Decolonization is close to my heart
By José M. López Sierra – Puerto Rico
InfoAlDesnudo
The United Nations (UN) secretary general, Antonio Guterres, as he addressed the UN’s Decolonization Committee (C-24) in 2018, said that “decolonization is close to his heart”. Click on the following link to see that news report: https://news.un.org/en/story/2018/02/1004392
5 years earlier, the then UN secretary general Ban Ki Moon, asked the C-24 for fresh ideas to decolonize the colonies that still remain. I answered Ban Ki Moon’s call, and got actively involved in Puerto Rico decolonization. https://news.un.org/en/story/2013/02/432522-ban-calls-fresh-ideas-advance-decolonization-un-body-begins-annual-session#.WEMjUeYrKM8
I decided to approach it like a scientific experiment. I began researching Puerto Rican history, and the UN’s role in decolonization. What I discovered is that there is a lot of ignorance on this subject, because the United States Government (USG) wants it that way. Here are some of the things I discovered.
- Puerto Rico is not on the UN’s list of colonies since 1953. That means that the oldest and the most populated colony in the world is not on that list! The USG asked the UN to remove her from the list, because in 1952, Puerto Rico had allegedly obtained self-government via the “Commonwealth of Puerto Rico”. The UN bought it, and removed her from its list. The UN has never returned her back on the list, although every June the UN celebrates a hearing to discuss Puerto Rico decolonization. This year, it will be on Monday, June 22, 2020, if the coronavirus permits.
- These annual UN hearings are not publicized, and are not televised live anywhere. We got resistance from the UN about televising live the 2015 hearing. We then televised ourselves the 2016 hearing, but the UN refused to allow me to address the C-24 that year. Click on the following link to watch our broadcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otzBslJLbI0
- With the Green Party’s help, we managed to get the UN to broadcast live last year’s hearing. Our problem was that the UN only broadcasted the morning session. Click on this link to watch that: http://webtv.un.org/watch/5th-meeting-committee-of-24-special-committee-on-decolonization/6051725003001/
The key to Puerto Rico decolonization is to realize that Puerto Ricans must educate ourselves, on our own, about why Puerto Rico has been a United States (US) colony for the past 121 years.
Do you know that more people are recruited to the US military in Puerto Rico than in any of the 50 states of the Union, due to the lack of opportunities for Puerto Ricans in their homeland?
Do you know that the USG has managed to get more Puerto Ricans to live away, than in our national territory? Do you know that once enough Puerto Ricans have abandoned Puerto Rico and constitute a minority in our own homeland, the USG will make Puerto Rico its 51st state?
Therefore, it is incumbent on the almost 9 million Puerto Ricans worldwide to engage in permanent resistance to force the USG to comply with the UN’s Charter that prohibits colonialism since 1945, and 38 UN resolutions asking it to immediately return Puerto Rico’s sovereignty to the Puerto Ricans.
If we don’t take the lead, everybody else will drag their feet.
Let’s organize ourselves for this great feat, because those who don’t have decolonization close to their hearts, don’t believe in LIBERTY AND IN JUSTICE FOR ALL! https://www.facebook.com/groups/1697349163904877/
Is Puerto Rico decolonization close to your heart too?
