Patiño: “we have always supported Argentina in its claim over the Malvinas”
Addressing the UN Regional seminar of the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization (also known as the C-24) in Quito, Patiño described as “shameful” the fact that al least ten territories remain listed as colonies.
He recalled that in the case of Malvinas, Argentina is “only demanding a negotiations process to end with this colonialism situation”.
“We have always supported Argentina in its claim over the Malvinas Islands. We have never been accomplices of the great powers vision towards the UK and its audacity of pretending to continue dominating colonially those Islands in the South Atlantic”, emphasized Patiño.
The Ecuadorean official also underlined the significance for Puerto Rico, “clearly a Latin American people, of having the option to become a nation with sovereignty that can run its own affairs” and recalled that next November a referendum will be held to determine the political relation the Puerto Rican people want to have with the United States.
As to Guantanamo in Cuba “which is not in the list of colonial dependencies, it is not only a foreign power redoubt but also a space to retain prisoners of war, which we know that besides that condition they are systematically tortured almost, almost…with the OK from some authorities”.
Patiño said he expects the regional seminar to advance in the decolonization process at a faster pace.
“Let’s not be so slow with this issue…we need to advance with determination”, insisted Patiño recalling that on “dozens of occasion” the UN has called on the UK to sit at the negotiations table with Argentina to address the Falklands/Malvinas sovereignty dispute.
“We expect the UK not to remain deaf to these UN requests”.
“When we like what the UN has to say, we immediately enforce it and if possible with heavy bombings and we go well beyond words. But when we don’t like what the UN says we dump it in the dust bin”, said Patiño on criticizing what the described as “double standards and double morals” from the leading powers.
The Pacific regional seminar has convened experts from sixty countries and international organizations.
“It is shameful that even today we are talking about colonized and excluded peoples. Let’s hope this is the last decade of subjugation and disdain towards those condemned in our XXI century” and the protocol referred to the ‘administering powers’ of non self governing territories is finally reviewed.
“It is in the highest interest of the international community to decolonize the 16 non self governing territories which still exist in the world”, said Patiño who asked from the delegates and representatives “a self critical” attitude of the seminar which ends on Friday.
Should criminals be in charge of correcting the wrong they inflicted?
ReplyDeletePuerto Ricans vote in elections every 4 years at an 80% level of participation. Puerto Rico has been a colony of the United States (US) government for the past 116 years. If the US government has the final say in what happens in Puerto Rico, what is the purpose of these elections? The purpose is to fool the world that Puerto Rico is a democracy.
The United Nations (UN) declared colonialism a crime against humanity in 1960. The UN has asked the US government 33 times to decolonize Puerto Rico immediately. The US government has refused. It says that Puerto Rico’s political relationship with the United States is none of the UN’s business. The US says that it is a domestic affair.
To appear that the US government wants to decolonize Puerto Rico, it promotes the use of plebiscites to determine what Puerto Ricans want. Doesn’t that sounds innocent and democratic? So what’s the problem?
To begin with, the international community already rendered its verdict and determined that colonialism is illegal. So to have a political status option in a plebiscite that favors maintaining Puerto Rico a colony of the United States is not permitted. To have a political status option of Puerto Rico becoming a state of the United States is also not permitted under international law. The problem goes back to the beginning of this article. In order to have free elections, the country must be free. So before these elections and plebiscite could be valid, Puerto Rico would have to first be an independent nation.
What people must realize is that Puerto Rico is a colony of the US because the US government wants it that way. That is why it has used terrorism to keep it that way. That is why it refuses to release the Puerto Rican political prisoner of 33 years Oscar López Rivera. That is also why it is ridiculous to believe that decolonization is a US internal matter in which the UN has no jurisdiction over. If we allow the US government to decolonize Puerto Rico, she will remain a colony of the United States forever!
José M López Sierra
www.TodosUnidosDescolonizarPR.blogspot.com