The United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization has agreed to send a resolution to the General Assembly asking that the United States to "guarantee to the Puerto Rican people their legitimate right to self-determination and the protection of their human rights, to order the halt of its armed forces' military drills and maneuvers on Vieques Island, which is inhabited; return the occupied land to the people of Puerto Rico; halt the persecution, arrests and harassment of peaceful demonstrators; respect fundamental rights, such as the right to health and economic development; and decontaminate the impact area."
On the surface, it seems like just another minor irritant for the U.S. about their desire to bomb Vieques. If that were all it was, it wouldn't even be newsworthy. Presidents, international human rights organizations, and even our own Congress have decided to end bombing in Vieques. It is a ritual that takes place every decade or so. What's hiding in the details of the latest draft is wording that may slowly corrode one of the biggest hypocrisies and oversights of the Special Committee. The oldest New World colony was - and still is Puerto Rico. But, it's not on their list of colonies. It's actually on their list of colonies that have reached one of the three acceptable resolutions.
The mention of resolution 1514 should raise concern for those in Congress and the press who believe that the magical word "Commonwealth" erases the possibility of a colony existing. Resolution 1514 will attach Puerto Rico to the wording that recognizes the status of Non-Self-Governing Territories (politically correct for colony). This status can be resolved in three ways: 1) Independence 2) Free Association 3) Integration (Statehood). The U.S. theory has been that Commonwealth status is like Free Association. But another Resolution, 1541, clearly defines what it takes for Free Association:
The simple fact is, that under Article IV of the Constitution of the United States, Congress has the "Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States." Right now, the people of Puerto Rico cannot decide their own fate without asking permission and getting approval. The Constitution it operates under was approved by the United States, after being revised.
It'll be interesting to see how our representative votes on the issue. It'll be more interesting to see if Puerto Rico's sovereigns, the U.S. Congress, will actually grant Free Association status to Puerto Rico - the ability to choose their status when and how they want. After 500 years of total colonialism, 100 years of U.S. colonialism, and 100 years of serving under the draft and volunteer military service to fight for and die for the interests of the United States - the world's most formidable democracy might let go of the oldest colony.
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