It is 5:00 of the evening of June 30, 2010, groups of students, teachers and citizens asked for entry to the House of the Laws and they were struck and tortured by the Police, there are numerous injured people, while the National Guard is mobilized towards the Capitol Hill. Violent shocks scatter for the whole zone of the Parliament and the repressions continue.

A constitutional coup has just been established in Puerto Rico. After a year in which the present time government under the New Progressive Party (Partido Nuevo Progresista, that attempts to join the Island to the United States trough statehood) tried to and succeeded taking over many institutions that form the base of the democratic government of Puerto Rico, an atmosphere of hostility followed by many reckless actions that threaten public peace had climaxed in violent and aggressive actions of this government against the parties of the opposition, the organized student movement, the labor unions, the press, the environment, as against every area and institution of Puerto Rico’s civil society.

This constitutional coup springs from the Legislative branch of the government under the command of Senator Thomas Rivera Schatz, endorsed by the central government, under the dominance of the Secretary Governor, counselor Marcos Rodríguez Ema, with the obvious intent of having under their grasp and without opposition full control of every agency and organization that rule the judiciary, academic, economic and civil societies. Before this scenario, Governor Luis Fortuño operates without volition, has no opinion, appearance nor public responsibility.

With the complete control of the High Court of Puerto Rico, the University of Puerto Rico Board of trustees, and the alleged control of the news media, among many others, the genuine participation of the People of Puerto Rico in all democratic processes protected by our Constitution is jeopardized.

The events started (trough the rush approval of Law 7 by the Legislature) with more than 20,000 public employee lay-offs, with the allegation that this would alleviate the gigantism of the government and would find the solution of the serious public deficit, that has never been properly evidenced. This decision has caused economical chaos, public services are worse than ever and it has generated despair and gloominess in every Puertorrican family. In this same guise there exists a serious persecution against all artistic institutions of the country, strangling their budgets, trying with this actions to avoid the propagation of art as dissidence. This, while the government favors contracts of obscene sums with hundreds of advisors, contractors and lobbyists associated with their own political party.

The attacks continued in the form of the appointment to the High Court of four Judges with a well known affiliation with, and militancy for the governing political party, achieving a majority of votes in favor of the actual government on all decisions made in this Forum, on individual basis. The government went on repressing and eliminating student participation on the procedures of the State University, suppressing tuition exemption rights for outstanding athletes and artists, among others; forcing the students from all eleven campuses of the University of Puerto Rico to declare a strike that lasted 60 days, generating ample support from the people of Puerto Rico and around the world.

The students on strike were successful on their achieving their demands trough negotiations that involved a First Instance Court and an appointed negotiator; however, these accords were are trying to be invalidated by Secretary of government Rodríguez Ema who said that these accords “are not worth the paper in which they were written”

This event preceded the Central government’s action of proposing a hasty law, that was signed with no revision within hours, adding four additional members to the Board of trustees of the University of Puerto Rico. These additions to the Board are unconditional members of the governing political party The students of the State university, who on a great majority depend in Federal grants, now face an annual recurring fee of $800.00, fee they will not be able to pay and that they will not pay, forcing the students to return to their strike. With this strategy, the Central government risk the accreditation of the State University and as a consequence, the government would be able to privatize it’s assets.

Following this same direction, the government of Puerto Rico will attempt to sell and to divide for speculation a strip of land where stands the Karst formation, on the northwest of the Island. This area collects one third of our water supplies for the entire population; nonetheless, the government intends to put this area into private hands that would build a toll expressway over this zone that is rich ecologically and economically.

Passing up many other events, the budget of Puerto Rico was approved, together with countless laws which favor privatization, the dissolving of professional associations and the distribution of public funds into private hands, without the pertaining and compulsory hearings of public participation, reaching the extreme of turning off the microphones of the opposing political party members, in a despotic fashion.

The events climaxed last week when the FBI in Puerto Rico arrested Senator Héctor Martínez, NPP, on charges of bribe, the selling of influences and other charges. Martinez is Senator’s Rivera Schatz right hand on the Senate. A public squabble reached the news between the Senator and the FBI, with the Seantor fending the alleged innocence of Senator Martínez,, who has been directly associated with drug traffic and who was filmed while committing bribery.

Then, last in his many violent and reckless acts, the president of the Senate, Rivera Schatz, using force and a real padlock, censored the access of the cameras and the news media to the Senate sessions, depriving the People of Puerto Rico of direct information about the discussions and voting sessions that were taking place about this year’s budget and other matter). The events resulted in verbal and physical violence between senators, rising indignation between the people to a point of and almost unsustainable state of outrage and wrath.

Counselor Rivera Schatz has taken virtual control of the country with his tyrannical and fascist ways; and it cannot be discarded that from these same seats, this same week, acts of persecution and acts of violence will be started against other sectors of the People, all approved by the Secretary Governor of Puerto Rico.

It is 5:00 of the evening of June 30, 2010, groups of students, teachers and citizens asked for entry to the House of the Laws and they were struck and tortured by the Police, there are numerous injured people, while the National Guard is mobilized towards the Capitol Hill. Violent shocks scatter for the whole zone of the Parliament and the repressions continue.

This factual deed of control of the political power from within the Puertorrican Nation violates all elementary principles of democracy and of participation of the People in the government, for which we proclaim to the World the actual situation of contained violence that exists in our People and that is about to explode against these two politicians that had taken by assault the power in our Country. Even though in Puerto Rico there are no conditions for an armed struggle of the People because of the obvious disparity of the opposing sides, a revolution of cultural and of student affirmation is starting to take the streets and to retrieve the spaces stolen away by the originators of this coup.

We exhortat all communications media of the World to divulge and expose the current situation of the Puertorrican Nation and we ask of you, therefore, your total solidarity.

Composed by Roberto Ramos-Perea, Puertorrican Playwriter
(With the active collaboration, comments and support of more than a hundred Puertorrican citizens.)

Son las 5:00 de la tarde del día 30 de junio de 2010, grupos de estudiantes, profesores y ciudadanos pidieron entrada a la Casa de las Leyes y fueron golpeados y torturados por la Polícia, hay numerosos heridos, mientras se moviliza la Guardia Nacional hacia el Capitolio. Choques violentos se esparcen por toda la zona del Parlamento y las represiones continúan.

Un golpe de estado constitucional acaba de consolidarse en Puerto Rico.
Tras un año de que el actual gobierno del Partido Nuevo Progresista (PNP, partido que busca la anexión de Puerto Rico a los Estados Unidos), intentara y lograra exitosamente la toma de varias instituciones que sostienen el gobierno democrático de Puerto Rico, un ambiente de hostilidad seguido por temerarias acciones retadoras de la paz pública, han desembocado en acciones violentas y agresivas del actual gobierno, tanto contra los partidos de oposición, como del movimiento estudiantil organizado, los sindicatos, la prensa, así como de todos los sectores de la sociedad civil puertorriqueña.

Esta toma del control constitucional procede de la Rama Legislativa bajo la autoridad del Senador Lcdo. Thomas Rivera Schatz, apoyada por el gobierno central bajo el mando del Secretario de la Gobernación, el Lcdo. Marcos Rodríguez Ema, con el obvio propósito de tener a su disposición y sin disputa, el control de todos los organismos rectores judiciales, universitarios, económicos y civiles. Ante este panorama, el actual Gobernador, Lcdo. Luis Fortuño, funciona sin voluntad, sin opinión y sin presencia ni responsabilidad pública. Con el control del Tribunal Supremo de Puerto Rico, la Junta de Síndicos de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, el pretendido control de los medios de comunicación, entre muchos otros, se atenta contra la genuina participación del pueblo puertorriqueño en todos los procesos democráticos protegidos por su Carta de Derechos.

Los incidentes comenzaron con el despido de más 20,000 empleados públicos con el pretexto de aliviar el gigantismo gubernamental y resolver el gravísimo déficit fiscal del país. Esta decisión ha provocado el caos económico, ha empeorado la prestación de servicios públicos y ha provocado la desesperanza en todas las familias puertorriqueñas. De la misma forma se instauró una grave persecución contra los institutos artísticos del país, estrangulando sus presupuestos y de esta manera evitar la propagación del arte como disidencia. Mientras el Gobierno favorecía con contratos de cantidades obscenas, a cientos de asesores, contratistas, y cabilderos asociados a su partido.
Continuaron los ataques con el nombramiento al Tribunal Supremo de cuatro Jueces afiliados y militantes al partido del poder logrando con ello la mayoría a favor del gobierno de todas las decisiones que por votación individual se hicieran en ese foro. Luego continuó con la eliminación y represión de la participación estudiantil en los procesos universitarios, la supresión de derechos de exención de matricula de atletas, artistas, entre otros, mientras obligó a los estudiantes de los 11 recintos universitarios del estado a declarar una Huelga que duró 60 días. Los estudiantes en Huelga lograron negociar a través de un tribunal de primera instancia, sin embargo, los referidos compromisos fueron invalidados por el Secretario de la Gobernación quien dijo que los acuerdos “no valen el papel en que están escritos”. Este hecho precedió a la acción del gobierno central y del Senado de proponer un proyecto de Ley, aprobado en cuestión de horas, para aumentar cuatro miembros más a la Junta de Síndicos. Dichos miembros son incondicionales del partido en el poder. Los estudiantes universitarios de la universidad del estado, cuya vasta mayoría dependen de la beca de estudios federal, se enfrentan a una cuota anual recurrente de $800 dólares. Cuota que no pueden pagar y que se negarán a pagar obligados nuevamente a la consecuente Huelga. De esta manera, la administración central de la UPR arriesga la acreditación de la Universidad y podrá privatizar sus activos. En esta misma dirección, el Gobierno de Puerto Rico venderá los terrenos donde se ubica la zona del llamado “Karso” del Noroeste, que recoge un tercio de los abastos de agua de todo el país, para entregarlo a manos privadas que construirán un expreso de peaje sobre la referida zona, rica ecológicamente.

Pasando por alto muchos otros acontecimientos, el Presupuesto del país fue aprobado, junto con innumerables leyes que favorecen la privatización, la descolegiación profesional, así como la repartición de fondos públicos a manos privadas sin tomar en cuenta las necesarias y obligadas vistas públicas de participación ciudadana, y apagando los micrófonos de las bancas del Partido de Oposición de manera despótica.

Los incidentes lograron un punto climático cuando esta pasada semana, el FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation de los Estados Unidos) arresta por cargos de soborno, venta de influencias y otros a un senador del PNP, el senador Héctor Martínez, mano derecha del Senador Rivera Schatz. Una pugna pública salta a las noticias entre Rivera Schatz y este cuerpo federal castrense, en defensa de la supuesta inocencia del senador Martínez, quien ha sido asociado al narcotráfico y quien fuera grabado en medio de su acto de soborno. Como último de los muchos incidentes de violencia y temeridad del Presidente Senatorial, se censuró mediante la fuerza la entrada de los periodistas a las sesiones del Senado, privando al pueblo puertorriqueño de la discusión que se realizó sobre el presupuesto del país. Los incidentes llegaron a la violencia verbal y física entre senadores, y han elevado la indignación del país a un punto insostenible de ansiedad y rabia.
El Lcdo. Thomas Rivera Schatz ha tomado virtual control del país con sus actitudes tiránicas y fascistas, y no se descarta que desde sus mismas gradas se inicien esta semana procesos de persecución y violencia contra otros sectores del país, apoyados por el Secretario de la Gobernación de Puerto Rico.

Son las 5:00 de la tarde del día 30 de junio de 2010, grupos de estudiantes, profesores y ciudadanos pidieron entrada a la Casa de las Leyes y fueron golpeados y torturados por la Polícia, hay numerosos heridos, mientras se moviliza la Guardia Nacional hacia el Capitolio. Choques violentos se esparcen por toda la zona del Parlamento y las represiones continúan.

Este control de facto del poder político en la Nación Puertorriqueña viola todos los más elementales principios de la democracia y del gobierno participativo, por lo que enteramos al mundo de la actual situación de violencia contenida que existe en nuestro pueblo y que está a punto de estallar contra estos dos políticos que han tomado por asalto el poder del país. Aún cuando en Puerto Rico no existen las condiciones para un levantamiento armado popular por la obvia desigualdad de las fuerzas en pugna, una revolución de afirmación cultural y estudiantil comienza a tomar las calles y a rescatar los espacios robados por los autores de este golpe. Exhortamos a todos los medios de comunicación del mundo a que den noticia de la actual situación de la Nación Puertorriqueña y solicitamos por ende su completa solidaridad.

Redactado por Roberto Ramos-Perea, dramaturgo puertorriqueño.
(Con la activa colaboración, comentarios y apoyo de más de un centenar de ciudadanos puertorriqueños.)

15 June 2010

General Assembly
GA/COL/3208
Department of Public Information • News and Media Division • New York
Special Committee on Decolonization
4th Meeting (AM)

RESUMING 2010 SESSION, SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON DECOLONIZATION APPROVES REQUESTS FOR HEARINGS BY NON-SELF-GOVERNING TERRITORIES, TAKES UP QUESTION OF GIBRALTAR

Resuming its 2010 session this morning, the Special Committee on Decolonization approved requests for hearings from several Non-Self-Governing Territories in the coming days, with a petitioner from Gibraltar asserting that 50 years after the General Assembly had passed its historic resolution 1514 (XV), which called for the immediate transfer of power from all colonized Territories to their peoples, an assessment of the overall decolonization process was needed.

Spotlighting one of the main items on the Special Committee’s agenda — the question of Gibraltar — that call was made by Joseph John Bossano, leader of the Opposition in the Non-Self-Governing Territory of Gibraltar, in his impassioned rejection of the representative of Spain’s argument that under the Utrecht Treaty of 1713, Gibraltar must continue to be British or once again become Spanish.

Spain’s representative, participating in the meeting as an observer, noted that Gibraltar was the only Non-Self-Governing Territory that a European State maintained within the territory of another European State, saying that his country wished to put an end to that “colonial situation”. He also argued that it undermined the national unity and territorial integrity of Spain.

He added that Gibraltar must continue to be British or become Spanish under the Treaty of Utrecht, of 1713, which he said was still in force and must accepted by Spain and the United Kingdom. While his Government had a firm wish to renew dialogue about the question of Gibraltar with the United Kingdom, it opposed any attempt to remove Gibraltar from the list of Territories undergoing the decolonization process, as officially maintained by the United Nations. Doing so would undermine the procedure established by the United Nations, he said, on the basis of a modern constitutional relationship that is no more than a sort of “colonialism by consent”.

He asserted: “The subject of that consent is in reality an instrument of the colonizing Power and not the colonized people which in this case are the Spanish people and does not comply with the doctrine of the content of United Nations resolutions.” He reaffirmed Spain’s willingness to renew its commitment to negotiate with the United Kingdom, within the framework of the United Nations, in order to pave the way for the adoption by consensus of a relevant resolution on the matter by the General Assembly.

Addressing the Special Committee on Gibraltar’s right to self-determination, Mr. Bossano denounced Spain’s case as “totally devoid of logic” and “a complete sham”. He said that, if the level of self-government provided by Gibraltar’s latest Constitution deemed it to have attained the fullest possible measure of self-government, then the reporting requirement by the United Kingdom had ended and Gibraltar should be removed from the list.

He explained that the 2006 Constitution had given a greater measure of self-government by better defining the responsibilities of the territorial Government and restricting what could be done by the administering Power. That Constitution had also stated that the Government of Gibraltar would comprise the Council of Minister and the Governor of Gibraltar, who was the formal representative of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

And, although it was not fully self-governing now, he added that the Territory was distinct geographically, ethnically and culturally from the United Kingdom. It was in a dynamic state of evolution towards full measure of self-government, and as soon as it was achieved, it would be decolonized — but not before.

“The future of Gibraltar will be decided by all of its people,” he stressed, pointing to Article 5 of Assembly resolution 1514, which required administering Powers to transfer all power to the people of the territory according with their wishes and desires. “We Gibraltarians reject the Spanish doctrine and its attempts at the annexation of our country.” Moreover, he said, the transfer of power from the United Kingdom to Gibraltar had “zero effect” on the national unity and integrity of Spain, which would not be “disrupted [by] one iota”.

He denounced continued violations of the Territory’s waters, including the landing of the Guardia Civil on its soil, brandishing firearms. Just over a week ago, he said they had defied the Royal Naval Patrol, resulting in a formal protest from the United Kingdom. Spain was also refusing to recognize the sovereignty of the Territory’s airspace, which had led to a protest from air traffic controllers in Spain itself. It was not Spain’s territorial integrity that was under attack and requiring protection, he said, but Gibraltar’s.

He also reminded the Special Committee of Gibraltar’s invitation for a visit, which had been approved unanimously by its Parliament. In the past, the United Kingdom had not supported such a visit, but some years ago, it publicly stated that it no longer had any objection. He asked that Committee members consider the invitation, and put the question formally to the United Kingdom on the Territory’s behalf.

The Chair of the Special Committee, Donatus Keith St. Aimee (Saint Lucia), said that the question of Gibraltar would be put forward to the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) in the fall.

Before the question of Gibraltar, the Special Committee acted on a number of matters of procedure, approving requests for hearings from officials from the Falkland Islands (Malvinas), Guam, Western Sahara, New Caledonia, Turks and Caicos, Gibraltar, and on its decision of 9 June 2008 concerning Puerto Rico, by which the Special Committee had agreed to hear directly from petitioners regarding that Territory’s status.

Delegations also heard a presentation by the Department of Public Information on the United Nations efforts to bolster the profile of Non-Self-Governing Territories. Also, the Special Committee granted a request by the Government of Panama to participate in its substantive session. The Government of Nicaragua was welcomed as a new member, and action on a resolution, on the question of sending visits and special missions to Territories, was postponed to a later date.

The Special Committee also adopted without vote two draft resolutions, concerning the transmission and dissemination of information on decolonization. The first, on “Information from Non-Self-Governing Territories transmitted under Article 73 e of the Charter of the United Nations” (document A/AC.109/2010/L.5), reaffirmed that administering Powers should transmit information on the Non-Self-Governing Territories they oversaw until they had attained self-government by the terms of United Nations Charter.

By the terms of the second text, on “Dissemination of information on decolonization” (document A/AC.109/2010/L.6), the Department of Public Information and Department of Political Affairs were requested to continue their efforts to provide information on those Territories to the public. By further provisions, the resolution would have States consider it important to continue and expand efforts to ensure the widest possible dissemination of information on decolonization, with particular emphasis on the options of self-determination available for people of Non-Self-Governing Territories.

“The goodwill is there on all sides,” said Chairman St. Aimee, commenting on the work of the Special Committee, which had recently met in New Caledonia for a regional seminar on the theme, “Assessment of the decolonization process in today’s world.” He said: “The sense of wanting to get something done, the sense of collaboration and cooperation, was exhibited at our meeting in New Caledonia.”

However, speaking in his national capacity, Mr. St. Aimee pointed to the absence of Spain from the list of administering Powers that had transmitted information on the Territories they were overseeing (document A/65/66), as required by the United Nations Charter. In a footnote to the document, Spain had declared itself exempt from that responsibility, which the Chairman remarked was a matter that had yet to be legally resolved. The Secretariat, for its part, continuously disseminated information about the Territories, at the request of the Special Committee.

Introducing the Secretary-General’s report on the issue (A/AC.109/2010/19), Margaret Novicki, Chief of the Communications Campaign Service, Department of Public Information Strategic Communications Division, said 48 press releases had been issued between April 2009 to March 2010 in both French and English. Four additional press releases had been issued on the Caribbean regional seminar on decolonization held in St. Kitts and Nevis from 12 to 14 May 2009.

She said United Nations Television had also provided coverage on meetings of the Special Committee, and decolonization issues were featured in the UN in Action television series and were highlighted in a report distributed by UNifeed. United Nations Radio covered meetings of the Assembly’s Fourth Committee (Special and Decolonization), dealing with Gibraltar, Puerto Rico, the Falklands Islands (Malvinas) and Western Sahara.

The decolonization page of the United Nations website, which she said received about 230 page views per week, was another useful way for transmitting information on decolonization. In addition, issues related to decolonization appeared regularly on the United Nations News Centre portal, a heavily visited area on the United Nations website. Among them was a story covering the Secretary-General’s message at the Caribbean regional seminar in St. Kitts and Nevis in 2009.

She added that the work of various United Nations bodies on decolonization was recorded in the Yearbook of the United Nations, as well as through photographs made available through the Photo Library. Efforts were currently being made to digitize those photographs and publish them online, while audio recordings of Fourth Committee and Special Committee meetings were already available in the online Audio Library. Finally, she said that in Geneva, the seat of the Human Rights Council, decolonization was written about in press releases on human rights and addressed in the United Nations Information Service biweekly news briefing.

Laura Vaccari, Chief of the Decolonization Unit, Department of Political Affairs, pledged to work closely with the Department of Public Information to enhance the decolonization website, which she said was a “modern and useful tool” for sharing information on decolonization. She explained that her Department sought the cooperation of administering Powers to provide information on the Territories they were overseeing, in order to produce working papers on each of the Non-Self-Governing Territories.

The Special Committee on decolonization will meet again on 21 June, to hear petitioners on the question of Puerto Rico.

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For information media • not an official record