BY MAURICE WILLIAMS
UNITED NATIONS, New York-"We have come to denounce the colonial and imperialistic policies that the United States has imposed on Puerto Rico for the last 99 years," said Raquel Rivera June 19 at the UN Special Committee on Decolonization. She spoke for the Puerto Rico Collective, a group of Puerto Rican youth here who support independence for the U.S. colony.

Rivera's remarks were echoed by Cuban ambassador Bruno Rodríguez, who stated, "Cuba reiterates its solidarity with the brother peoples of Puerto Rico." He noted that "next year will mark 100 years of colonization by the United States of Puerto Rico." He said the Special Committee "has a duty to remain vigilant" and not forget the plight of Puerto Rican political prisoners. Both Rodríguez and Rivera spoke against the U.S. military presence on the island.

The June 16-20 hearings of the UN Commission on Decolonization were marked by the participation of unionists from Puerto Rico and young Puerto Ricans in the United States, who were demanding the release of 15 Puerto Rican political prisoners held in jails across the United States, as well as the decolonization of that Caribbean nation. Debates over the colonial status of East Timor and opposition to the British government's control of the Malvinas Islands were also a highlight of the hearings.

"Colonialism is a crime against humanity and in this case, a crime against us, the Puerto Rican people," declared Celso Hernández Mojica, an organizer of the General Workers Union in Puerto Rico and a member of Ofensiva 92, a coalition fighting for the release of the imprisoned Puerto Rican activists.

"At the close of the century, the power that talks the most about democracy and freedom lives with the shame of still having a colony and maintaining the sons and daughters of that colony confined to its continental jails and committing atrocities and brutality against them," stated Juan Antonio Robles, of the General Workers Council of Puerto Rico. Robles is also a member of the Central Workers Federation Local 481, which is affiliated with the United Food and Commercial Workers Union.

Other speakers in favor of independence included Julio Muriente Pérez, president of the New Movement for Puerto Rican Independence (formerly Puerto Rican Socialist Party); Noel Colón Martínez, leader of the Hostosian National Congress; and Gilma Carmargo, representing the Center for Constitutional Rights. Anibal Acevedo Vila, president of the Popular Democratic Party, addressed the UN committee defending the island's current colonial status as a commonwealth. Miriam Santiago de Crespi of Puertorricans Pro- Statehood was among those who spoke for Puerto Rico to become a U.S. state.

As has been the case for the past several years, no resolution on Puerto Rico was introduced for debate, only testimony from groups promoting the three main political currents: independence, statehood, and commonwealth. From 1972 until 1991, the UN committee adopted resolutions supporting the right of the Puerto Rican people to self- determination and independence.

José Joaquín Rivera of Statehood 2000 testified in support of a bill introduced in the U.S. Congress in March 1996 by Rep. Donald Young, who is also pro-statehood. The measure, titled the "United States-Puerto Rico Political Status Act," calls for a referendum on Puerto Ricós political status to be held "not later than December 31, 1998," the centennial of colonial domination by Washington. The bill is also being pushed by the pro-statehood New Progressive Party (PNP), led by Puerto Rican governor Pedro Rosselló.

Among other provisions, the Young bill asserts that "Congress has the authority to expand existing English language requirements in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.... It is anticipated that upon accession to Statehood, English would become the official language of the Federal Government in Puerto Rico." Only 20 percent of the island's 3.5 million residents speak English.

U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez, a Democrat from Chicago, sent a statement to the hearing that criticized the Young bill as being a pro-statehood measure "dressed up as self- determination."

`Malvinas belong to Argentina'
In other developments, the UN Special Committee on Decolonization passed a resolution urging the British and Argentine governments to resume negotiations over the status of the Malvinas, a group of islands off the coast of Argentina that were seized by British forces in 1833 and renamed the Falkland Islands. When Buenos Aires briefly resumed sovereignty over the islands in April 1982, London went to war to resume colonial domination. With the backing of Washington, British prime minister Margaret Thatcher sent a fleet of more than 50 warships and established a naval blockade of the Malvinas using nuclear-powered submarines. The islands have remained under British control since then.

Guido Di Tella, Argentine minister for foreign affairs, told the committee June 16 that the restitution of Hong Kong to China on July 1, and of Macao in 1999, demonstrated that change cannot be stopped.

Other representatives from Latin American governments including Paraguay, Bolivia, Chile, and Venezuela spoke in favor of Argentina regaining control over the territory. Cuban diplomat Pedro Nuñez-Mosquera affirmed Havana's support for the Argentine government in the dispute and cosponsored the resolution that was adopted.

A debate broke out at the UN session over the status of East Timor, a former Portuguese colony for 500 years, which won independence in 1975. The Indonesian military invaded East Timor in December of that year, overthrew the independent government, and annexed the territory on May 3, 1976. East Timor is currently Indonesia's 27th province, although it is not officially recognized by the United Nations. Portuguese government officials claim Lisbon supports the right of East Timorese to determine their future, but retired Gen. Carlos Galvao De Mello of the Portuguese Air Force told the Special Committee that if Jakarta relinquished the territory it would be a "crime with catastrophic consequences."

Several participants called on the Indonesian regime to withdraw its troops from East Timor. Helena Pires of the Timorese Democratic Union denounced Jakarta's claim that the East Timorese people had already exercised their right to self-determination, despite the military occupation.  
 
 
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