,
but the international community had never given it
legitimacy.
“We demand that established international law be
complied with, especially United Nations resolution 1514
(XV) and its requirement that powers be transferred to
the people of Puerto Rico, so that we might freely
decide our destiny,” he said. Until now, the United
States had acted with open impunity and defiance of the
principals approved by the international community. “We
should not permit international law to be reduced to a
dead letter,” he stressed, recalling resolution 1514, 25
resolutions approved by the Special Committee, the
forceful resolution of the Non-Aligned Movement in
favour of Puerto Rico’s self-determination and
independence, as well as the voice of representatives of
dozens of Latin American political parties, who had
asked for the same thing in Panama recently. The Special
Committee had before it “an ample resolution, firm and
equitable”, reaffirming those rights of Puerto Rico. He
subscribed to its general content, particularly the
reclamations for the people of Vieques and the release
of Puerto Rican political prisoners.
As affirmed in that resolution, “all the initiatives
for the solution of the political status of Puerto Rico
should be taken by the people of Puerto Rico”, he said.
That should take place in a Constitutional Assembly of
Status, which was representative and inclusive. It would
be such national consensus, together with international
solidarity, that would force the Government of the
United States to assume its responsibility in the case.
“We are not asking you to substitute for us in this
liberation endeavour, this is our responsibility and no
one else’s,” he said. “All we are asking for is
solidarity in a just cause, authenticated as such by
this Committee on innumerable occasions.”
Action on Draft Resolution
Making a general statement before the action, the
representative of Saint Lucia, speaking on behalf of the
Non-Aligned Movement, said the exercise of self-determination
continued to be a top priority of the Non-Aligned
Movement’s agenda. The inalienable right to self-determination
remained valid and essential to guarantee respect for
human rights and fundamental freedoms. She reiterated
support for the Committee’s work, and urged
administering Powers to give their full support to that
United Nations body. The Movement renewed its call to
speed the process of decolonization and the complete
elimination of colonialism.
Moreover, the Movement reaffirmed its position on the
question of Puerto Rico contained in the final document
of the Summit Conference of Heads of State and
Government of the Non-Aligned Movement in Havana last
September. The colonial question of Puerto Rico had been
under consideration for more than 30 years and many
resolutions had been developed.
While she was pleased that over the last seven years,
the Committee had adopted its resolutions by consensus,
she also called for the prompt implementation of those
resolutions, and reaffirmed Puerto Rico’s right to self-determination.
The Movement called on the United States to assume its
responsibility to expedite a process that would allow
the Puerto Rican people to exercise self-determination,
and return occupied land on Vieques and at the Roosevelt
Roads Naval Station.
Finally, she urged the General Assembly to actively
consider the question of Puerto Rico in all its aspects.
Her delegation fully supported the work of the Special
Committee and hoped the resolution would take into
account the position of the Non-aligned Movement.
The representative of Venezuela, a co-sponsor of the
resolution alongside Cuba, endorsed the statement made
by the representative of Saint Lucia on behalf of the
Non-Aligned Movement. Venezuela had itself suffered the
ignominy of colonialism in the past, and, for that
reason, always sought to maintain solidarity with all
people wishing to liberate themselves from colonial
powers. Venezuela supported the important political
statements made on the decolonization of Puerto Rico by
the Latin American Congress and the Non-Aligned Movement.
He remarked that the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico now
allowed its people to request Puerto Rican citizenship,
bringing them closer to a concept of a sovereign Puerto
Rico. Unanimous approval of the draft would make clear
that the country was indeed under colonial power and
that there was a need for the General Assembly to
actively consider the question of Puerto Rico in all its
aspects. Such a resolution would go far in supporting
the rights of Puerto Rican people to their independence.
The representative of Syria said Puerto Rico had
struggled for many years in its right to self-determination,
noting particularly that resolution 1514 granted
independence to colonized peoples and lands. The
Committee had dealt with the question of Puerto Rico for
30 years and adopted 24 resolutions and decisions in
that regard. All those actions had been adopted by
consensus, he continued, emphasizing the need for Puerto
Rico to exercise its inalienable right to self-determination.
Moreover, those actions had demanded that the United
States Government expedite the process that would allow
Puerto Rico to exercise its right to independence.
Syria fully supported the document adopted at the
Summit Conference of Heads of State and Government of
the Non-Aligned Movement in Havana last September, he
explained. He hoped that the resolution presented by
Cuba would be adopted by consensus, which would reaffirm
the sanctity of the principle on the right to self-determination.
The representative of Iran, aligning himself with the
Non-Aligned Movement, said his country supported the
resolution before the Committee and hoped the Committee
adopted it by consensus, as had been the case in
previous years.
The Committee then adopted the resolution on without
a vote.
RODRIGO MALMIERCA DIAZ ( Cuba) said he was pleased
that the resolution had been adopted by consensus for
the eighth consecutive year. Indeed, the case of Puerto
Rico had risen to its highest level ever, he continued,
noting that, for the first time, the resolution
requested that the General Assembly consider the
question of Puerto Rico in all aspects, an important
step forward in the review of the case within the United
Nations framework.
The number of delegations, both members and non-members,
participating in the debate was commendable, he said,
highlighting the statement made by the 118 members of
the Non-Aligned Movement. He said the adoption of the
resolution was highly relevant for Cuba, and his country
held a historical debt to the Puerto Rican people, who
had provided examples of fighting for self-determination.
Cuba would particularly remember sacrifices made by
Ramón Emeterio Betances and Pedro Albizu Campos, among
others.
Recalling the first article of the Cuban
Revolutionary Party’s guidelines created in 1892, he
said Puerto Rican and Cuban patriots had conspired 140
years ago to conceive what would later become the “Grito
de Lares” in Puerto Rico and the “Grito de Yara” in
Cuba, war cries that almost simultaneously started their
respective independence struggles. Moreover, both
countries had been subjected to the Spanish colonial
yoke and suffered the same United States military
intervention in 1898.
Despite their long colonial domination, the Puerto
Rican people had kept their culture and identity, a fact
which showed that the unswerving vocation for
independence was deeply rooted in the island. The
adoption of the resolution today was a tribute to that
patriotic spirit. Puerto Rico could always count on
Cuba’s unconditional solidarity, he said, adding that
Cuba would continue to uphold Puerto Rico’s legitimate
right to self-determination.
The representative of Nicaragua thanked the
representatives of the Puerto Rican people for returning
year after year to inform the Committee about their long
process of emancipation. He trusted that the Committee
would take the necessary steps to help the people of
Puerto Rico exercise their full rights to self-determination,
thereby becoming members of the United Nations. Indeed,
many people had come to enjoy their right to self-determination
after the passage of resolution 1514, which, in turn,
had helped democratize the United Nations. Puerto Rico
must no longer be the exception to that rule.
He remarked that, in recent times, great efforts had
been made in Puerto Rico itself -- through dialogue,
discussion and the exercise of political will -- leading
to the withdrawal of the United States Navy from Vieques.
However, he was disturbed by what had been said by
leaders in Vieques regarding the environmental impact of
the Navy’s actions, alongside other problems. Nicaragua
joined others in the world in endorsing what was
declared by the Non-Aligned Movement at the 2006 summit
in support of Puerto Rican independence.
He said Puerto Rico –- a warm, loving people, which
shared a strong sense of brotherhood and sisterhood with
the wider Latin American family -- deserved to be free.
Puerto Rico must one day take its rightful seat at the
United Nations, where it could begin making a
contribution to the “better world” that all States
“deeply yearned for”.
BETTY “COQUI” BRASSELL said she had been actively
supporting the people of Vieques for the past seven
years and had been a founding member of United for
Vieques, a grass-roots organization in Manhattan. As a
member of “Grannies against the War”, she had learned
about the dangers of military contamination. While it
had been four years since the United States Navy bombing
of Vieques had ended as a result of a worldwide campaign
to stop the bombing and contamination, the people
continued to suffer the aftermath of bombings, as the
Navy still detonated unexploded bombs on the island.
She said the victory for peace in Vieques, celebrated
in May 2003, had not resulted in the fulfilment of the
people’s four demands, namely demilitarization,
decontamination, the return of the land and development.
The detonations continued, releasing, among other things,
lead, depleted uranium and radiation. The people of
Vieques deserved an island free of cancer and other life-threatening
illnesses. The local economy was rapidly deteriorating
as developers and private land speculators bought up
homes, land and businesses at inflated prices in order
to gentrify the entire island. Unemployment continued to
rise.
Forced immigration also continued as the people
sought alternatives to the worsening economic reality in
Vieques, she added. Gentrification and land-grabbing
presented an ongoing critical problem for the people of
Vieques. The people of Vieques deserved and demanded
peace with justice. Now more than ever Vieques needed
the international community’s support and solidarity.
HECTOR IVAN SANTOS, representing PROELA, a civil
society organization, said for 30 years he had defended
Puerto Rico’s decolonization, while others had only
wanted a liberalization of the system. Full liberation
was needed, as Puerto Rico was the oldest colony in the
world. In the Second International Decade on the
Eradication of Colonialism, he said the United States
must erase its “worst stain”, and urged that Puerto Rico
be considered as a separate agenda item by the General
Assembly. That alone would lend a sense of urgency to
the situation.
Puerto Rico had become a colony as a result of the
Hispano-American war, he continued. Although the United
States had granted some autonomy to the island in the
form of a new constitution, he said the process of
modernization had gone hand-in-hand with political
repression guided by the mainland. That repression was
selective and intense, as seen in the Vieques situation,
the assassination of Filiberto Rios by the FBI and other
violations of civil rights. For those reasons, the
process of self-determination had been slow. Further,
the level of self-government in Puerto Rico was limited.
In the economic and social area, Puerto Rico was
dependent on the United States, meaning that any self-determination
process would be difficult. A “subject economy” had been
created in Puerto Rico, as shown by its isolation in
terms of trade from the world. Further, the island was
subject to a monopoly market favouring the United States.
The United States had not been a good partner or a good
neighbour, and the island had been a test area for its
military, economic and cultural imperialism. He called
for the immediate liberation of political prisoners and
a cleanup operation on Vieques. He denounced the
shameless violation of Puerto Rico’s right to self-determination,
and urged that the matter of Puerto Rico be taken up as
a separate agenda item by the General Assembly.
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