Six puerto ricans who support Puerto Rico's sovereignty interrupted the U.S. congress last week. The six puerto ricans received a hero's welcome last friday after returning to Puerto Rico, see video here. The leading newspaper of Puerto Rico identified the six persons as well known Puerto Rican artists and musicians. Luis Gutierrez, puerto rican descent US Rep(D- IL) told the puerto rican press that this was a patriotic (puerto rican) claim and a fair and morally correct claim to end colonialism. They were released later after being detained for more than 5 hours.
After arriving at the international airport in San Juan, they were received with patriotic songs and many cheers. They sang "Oubao Moin" one more time, the song was broadcasted live for the top rated afternoon talk show Fuego Cruzado, all the hosts celebrated their homecoming and sang with them as well during the broadcast.
Singing 'Oubao Moin' (a patriotic puerto rican folk song), with signs that read '111 years of Colony'' ''It’s a shame: End the colony" and carrying the national flag of Puerto Rico, the six puerto ricas who included well known artists, interrupted the House session shouting slogans against the colonial situation of Puerto Rico on wednesday. The press in Puerto Rico interviewed one of them minutes after the arrest and told El Nuevo Día that 'Freedom should not be debated in referendum elections, slaves do not have (or do) referendum elections to see if they want to be enslaved'.
In the summer of 2008, the former Head of Government of Puerto Rico and his ruling party went to the United Nations to denounce the colonial situation of Puerto Rico at the UN-Decolonization Committee and the way the US has not resolve Puerto Rico's sovereignty issue under the present status, issue that was suposed to be resolved after 1953 when the United Nations (U.S. also approved the UN resolution) took Puerto Rico out of the non-self governing countries (see UN resolution 748, 1953), Puerto Rico achieved self governing status and it's own constitution in 1952, but not it's sovereignty which is being hold by the U.S Congress since 1898. The former Head of Governor and his party supports a Non-Territorial status based on the sovereignty of Puerto Rico and favor (along with the pro independence movements) a National Constitutional Assembly to resolve the political status dilema.
Puerto Rican TV networks showed when the six puerto ricans disrupted the U.S. Congress. You can hear the song 'Ouboi Moin' and some slogans out loud (wait for second 23). Ouboi Moin is a poem by one of Puerto Rico's most reknown poets of the 20th century, the poem was later turned into a patriotic folk song (a verse translated into english: Glory to the hands, to all puerto rican hands that help build a new liberated nation)
See video here: http://www.wapa.tv/...
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The press also published a letter that the puerto ricans sent to the President of the US.
Mr. Barack H. Obama
President
United States of America
The White House
Washington, D.C.
Honorable President Obama:
The act of civil disobedience carried out by a group of Puerto Rican nationals in the House of Representatives on May 6, 2009 responds to our people’s deep dissatisfaction with the political relationship between our two nations.
Puerto Rico has been a colony for 111 years: a humiliating colonial condition in the 21st Century. It is high time that this crime against our people is resolved, resolved and resolved. Political-economic promises that govern us reside at the hands of foreign nation, the U.S. You have declared that it is time to leave the past behind, that your administration will unite the Latin American people and the people of the U.S. It is time to act now. It is not up to the will of the colonized people of Puerto Rico to decide; it is up to your administration to stand up for the Rights and moral values your administration advocates. Every country has the right to attain its independence and be a free country.
Puerto Rico is a Latin American and a Caribbean nation. The Signers below have taken your Word very seriously. If this is so, begin to decolonize Puerto Rico now-without the subterfuges and tricky language that have been reiterated for the past 111 years.
Begin by breaking the chains of bondage to initiate a new era and a new treaty for the pursuit of happiness of our respective nations. Consider as well that colonization has caused over half of our people to emigrate out of Puerto Rico into the U.S.
Let’s establish a powerful friendship link; thus, removing the humiliating marks that undermine our human dignity. Let’s deal as equal Partners. Stop subordinating our leaders and people.
A warm Puerto Rican embrace.
Cordially,
- María L (Chabela) Rodríguez
- Eugenia V. Pérez-Montijo
- Luis Enrique Romero
- José (Tony Mapeyé) Rivera
- Carlos Esteban Fonseca
- Ramón Díaz
- Luis Suárez
- Manuel Rivera, Esq. Advising Attorney
press source: Claridad