Mr. Chairman:
On January 5, 1892, Cuba's National Hero José Martí made public the statutes of the Cuban Revolutionary Party, the party that would lead the struggle for independence during the closing years of the 19th century. Allow me to briefly quote Article 1 of this document. "The Cuban Revolutionary Party is constituted in order to gain, with the combined efforts of all men of good will, the total independence of Cuba and to encourage and assist that of Puerto Rico."
I think these words of José Martí would alone be enough to characterize Cuba's historical position with regard to Puerto Rican independence.
More than a few Puerto Ricans shed their blood for the independence of Cuba. The peoples of Puerto Rico and Cuba have been brothers in their fight for independence, first against Spanish colonialism and later against the United States, which was determined to maintain the colonial yoke.
For Cubans, it remains an unavoidable obligation to continue on the path charted by our forefathers, until our Puerto Rican brothers achieve full independence.
Because of its culture, its history, its traditions, and especially because of the express will of its people, Puerto Rico is a Latin-American and Caribbean country, with its own national identity, which the Puerto Rican people have known how to maintain despite the colonizing process they have been subjected to.
Mr. Chairman:
This year the discussion on the question of Puerto Rico takes on a character even more special if we remember that July 25 marked 100 years since the U.S. military intervention in Puerto Rico, an intervention that not only did away with its independence process, but radically altered the history and fate of our sister nation.
For 26 years this committee has been considering the colonial status of Puerto Rico. We have always reaffirmed Puerto Rico's inalienable right to self-determination and independence, under Resolution 1514 (XV), of December 14, 1960. In addition, if we were to look further back in history, we should remember that one of the first requests received by this Special Committee on Decolonization when it was formed in 1963 was from the Puerto Rican independence movement asking that this item be included on the agenda and that petitioners from that nation be heard.
This demand has also been echoed and supported by the international community. The Non-aligned Movement, has consistently supported this right of the Puerto Rican people. At the recently held Ministerial Meeting of Cartagena, the Nonaligned once again reaffirmed their commitment to independence and self-determination for Puerto Rico.
Year after year, a large number of Puerto Rican patriots come to this committee to remind us of their dreams and hopes. Their statements are not only an unequaled source of information for this committee, but above all an eyewitness account of the commitment and responsibility that the Committee on Decolonization owes to the Puerto Rican people.
This commitment and responsibility has been expressed through the 16 resolutions on the status of Puerto Rico adopted by this committee.
Mr. Chairman:
The colonial power - the United States - resorts to all kinds of maneuvers to confuse international public opinion and distort the economic, political, and social reality of Puerto Rico. Nevertheless, there is but one reality: Puerto Rico continues to be deprived of its legitimate right to self- determination and sovereignty, the U.S. military presence on the island increases, in spite of the negative consequences that this brings and the repudiation shown by the Puerto Rican people. Many are the Puerto Rican patriots who have suffered and continue to suffer political incarceration in the United States for the sole crime of being loyal to their history and struggling for the independence of their homeland.
In spite of the intense campaigns that have been carried out, 15 Puerto Rican political prisoners continue serving long sentences of up to 106 years in U.S. prisons. Their human rights are violated on a daily basis. They live in subhuman conditions. They deserve the recognition and solidarity of this committee.
Without a doubt, the Puerto Rican brothers and sisters jailed in U.S. prisons are a clear example of why we must - now more than ever - carry out our responsibility to the heroic people of Puerto Rico.
For all these reasons, Cuba believes that it is the unavoidable duty of this committee to denounce the situation that confronts Puerto Rico and the continued attempts to deny the inalienable right of this sister nation to self- determination and independence.
Mr. Chairman, your excellencies, distinguished representatives:
Cuba, once again, loyal to its traditions and history, calls upon all men of good will, as José Martí said 106 years go, to join together our efforts and help Puerto Rico to be free and independent.
Thank you very much.