US$ 280 million bond sale for Turks & Caicos Islands

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Bloomberg Businessweek

The Turks and Caicos Islands completed a roughly $280 million bond sale Tuesday that officials say aims to help the British dependency tackle a fiscal crisis. The Caribbean islands' London-appointed governor said the sale "buys us the time we need to tackle the dire fiscal legacy" inherited by his interim administration.

Britain imposed direct rule on Turks and Caicos in August 2009 after a probe into allegations that local leaders misused public money and profited from the sale of government-owned land. The local government and legislature were suspended.

Gov. Gordon Wetherell said the bond sale was the best option to give his administration a fixed interest rate and allow some "certainty over our future debt service." The bonds, with a fixed interest rate of 3.2 percent, will be fully payable on maturity in February 2016.

The bond sale does not provide additional funding for the islands' government, but replaces a $280 million bridge loan that was part of a $417 million rescue package approved by Britain earlier this year.

Wetherell said the bailout won't fund significant new expenditures or reverse spending cuts. It will only allow the financially struggling islands of roughly 23,000 people to bring spending and revenue in line, he said.

The islands are some 500 miles (800 kilometers) southeast of Florida.

Caribbean Colonies Seek to Redefine Economic Relations with European Union

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Colonies Seek to Redefine Relationship with EU

By Peter Richards

TerraViva-Europe

http://www.ipsnews.net/

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (IPS) - The newly elected chair of the Overseas Countries and Territories Association (OCTA), Montserrat's Chief Minister Reuben Meade, wants "trade rather than aid" to form the basis of the future relationship between Europe and its colonies around the world.

The ninth European Development Fund (EDF) assistance programmes are now coming to an end, and Meade wants to "get maximum benefits" for the 17 member countries of OCTA - mainly territories of Britain, France, the Netherlands and Denmark - when EDF-10 comes on stream.

"The European Union rules on drawing down on funds are extremely stringent and it can take years to get a drawdown," Meade told IPS. "What we are trying to do is to ensure that both sides pretty much understands what needs to be done to draw down the money" that plays a significant role in the socio-economic development of these European colonies.

"We continue to face many difficulties in the finalisation of the frameworks for the funds to be released," said Meade, whose island, under the EDF-10, has been allocated 15.7 million Euros for building a new port.

Each year a ministerial meeting between the ministers of the OCTs and a Tripartite Forum between the member states, the European Commission and the OCTs are held. The ministerial meeting sets out the visions, strategy and action plan which is subsequently implemented by the Executive Council, while the Forum outlines the visions for cooperation between the parties.

This year's meeting in early March took place in New Caledonia, a French colony located in the southwest Pacific. The distance proved to be a nightmare for some delegates and Meade, who had expressed his disappointment at the absence of several key European Union representatives, told IPS that a proposal is now being considered that would allow for the annual meetings to be held in Brussels with the OCTs staging "focused" meetings on matters such as the environment.

"This would give the opportunity for all players in the partnership who are involved in facilitating the support to OCTs to be present and can share critical information. Given the scarcity of resources, we have to be mindful of the cost-effectiveness of hosting these fora outside of Brussels," he added.

Meade said another aspect of his stewardship will be to get "Europe to better understand the needs of the territories". He believes the Apr. 12 "Open Day in Brussels" showcasing the socio-economic development strategies of the overseas territories will provide the European parliamentarians and other stakeholders with the opportunity to get "a better feel of what are our challenges".

But Meade, 57, an economist by training, said that he does not like the idea of the Europeans "changing the rules from time to time, (and) shifting the goalpost" with little or no consultation.

OCTA was established as a non-profit organisation in 2002 and has since been working to coordinate the views of the overseas territories, whose leaders have already established a Joint Position paper (JPP) that sets out the framework terms and conditions the European Union will use to prepare the new Overseas Association Decision (OAD).

Market access looms large

The existing OAD, which is a trade regime that gives the OCTs free market access to the EU to help create economic and social prosperity in the territories, expires in 2013. Britain has already indicated that the successor to the OAD must be flexible enough to meet the needs of both the larger, more prosperous territories, and those which are more vulnerable and likely to be in need of development assistance for years to come.

"The mandate of the European Union is to look at poverty reduction and there are some Overseas Territories which do not get direct aid from them," said Angela Greenway, who is also Montserrat's Territorial Authorisation Officer for the EDF.

"There have been challenges with drawing down the funds from approved EU projects and the new agreement will look at the disbursement," she said. Other areas which are covered in the proposed position paper are the issues of environmental protection and trade.

An array of challenges

When he took over the chairmanship of OCTA, Meade said he regarded his election "not only as a serious responsibility but as an opportunity to support the diverse agenda of the OCTs."

"It is no doubt a challenging time to be the chairman of OCTA," he added. "We must face the effects of protracted global economic and financial decline, falling levels of disposable incomes of our people and increasing challenges of war and natural disasters and their demand on scarce resources."

The Montserrat government leader said that the targets set by the EU to be achieved by the year 2020 provide "the basis for hope in the OCTs, if we can fully benefit from such an agenda."

According to Meade these targets include an employment rate of 75 percent of the 20- to 64-year-old-olds in the overseas territories; investment of three percent of the EU's gross domestic product in research, development and innovation; and reducing greenhouse gases by 20 percent below the 1990 levels, conditioned on international agreement.

The targets also call for achieving 20 percent energy from renewable sources and a 20-percent increase in energy efficiency, reducing school drop-out rates to below 10 percent, and having at least 40 percent of 30- to 34-year- olds complete tertiary education or its equivalent.

Committing to 20 million fewer people at risk of poverty and social exclusion is also among the identified targets.

But Meade, a strong supporter of a redefined relationship with the EU, says he hopes at the end of his one-year chairmanship, his legacy would be that the OCTs have been able to gain improved trading opportunities with Europe.

"Basically that's what we are looking at...focusing on trade relationships rather than aid," he said, noting that the OCTs could benefit from their services sector as well as investment opportunities in the European colonies.

In the Caribbean, the OCTs are Anguilla, Aruba, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Montserrat, Netherlands Antilles, Turks and Caicos Islands. In the Indian Ocean, there is Mayotte, and in the Pacific there are New Caledonia, Pitcairn, French Polynesia, Wallis and Futuna. The Falkland Islands, Greenland, Saint Pierre and Miquelon and Saint Helena are also members.

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Royal Wedding Fever Hits Some in UK Caribbean

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In some of Britain’s Caribbean territories and former colonies, judges wear thick wigs of white curls in the tropical heat, sports fans follow cricket religiously, and Queen Elizabeth II is the titular head of state. That doesn’t mean people here will be breaking out the tea and crumpets to watch this week’s royal wedding, ABC News reports.

Interest in Friday’s nuptials between Prince William and Kate Middleton is breaking down along generational lines in the ethnically diverse British Caribbean. It elicits excitement in some middle-age and older people who see the British royal family as a symbol of stability, and yawns from a younger generation more captivated by the latest dancehall reggae stars.

See full report here.

Japan Accident Spurs Review of Nuclear Power

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Trends in various actors after nuclear accident

Japan for Sustainability

 

Trends in Electric Power Suppliers and Municipalities with Nuclear Power Plants

The massive earthquake that hit Japan on March 11, 2011 caused tremendous damage, and at the same time, this earthquake and the following tsunami have triggered a serious nuclear accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant of Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO). Meanwhile, this accident has spurred the country to review about nuclear power generation. In this context, we will deliver you information about moves in electric power suppliers and municipalities that have nuclear power plants, as well as trends in the nuclear power policy at the government level.

We will do our best to carry out the whole process of summarizing related news reports in Japanese, translating them into English, and uploading them to this webpage within three days after coverage by the Japanese media, with the aim of conveying you this kind of information on a real-time basis. However, please note that we, Japan for Sustainability, is operated mainly by volunteers and that there is only so much we can do.

Read the full report here.

Jacqui Drollet elected French Polynesia Assembly Speaker

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Jacqui Drollet elected French Polynesia Assembly Speaker

 

Tahiti Presse

Jacqui Drollet, from (President) Oscar Temaru's UPLD party, was elected speaker of the 57-seat French Polynesia Assembly Thursday by 29 votes.

The two other candidates were Gaston Flosse, leader of the pro-autonomy Tahoeraa Huiraatira party, and Georges Handerson, also from Temaru's UPLD.

Flosse only obtained 11 votes. He planned to have more votes from the pro-autonomy parties. After the vote, he criticized Gaston Tong Sang, leader of the pro-autonomy To Tatou Ai'a party.

Flosse claimed Tong Sang should have supported him for this election. Pro-autonomy parties should be united, Flosse added.

But Tong Sang replied a few minutes later that Flosse himself was responsible for the lack of unity between pro-autonomy parties.

The other candidate, Georges Handerson, said he did not see any reason why there should be only one UPLD candidate.

Handerson only obtained four votes. He did not say however if he will stay in Temaru's UPLD in the future.

Member of Guam Legislature Proposes Referendum on Reunification of Marianas Archipelago

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Time to revisit Marianas reunification

Marianas Variety

The idea of unifying Guam and the CNMI in order to achieve more progress on political self determination is a question Sen. Judi Guthertz wants to pose to the people of Guam in the 2012 general elections.

The question, “Should Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan, Rota, Tinian, and the Northern Islands) reunify in the pursuit of a new political status? Yes or No,” is one that needs answered by the people, the lawmaker said yesterday.

She has introduced a bill calling for a non-binding plebiscite on the issue.

Guthertz noted that past Guam governors have advocated for the reunification: Joseph Ada, Carl T.C. Gutierrez and Felix Camacho. Incumbent Gov. Eddie B. Calvo also “shares the desire,” she added.
Guthertz said it was her understanding that Saipan Republican Rep. Joseph P. Palacios is interested in introducing a similar piece of legislation in the CNMI House of Representatives.

In Nov. 2009, Dr. Carlyle Corbin, a United Nations advisor, said some felt that the reunification of Guam and the CNMI would create a greater opportunity to either become the 51st state or for an autonomous political status like that of free association.

Corbin said the islands’ ability to survive without military protection from the U.S. was a very valid concern, but the possibilities of more freedom to engage in the international economic system would also offer new opportunities.

In 1969, a reunification plebiscite was with Guam rejecting it while NMI voted in favor.

Guthertz, in a statement, said “although political leaders in both Guam and the NMI understood the practical benefits of a larger population base and closer relationship with the United States, they were not able to overcome the hard feelings between Guam and Saipan left over from World War II and the Japanese occupation.”

The NMI was a Japanese possession from 1914 to 1944.

“The clearly perceived and anything but imaginary snub of rejection has rankled with NMI residents to this day and various efforts to revive reunification over the years have failed,” Guthertz noted.

“It’s time to kick this discussion into the 21st century,” she added.

Asked for comment yesterday, Rep. Stanley T. Torres said the CNMI should “think it over,” referring to the proposed reunification. Torres, Ind.-Saipan, recalled that in 1969, the NMI people overwhelmingly supported such an idea but Guam rejected it.

He said now that the CNMI people have more leverage with the federal government than Guam, reunification is being brought to the table again.

“Not at this time,” he added.

Once reunification happens, he said, Saipan, Tinian and Rota will become like villages of Guam due to their smaller populations.

“You could imagine how the NMI people will be treated once they become just a small part of the Marianas. Anyway, it’s kind of early to be thinking about it. We are not ready yet,” he added.

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Senator Guthertz's Bill Seeks to "Kick-Start" Re-Unification of Guam & CNMI

Pacific News Center

Guam - Guam Senator Judi Guthertz wants to "kick-start" the idea of re-unifing Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The Senator has introduced a bill which would put the question on the 2012 Guam General Election Ballot: The bill would put the question on the Guam ballot to all qualified voters, and it would be a non‐binding vote.

(Editor's Note: The legislation  is available at the website of the Guam Legislature).

THE QUESTION READS:

ʺShould Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan, Rota, Tinian, and the Northern Islands) reunify in the pursuit of a new political status?, Yes or No.”

In a release, Guthertz mentions a 1969 plebiscite on Guam in which the question of reunification with the CNMI was rejected by Guam voters because of the "hard feelings" left over from World War II when the U.S. Territory of Guam was captured and occupied by the Japanese military, whereas the islands of the CNMI had been a colony of Japan since 1919.

In her release, Guthertz explains Guam's rejection of re-unification by saying: " Although political leaders in both Guam and the NMI understood the practical benefits of a larger population base and closer relationship with the United States, they were not able to overcome the hard feelings between Guam and Saipan left over from World War II and the Japanese occupation. The clearly perceived and anything but imaginary snub of rejection has rankled with Saipan residents to this day and various efforts to revive reunification over the years have failed."

But now she says “it’s time to kick this discussion into the 21st Century.”

Guthertz is quoted in her release as saying:

“If the results favor reunification, the separation that occurred in 1898, when Guam was ceded to the United States, and the Northern Mariana Islands were sold by Spain to Germany, will finally be terminated and a unification of the people of the Marianas Archipelago will be accomplished and the overall direction set for purposes of moving forward.”

Read Guthertz release in full below:

GUTHERTZ: AFTER 40 YEARS, IT’S TIME TO REVISIT MICRONESIAN REUNIFICATION

Long before most of the current voters in Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands were even born, Guam voters in a 1969 plebiscite rejected a question about reunification with the Northern Mariana Islands.

Although political leaders in both Guam and the NMI understood the practical benefits of a larger population base and closer relationship with the United States, they were not able to overcome the hard feelings between Guam and Saipan left over from World War II and the Japanese occupation. The clearly perceived and anything but imaginary snub of rejection has rankled with Saipan residents to this day and various efforts to revive reunification over the years have failed.

Saying, “it’s time to kick this discussion into the 21st Century,” Guam Senator Judith P. Guthertz today introduced a bill [168‐31 (COR)] which would put a simple question on the 2012 General Election Ballot: ʺShould Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan, Rota, Tinian, and the Northern Islands) reunify in the pursuit of a new political status?, Yes or No.”

The question on the Guam ballot will be put before all qualified voters and will be non‐binding.

Over the years, both Guam and the CNMI have endured some difficult times, but the bill suggests that the present Guam military buildup, which envisions use of CNMI land based facilities, may provide another motivation for the two unities to reunify.

“If the results favor reunification,” the bill says, “the separation that occurred in 1898, when Guam was ceded to the United States, and the Northern Mariana Islands were sold by Spain to Germany, will finally be terminated and a unification of the people of the Marianas Archipelago will be accomplished and the overall direction set for purposes of moving forward.”

Northern Marianas Rep. Calls for Review of US ties as Guam Begins Self-Determination Process

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Torres says Guam, NMI should revisit ties with US

By Emmanuel T. Erediano & Therese Hart
Marianas Variety

REPRESENTATIVE Stanley T. Torres yesterday expressed support for Guam Gov. Eddie B. Calvo’s quest for self-determination.

In an interview yesterday, Torres, Ind.-Saipan, said now is the time for Guam and the CNMI to come together and revisit their relationships with the U.S.

Torres was on Guam when 15 U.S. senators stopped on the island without informing Calvo, who described the “snub” as another indication that “we are not part of their constituency, and they do not consider us a valuable part of the American family.” Torres was on Guam to join his son, Andersen Air Force Base Fire Chief Stanley Jr., who received a National Firefighters Award, and to celebrate his granddaughter’s christening.

Torres said he wants Guam to be successful in achieving self-determination. He believes that the CNMI and Guam together will have a louder voice in asking the U.S. to “loosen its grip a little bit” on the Mariana islands.

Torres said he wants the federal government to give CNMI its “fair share” of the exclusive economic zone and to “stop making the nightingale reed warbler one heck of a restriction that slows down the improvements” in the commonwealth.

He noted that “Guam is really pushing faster in trying to achieve self-determination. I am not sure when would that time come. But I’m hoping that maybe before the end of this year.”

Last January, Torres re-introduced House Bill 17-7 which will create a commission that will revisit the Covenant and look at “alternative” political status for the Northern Marianas.

In 1975, NMI voters overwhelmingly ratified the Covenant, which established the commonwealth “in political union” with the U.S. The voter turnout was 95 percent and 78.8 percent voted to approve the Covenant.

Understandable

The Guam governor is upset that U.S. senators arrived in the American territory without his knowledge and Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo says she “appreciates” his concerns.

“I will do what I can to ensure that future congressional delegations give proper notification to the governor regarding their visits. I can also appreciate that any congressional delegation’s plans are usually tentative until military planes can be confirmed. The governor’s point is well taken and I will work with military officials and appropriate committees to ensure proper notification and all due respect are given to the governor and other local leaders,” Bordallo said.

Sen. Judi Guthertz, oversight chairwoman of the Guam Legislature’s military buildup committee, said she expressed similar concerns in the past regarding disrespectful treatment of the island by the federal government.

“Sometimes we don’t get the respect for the island, not for us as individuals, just because we’re elected officials — no, I’m talking about the people of Guam. They’re coming to our home...sometimes it seems that they’re coming through our home, and to disrespect the governor, that’s very bad, that’s not nice. I understand how the governor feels, I feel badly for him and I hope he understands that this has been my concern in the past and I’ve been vocal about it. Respect the island, respect the people, give us the time of day. They could have at least invited the governor to be at Andersen,” said Guthertz.

“They just don’t get it. All these years, all of our efforts, and they still don’t get it. They just don’t take us seriously and they make us feel that we have no value, but I want to remind these senators that we are Americans, too. We are Americans, too,” she added.

The 15 U.S. senators, who stopped on Guam Monday to refuel as they headed to Hong Kong, included Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

COMPAÑÍA NACIONAL DEL ATENEO LLEVA A ESCENALA PRIMERA OBRA LITERARIA PUERTORRIQUEÑA

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Ateneo Puertorriqueño

Compañía Nacional de Teatro del Ateneo


COMUNICADO DE PRENSA

COMPAÑÍA NACIONAL DEL ATENEO LLEVA A ESCENA LA PRIMERA OBRA LITERARIA PUERTORRIQUEÑA

El Ateneo Puertorriqueño llevará a escena este próximo 22 de abril de 2011, la primera obra literaria puertorriqueña escrita por un puertorriqueño y publicada en Puerto Rico en el año de 1833.

La obra se titula MUCÉN o el triunfo del patriotismo y es una obra dramática que aborda el tema de la defensa de la Patria.

El Señor Presidente del Ateneo Puertorriqueño, el Dr. José Milton Soltero Ramírez, y el Director de la Compañía Nacional de Teatro del Ateneo Puertorriqueño, el Dr. Edgar Quiles Ferrer, invitan a toda la comunidad puertorriqueña al estreno de la primera obra literaria puertorriqueña escrita por un puertorriqueño y publicada en Puerto Rico en el año de 1833.

La obra que inaugura las letras nacionales puertorriqueñas, MUCÉN o el triunfo del patriotismo, es una obra dramática que aborda el tema de la defensa de la Patria y será estrenada por la Compañía Nacional de Teatro del Ateneo, este próximo 22 de abril de 2011 en el Teatro del Ateneo.

La obra Mucén o el triunfo del patriotismo, fue escrita por el joven capitalino Celedonio Luis Nebot de Padilla y publicada por la Imprenta de Don Valeriano San Millán de San Juan, la imprenta de la Gaceta de Puerto Rico, en el año de 1833.

MUCÉN, que hasta el año 2002 había sido considerada desaparecida de todas las bibliotecas nacionales y españolas, fue encontrada por el Director del Archivo Nacional de Teatro y Cine del Ateneo Puertorriqueño, el Prof. Roberto Ramos-Perea, quien también tiene a su cargo la dirección escénica de la obra.

El Archivo Nacional de Teatro y Cine del Ateneo Puertorriqueño, en su interés por autentificar dicho descubrimiento, recupera de la breve biografía de Nebot los siguientes datos: Celedonio Luis Nebot de Padilla, nació en San Juan en 1815, y era hijo de Luis Nebot, militar nacido en Valencia, España y retirado en Puerto Rico, donde ejercía el cargo de Administrador del Hospital Militar. Su madre era María de la Cruz Padilla, natural de Río Piedras. Nebot debe haber disfrutado de la aventura teatral desde muy pequeño, pues desde 1815 a 1823, de pared a pared con el Hospital Militar que administraba su padre, se encontraba el Corralón de Comedias de San Juan, que sirvió de escenario a muchas compañías españolas y locales. Este teatro ubicaba en el terreno que hoy ocupa la Plaza del V Centenario en el Viejo San Juan.

Luego de la muerte de su padre y con el dinero de su herencia, publica su drama, el que dedica a un importante mecenas de las artes, miembro de la Alta Jerarquía de la Iglesia Católica. Luego viaja a España, donde interviene en la sublevación contra el General Espartero en 1849. En 1852 publica el poemario titulado Emociones y en 1853 estrena su segundo drama titulado Carlos V y tras dedicarse a actividades religiosas, muere en el año 1865 en Madrid. Las Obras Encontradas de este primer escritor puertorriqueño fueron publicadas por la Editorial LEA del Ateneo en el año 2005.

Mucén o el Triunfo del Patriotismo trata sobre la toma de Silistra, colonia otomana, invadida por los rusos en el año 1829. El texto está impregnado de un lenguaje altamente patriótico y beligerante en contra de la política imperial rusa. En medio de una trama de intenso asunto político, de venganza e intriga, Mucén, general turco, será ejecutado por la traición de uno de sus capitanes. Su hija intercede por él y la obra tiene un final conciliador. Esta trama levanta serias interrogantes sobre si el joven Nebot disfrazó con ella una denuncia sobre la situación de Puerto Rico como colonia española.

El reparto de Mucén está integrado por los actores de la Compañía Nacional de Teatro del Ateneo encabezados por Edgar Quiles Ferrer en el personaje del general invasor ruso; Mucén, el general turco, interpretado por el actor Nelson Alvarado; su hija Zulema, interpretada por la actriz Melissa Reyes; el traidor Alí será interpretado por Luis Javier López, acompañados de Ricardo de Santiago y Ricardo Magriña, junto a varios actores del Conservatorio de Arte Dramático del Ateneo. La escenografía y la iluminación estarán a cargo del Maestro Eduardo Bobren y del Maestro Félix Vega. Utilería de Sonia Rodríguez, Vestuario de Gina Figueroa, Asistencia de Dirección de Zulaika Ginés y Producción Ejecutiva de Olga Vega Fontánez.

La obra estará en funciones, el viernes 22 y 29, el sábado 23 y 30 de ABRIL a las 8:30 pm, y los domingos 24 y 1ero de MAYO a las 4:30 de la tarde.

La Compañía Nacional de Teatro del Ateneo cuenta para este estreno con el apoyo del Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña y Producciones Xavier Cifre. Forma parte además del XXXIV Festival de Teatro del Ateneo Puertorriqueño dedicado a Eleuterio Derkes Martinó , primer intelectual puertorriqueño negro, y también forma parte del 52 Festival de Teatro Puertorriqueño del Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña en Homenaje póstumo a la primera actriz puertorriqueña Esther Mari.

Para más información puede comunicarse al 787-977-2307, 787-722-4839 o visitar www.ateneopr.org.

Para entrevistas y coordinación de medios a Menades Inc. con Angela Mari a Menades08@gmail.com al 787-444-7747.

Marshall Islands Requests Radiation Monitors in Wake of Continuing Radioactivity Release in Japan

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Marshall Islands Journal

Foreign Secretary Kino Kabua made the request this week to the US Embassy, and said it followed up on earlier requests from Minister John Silk and the RMI EPA to the US Embassy. No formal response to the equipment request has been received, Kabua said. Meanwhile, Majuro’s Weather Station Office is the designated National Data Center for worldwide radiation monitoring related to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. But one RMI official said that while the RMI government can access this global radiation data, the RMI does not have the skills to evaluate and interpret the data.

Editor's Note: The Marshall Islands is a freely associated state in association with the United States, and emerged from the United Nations Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands administered by the U.S. following World War II. The islands were the site of significant nuclear testing during the Cold War, and the government continues to petition for radiation compensation because of the effects of the testing.

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Lydia Kaminaga of the Marshall Islands Government in her statement to the United Nations General Assembly Fourth Committee on October 2009 noted that:

For more than 50 years, the people of the Marshall Islands had travelled to the halls of the United Nations to raise a single issue -– the one that was at the central focus of the resolution before the Committee today, namely the urgent need for comprehensive, unbiased and objective understanding of the effects of atomic radiation. For her country, the issue of exposure to the effects of atomic radiation was not an abstract scientific principle, but an active experience. In the context of support for and consideration of UNSCEAR’s work researching the effects of background radiation, her delegation wanted to draw attention to the need to consider the appropriate responsibility of the United Nations, through its Member States and agencies, and of the former United Nations administering authority, the United States, in fully addressing the effects of atomic radiation in the Marshall Islands.

She said that during its status as a United Nations Trust Territory, Marshall Islands had been the test site of 67 large-scale atmospheric nuclear weapons, by the United Nations administering authority, from 1948 to 1958. That had taken place with the explicit approval of the United Nations Trusteeship Council. The people of the Marshall Islands, for decades, had spent considerable effort detailing the specific and devastating effects of the exposure to atomic materials, including declassified documents detailing deliberate exposure.

The true impact of those United Nations-mandated actions upon the people, culture and environment of the Marshall Islands was beyond description, she continued. It was not just a historical issue, but one which, because of a variety of actions undertaken with inadequate understanding of safe scientific levels of exposure, had continued for generations. Acknowledging the important efforts that had since been taken to remediate the environment and address the health and losses of the people, she said that the Marshall Islands were still awaiting a complete response, and were still in exile. Science confirmed what people and communities had long known -– that the United Nations itself could do much more to facilitate public dissemination and scientific understanding of exposure to atomic radiation, particularly in the context of the Marshall Islands.

The resolutions passed on the subject did not regard any one nation or people impacted by the effects of exposure to atomic radiation, she said. Rather, those were an opportunity for the international community to show far stronger endorsement for sustaining UNSCEAR through strengthened support for advancing comprehensive and objective scientific understanding of exposure. Science should not be a “moving target” for policy and political decisions, she emphasized.

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In 2010, the United Nations agreed to study the effects of the nuclear testing in the Marshall Islands, as indicatged in the following 17th November 2010 report by Radio New Zealand:

UN TO STUDY NUCLEAR TESTING EFFECTS IN MARSHALLS

Report on impacts due next year 

The United Nations has agreed to investigate the impacts of US nuclear testing in the Marshall Islands between 1946 and 1958.In a resolution adopted yesterday, the UN agreed to produce a report next year on the nuclear testing impacts on the group of Islands.The report is expected to focus on scientific questions, including safe exposure levels, but also look more broadly at the economic and social impacts of testing.The Marshall Islands Ambassador to the UN, Phillip Muller, says the government will work closely with the four atoll communities most directly affected by the tests.

On 10th December 2010, the United Nations General Assembly adopted its resolution  65/96 entitled  Effects of Atomic Radiation which request(ed) the (U.N.) Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly, within existing resources, at its sixty-sixth session, regarding the effects of atomic radiation in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, taking into account analysis by recognized experts, including the Scientific Committee, and previously published studies on the topic.

The report is due by September 2011.

ATENEO RINDE HOMENAJE A LA TRAYECTORIA FÍLMICA DE MARTA ROMERO

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ATENEO PUERTORRIQUEÑO

Sección de Cine

Archivo Nacional de Teatro y Cine

COMUNICADO DE PRENSA

ATENEO RINDE HOMENAJE

A LA TRAYECTORIA FÍLMICA DE MARTA ROMERO

La Serie Cine Sin Pantalla VII exhibirá cinco de sus más aclamados éxitos de la pantalla grande

El señor Presidente del Ateneo Puertorriqueño, el Dr. José Milton Soltero, el Director de la Sección de Cine, el Prof. José “Pepe” Orraca Brandenberger y el Director del Archivo Nacional de Teatro y Cine, el Prof. Roberto Ramos-Perea invitan al público en general a la Serie CINE SIN PANTALLA VII, EN HOMENAJE A LA TRAYECTORIA FÍLMICA de la PRIMERA ACTRIZ MARTA ROMERO.

La Serie comenzará a partir del próximo martes, 26 de abril de 2011, a las 8:00 pm con la exhibición de la película AYER AMARGO, uno de los más importantes clásicos del Cine Nacional Puertorriqueño.

Marta Romero, consagrada por la crítica y por el pueblo mismo, como la más importante gloria femenina del Cine Nacional Puertorriqueño, nació en Ponce, Puerto Rico, el 8 de marzo de 1927. De una impresionante carrera artística en la música popular, y una activa participación en la radio y la televisión, Marta Romero irrumpe en el Cine con dos actuaciones que marcarán la Historia del Cine Puertorriqueño, Maruja (1959) y Ayer Amargo (1960).

De ahí en adelante películas como La fiebre del deseo (1963), La piel desnuda (1963) y Mientras Puerto Rico duerme (1964), la consolidan como una actriz de recio temple, que podía en su vital desempeño, mostrar las diversas facetas de la debilidad y el arrojo femenino. Tras el estruendoso éxito de estas primeras películas, la Columbia Pictures le ofrece un contrato como contrafigura femenina de Mario Moreno “Cantinflas” en la película El señor doctor (1965).

En México desarrolla otra vertiente de su carrera en la que destacará en la pantalla grande por su sensualidad y el aire de misterio que provoca su natural belleza criolla. Es allá donde filma películas como Retablos de la Guadalupana (1965), Casa de Mujeres (1966), Matar es fácil (1966), Detectives y Ladrones (1966) y Las vampiras (1967) De sus últimas películas destacan Un latin lover en Acapulco (1967) y Amor perdóname (1967), producciones puertorriqueñas de gran éxito.

Será en Amor Perdóname en donde Marta Romero mostrará la madurez actoral de su carrera cinematográfica, con la sabia explotación del dramatismo angustiante y lloroso y la impotencia de la mujer ante el abuso masculino.

En 1976, Marta se despide de su carrera fílmica y se dedica a labores religiosas, hasta su total retiro en el que descansa de las dolencias propias de su edad.

Aunque algunas de sus películas como La piel desnuda y Un latin lover en Acapulco se encuentran perdidas, las que sobreviven sirven para ratificar que Marta Romero es un ícono sagrado de nuestra cultura cinematográfica y por ello la Sección de Cine y el Archivo Nacional de Teatro del Ateneo desean dar a conocer las más interesantes muestras de su talento en un merecido Homenaje a la que es la Primera Dama del Cine Puertorriqueño.

Pepe Orraca, Director de la Serie Cine Sin Pantalla destacó: “Marta Romero hizo para nuestro cine lo que muchas otras actrices del mundo han hecho para el suyo. Irene Papas para el cine griego, Elizabeth Taylor para el cine americano, María Félix y Dolores del Río para el cine mexicano. Marta le ofreció la belleza de su rostro a la particularidad del cine nacional, caribeño, sensual, vivo y dramático. Por su actuación en Ayer Amargo solamente, ya sería más que suficiente para coronarla como la más importante actriz de todo nuestro cine”.

El programa de Cine sin Pantalla VIII comienza con los actos de Homenaje y la conferencia "Marta Romero: primera dama del cine nacional" por el Dr. Víctor Federico Torres, biógrafo de Marta Romero y miembro de la Junta Asesora del Archivo Nacional de Teatro y Cine. Habrá además una exhibición de varios carteles de sus películas que se conservan en el Archivo Nacional de Teatro y Cine y que han sido enmarcados con el auspicio de la Galería Guatibirí. Es muy improbable que la delicada condición de salud de Marta Romero le impida estar en el Ateneo esa noche, pero se ha asegurado la presencia de su hijo, quien recibirá el Homenaje en su nombre.

Tras cada exhibición, el Prof. José Orraca, el Prof. Roberto Ramos-Perea, el Dr. Víctor Federico Torres y el Director del Consejo Asesor del Archivo Nacional de Teatro y Cine, el cantante y productor Edgardo Huertas, mantendrán un diálogo con el público asistente. Las exhibiciones con entrada libre, se realizarán todos los martes a las 8:00 pm de acuerdo al siguiente programa:

Martes, 26 de abril de 2011, 8.00 p.m.:
Inauguración de CINE SIN PANTALLA VII
en HOMENAJE A MARTA ROMERO

•Apertura de la Exposición de Carteles Cinematográficos de las películas de Marta Romero.


•Presentación: "Marta Romero: Primera Dama del Cine Nacional", por el Dr. Víctor Federico Torres, biógrafo de Marta Romero y miembro de la Junta Asesora del Archivo Nacional de Teatro y Cine.


•Exhibición de Ayer amargo (1959) con Marta Romero y Arturo Correa.


Dirección de Amílcar Tirado.


Coctel de Inauguración. Venta de películas y libros sobre cine puertorriqueño.

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"Over 2,000 acres of jungle will be destroyed" in further militarisation - We are Guahan

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Pacific News Center

 

"We Are Guahan" (in its 6th Grey Paper) says their conclusions are based on a "compilation of information from the Environmental Impact Statement (“EIS”) and various federal and local agencies regarding the impacts of the proposed buildup on Guam’s jungle and wildlife."

"We Are Guahan" lists the following impacts:

* The destruction of over 2,000 acres of jungle, which includes 1,580 acres of limestone forest.

* The destruction of over 1,300 acres of recovery habitat for the endangered fanihi, Mariana crow, and Micronesian kingfisher.

* DoD’s (U.S. Department of Defence) proposed projects will destroy up to 10% of the total amount of forest cover on Guam. The release quotes "We Are Guahan" member Cara Flores-Mays as saying:

“The total area of jungle that DoD plans on destroying is larger than the villages of Mongmong-Toto-Maite and Hagåtña combined. The destruction of 10% of the forest cover on Guam is probably why Under Secretary Robert Work only talked about efficient energy when explaining DoD’s commitment to a ‘Green Guam.’”

The "We Are Guahan" reads as follows:

We Are Guåhan: DoD plans on destroying over 2,000 acres of jungle.

We Are Guåhan has released its sixth installment of the Grey Papers, which is a compilation of information from the Environmental Impact Statement (“EIS”) and various federal and local agencies regarding the impacts of the proposed buildup on Guam’s jungle and wildlife. Governor Calvo’s signing of the Programmatic Agreement (“PA”) cleared the way for DoD to begin work on the 160+ projects related to the proposed buildup.

Some of the impacts of DoD’s proposed projects identified in the EIS include:

· The destruction of over 2,000 acres of jungle, which includes 1,580 acres of limestone forest.

· The destruction of over 1,300 acres of recovery habitat for the endangered fanihi, Mariana crow, and Micronesian kingfisher.

· DoD’s proposed projects will destroy up to 10% of the total amount of forest cover on Guam.

“The total area of jungle that DoD plans on destroying is larger than the villages of Mongmong-Toto-Maite and Hagåtña combined,” says We Are Guåhan member Cara Flores-Mays. “The destruction of 10% of the forest cover on Guam is probably why Under Secretary Robert Work only talked about efficient energy when explaining DoD’s commitment to a ‘Green Guam.’”

One example of DoD’s proposed mitigation for the destruction of over 1,300 acres of recovery habitat for the endangered fanihi, Mariana crow and Micronesian kingfisher is to have a biologist go to construction sites one (1) week before a project begins. If the biologist sees one of these endangered species, DoD will postpone destroying the jungle in that area until the bat or bird has left. “Some DoD officials may be hurt by us raising these issues,” continued Flores-Mays, “but the destruction of thousands of acres of jungle - as well as the impacts on our hospital, our schools and our homes - are important issues to our community. The people who call Guam home deserve honest answers to these questions, not rehearsed talking points.”

Guam Governor Says US Senators Snubbed Island Leaders during unannounced visit

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Press Release

Office of the Governor

Guam

Guam Governor Calls on U.S. Senate to End Its Bipartisan Colonialism

"What kind of democracy allows colonialism to flourish?"

Guam Gov. Eddie Calvo, one of the 55 United States governors, found out this morning that fifteen percent of the U.S. Senate landed on Guam in secrecy today. The contingent includes the Senate Majority and Minority leaders and other powerful U.S. Senators.

These U.S. Senators, both Democrat and Republican, have decided to thumb their noses at the island and its government.

The Governor, who is a member of the National Governors Association and the Republican Governors Association, releases the following statement about how this snub can severely affect Guam colonial-federal relations as the U.S. government pushes a $15 billion realignment of Asian-Pacific forces on Guam:

“This morning, Guam Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo asked whether I would be greeting the 15 U.S. Senators scheduled to arrive at Guam’s Andersen Air Force Base today. We were both surprised and extremely upset that no one in the federal establishment informed Guam of their visit. We called the Navy to verify this stopover and we were told that the U.S. Senators will not entertain any meeting or discussions with Guam leaders or the Guamanian people. Instead of landing at the A.B. Won Pat International Airport, Guam, they have decided to shield their visit in secrecy and land within the confines of Andersen Air Force Base.

“In the 100 years we have been a colony of the United States, the U.S. government hardly did anything to resolve our colonial status. What kind of democracy allows colonialism to flourish? I am livid the U.S. Senate, a body created by the will of the people of 13 colonies who wanted freedom and democracy, would turn its back on the Guamanian people. It is obvious we are not part of their constituency, and they do not consider us a valuable part of the American family. This only serves to inflame our long-held belief that we are an American colony of second-class citizens who matter only when our geopolitical position is needed by the U.S. government.

“This is a sad state of affairs. This is the third time in the last year that Congress has made it clear that we are of no importance to the nation. This snub follows Congress trying to sell our own resources to us at Fena and Congress taking away our Delegate’s voting power in House committees. These U.S. Senators are only hurting American interests abroad. Look at the great relationship we’ve built with the U.S. military. Congress’s actions only undermine that work. Why? If Guam was so important to U.S. strategic interests, then why would the nation’s leaders continue snubbing Guamanians?

“If the Senate wants to thumb its nose at Guamanians, then perhaps it is time for Guamanians to call in every injustice ever committed upon our people by the U.S. government. And we can start with the Insular Cases of the same U.S. Supreme Court of the 1900s that said people of color were separate but equal. How many times have Guamanians answered the call to serve? How many have died for a democracy that doesn’t even fully apply to us? How many more times must Guamanians accept colonial treatment before Congress ever recognizes that our voices count, too? How much more oppression can our people take before they get fed up and tell the Congress to take their buildup somewhere else?

“We can have the greatest relationship with the U.S. military and the Department of the Interior, but if Congress continues ignoring Guam like the colony it is, we will never truly enjoy the America that the Marines of 1944 fought and died to bring to Guam. What happened to the pledge of a “One Guam” policy? It’s clear these U.S. Senators have no intention of uniting our best interests. To them, there is an American inside a military fenceline, and an American colony outside of it. They want nothing to do with that colony. Here is yet another compelling reason the Guam Legislature, Lt. Governor Tenorio and I are working together to call for a vote of self determination. We cannot continue on as a colony of the United States. We should either be a part of the U.S., with voting membership in the House and Senate and the right to vote for President, or we should govern ourselves. This is a message we will share with U.S. Senators Jim Webb and Carl Levin when they visit with us next week. At least these gentlemen have the consideration and decency to meet with their fellow Americans in Guam.

“I want Guamanians living in the U.S. States where these U.S. Senators are from to remember what these U.S. Senators did to Guam in the next national elections.”

Guam is an organized unincorporated territory of the United States, a colonial status that has not changed. Its residents are called Guamanians and were granted U.S. citizenship by an act of Congress called the Organic Act of 1948. Only certain provisions of the Constitution's Bill of Rights apply to the residents of Guam, called Guamanians. Guamanians have among the highest enlistment rates in the U.S. military. There are 183,000 Guamanians living in Guam. An unknown number reside throughout the U.S. mainland, Hawaii and Alaska. A 2000 census of those who call themselves Chamorro (the ethnicity indigenous to Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands) or part-Chamorro says that 33,849 Chamorros alone live in California. This does not include the broader number of Guamanians of other ethnic backgrounds who live in California. According to the 2000 Census, nearly 100,000 Chamorros live in the 50 States and Puerto Rico.

Occupying the World - The New Colonialism

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By PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS

Counterpunch

What we are observing in Libya is the rebirth of colonialism. Only this time it is not individual European governments competing for empires and resources. The new colonialism operates under the cover of “the world community,” which means NATO and those countries that cooperate with it. NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, was once a defense alliance against a possible Soviet invasion of Western Europe. Today NATO provides European troops in behalf of American hegemony.

Washington pursues world hegemony under the guises of selective “humanitarian intervention” and “bringing freedom and democracy to oppressed peoples.” On an opportunistic basis, Washington targets countries for intervention that are not its “international partners.” Caught off guard, perhaps, by popular revolts in Tunisia and Egypt, there are some indications that Washington responded opportunistically and encouraged the uprising in Libya. Khalifa Hifter, a suspected Libyan CIA asset for the last 20 years, has gone back to Libya to head the rebel army.

Gaddafi got himself targeted by standing up to Western imperialism. He refused to be part of the US Africa Command. Gaddafi saw Washington’s scheme for what it is, a colonialist’s plan to divide and conquer.

The US Africa Command (AFRICOM) was created by order of President George W. Bush in 2007. AFRICOM describes its objective:

“Our approach is based upon supporting U.S. national security interests in Africa as articulated by the President and Secretaries of State and Defense in the National Security Strategy and the National Military Strategy. The United States and African nations have strong mutual interests in promoting security and stability on the continent of Africa, its island states, and maritime zones. Advancing these interests requires a unified approach that integrates efforts with those of other U.S. government departments and agencies, as well as our African and other international partners.”

Forty-nine countries participate in the US Africa Command, but not Libya, Sudan, Eritrea, Zimbabwe, and Ivory Coast. There is Western military intervention in these non-member countries except for Zimbabwe.

One traditional means by which the US influences and controls a country is by training its military and government officers. The program is called International Military and Education Training (IMET). AFRICOM reports that “in 2009 approximately 900 military and civilian students from 44 African countries received education and training in the United States or their own countries. Many officers and enlisted IMET graduates go on to fill key positions in their militaries and governments.”

AFRICOM lists as a key strategic objective the defeat of the “Al-Qaeda network.” The US Trans Sahara Counter Terrorism Partnership (TSCTP) trains and equips “partner nation forces “ to preclude terrorists from establishing sanctuaries and aims to “ultimately defeat violent extremist organizations in the region.”

Apparently, after ten years of “the war on terror” an omnipotent al-Qaeda now ranges across Algeria, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and Tunisia in Africa, across the Middle East, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the UK and is such a threat within the United States itself as to require a $56 billion “Homeland Security” annual budget.

The al-Qaeda threat has become Washington’s best excuse for intervening in the domestic affairs of other countries and for subverting American civil liberties.

Sixty-six years after the end of World War II and 20 years after the Collapse of the Soviet Union, the US still has an European Command, one of nine military commands and six regional commands.

No other country feels a need for a world military presence. Why does Washington think that it is a good allocation of scarce resources to devote $1.1 trillion annually to military and security “needs”? Is this a sign of Washington’s paranoia? Is it a sign that only Washington has enemies?

Or is it an indication that Washington assigns the highest value to empire and squanders taxpayers’ monies and the country’s credit-worthiness on military footprints, while millions of Americans lose their homes and their jobs?

Washington’s expensive failures in Iraq and Afghanistan have not tempered the imperial ambition. Washington can continue to rely on the print and TV media to cover up its failures and to hide its agendas, but expensive failures will remain expensive failures. Sooner or later Washington will have to acknowledge that the pursuit of empire has bankrupted the country.

It is paradoxical that Washington and its European “partners” are seeking to extend control over foreign lands abroad while immigration transforms their cultures and ethnic compositions at home. As Hispanics, Asians, Africans, and Muslims of various ethnicities become a larger and larger percentage of the populations of the “First World,” support for the white man’s empire fades away. Peoples desiring education and in need of food, shelter, and medical care will be hostile to maintaining military outposts in the countries of their origins.

Who exactly is occupying whom?

Parts of the US are reverting to Mexico. For example, demographer Steve Murdock, a former director of the US Census Bureau, reports that two-thirds of Texas children are Hispanics and concludes: “It’s basically over for Anglos.”

Ironic, isn’t it, while Washington and its NATO puppets are busy occupying the world, they are being occupied by the world.

Paul Craig Roberts was an editor of the Wall Street Journal and an Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Treasury. His latest book, HOW THE ECONOMY WAS LOST, has just been published by CounterPunch/AK Press. He can be reached at: PaulCraigRoberts@yahoo.com .

Research Identifies areas of Democratic Deficit in Dependent & Autonomous Governance Models

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Self-Governance Deficits in Dependency

and Autonomous Governance Models

A paper presented to Twelfth Annual Conference of the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute

for Social and Economic Studies (SALISES)

University of the West Indies

on the

'Challenges of the Independence Experience in Small Developing Countries'

Kingston, Jamaica 

25th March 2011

Dr. Carlyle G. Corbin

International Advisor on Governance & Multilateral Diplomacy

Introduction

Whilst much of the Caribbean has achieved political independence, the region remains one of the most constitutionally diverse in the world, with three distinct sets of non-independent Caribbean countries (NICCs) comprising non-self-governing territories (NSGTs), self-governing autonomous countries (SGCs), and Integrated Jurisdictions (IJs). The nature of these increasingly complex political arrangements presents significant challenges to Caribbean integration.

This paper provides an updated composition of the Non-Independent Caribbean (NIC) reflecting the most recent political and constitutional changes including the dismantling of the Netherlands Antilles, constitutional modifications in the British - administered territories in the Caribbean, and political status and internal constitutional deliberations in United States-administered Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. The contemporary composition of the Non-Independent Caribbean is markedly different than that which prevailed before 2010 (Corbin, 2001, 139).

In this connection, the present paper examines the applicability of international instruments to the evolution of self-governance in the NIC, including the United Nations (UN) Charter, relevant international conventions and United Nations resolutions. The paper provides examples of self-governance deficit, and devises a political formula based on the existent power relationship between the respective NIC and the cosmopole. It is precisely this relationship which must be assessed in order to determine the level of preparedness of a NIC for a full measure of self-governance, or whether a non-independent country which is said to have arrived at a full measure of self-governance through autonomy or integration has in fact met the criteria for either option as defined international standards.

The full paper is available at:
 http://www.normangirvan.info/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/otr-march-2011.pdf

New initiatives could improve EU-Arctic relations

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A proposed European Union (EU)-Arctic Centre could strengthen EU involvement in the Arctic region. That was among the conclusions of a high-level seminar on EU and Nordic relations with the Arctic held in Brussels on April 8. The centre could be located in Finland and the EU Commission expressed its commitment to continued cooperation with the Nordic Council of Ministers on Arctic issues.

The European Parliament has requested the EU Commission to take initial steps to create an EU-Arctic Centre. Rovaniemi in Finland could be the hub for this research network, that is intended to secure a firmer scientific basis for future policy decisions in the Arctic.

This move reflects an increasing concern for the Arctic in the EU system, a concern increasingly reflected by the activities of the Nordic Council of Ministers over the last three years.

Years ago, if one stated a need for North Atlantic activities within the EU, one was told to focus on the right ocean, which to the EU then was only the Baltic Sea. That is changing rapidly with an inclusion of the North Atlantic Ocean and we are part of that movement, the Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers (NCM) Halldór Asgrímsson said in his opening remarks.

The EU Commission – represented by Director Bernhard Friess from the Directorate General of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries – confirmed this change of focus and expressed a commitment for increased cooperation on Arctic issues with the NCM.

He also underlined the obligation of the EU not only to continue promoting research and commercial activities in the region, but also assume responsibility for the ecological footprint of the EU in the Arctic.

According to the Ecological Institute in Berlin, emissions from the EU countries account for up to 45 % of black carbon in the Arctic and 24 % of all mercury. Black carbon increases ice melting and mercury endangers the livelihood of the indigenous populations, depending heavily on fishery.

This move by the EU would be welcome, according to experts.

The indigenous populations in the Arctic region are suspicious of EU intentions and sceptic due to controversies linked to seal hunting and whaling. A certain inconsistency is perceived between EU support for economic development and a lack of understanding for indigenous practices, said scientist Adèle Airoldi.

Airoldi is author of key reports issued by the NCM since the 2008 landmark conference “Common Concern for the Arctic” in 2008, inauguring increased EU-Nordic dialogue in the Arctic.

The Nordic Council of Ministers is a crucial actor in EU-Arctic relations, both due to geographical location, but also because of its expertise and knowledge of the Arctic region. The Finnish chairmanship of the NCM sees many benefits for EU-Arctic relations in a new research hub in Rovaniemi.

We already have commitments from key players ranging from the Polar Institute in Tromsø to the Scott Polar Institute at Cambridge. An EU-Arctic Centre would improve research and dialogue around Arctic issues, ensuring the impact of scientific research on new policy moves and initiatives, said Hannu Halinen, Finnish Ambassador for Arctic Affairs and member of the Arctic Expert Committee under the NCM.

The Nordic Council of Ministers is a crucial actor in EU-Arctic relations, both due to geographical location, but also because of its expertise and knowledge of the Arctic region, he underlined.

The discussions of EU-Arctic and Nordic relations took place at a seminar organized by the NCM in Brussels on April 8 as part of the ongoing efforts to strengthen dialogue in a region of growing concern and importance.

Chile’s Special Envoy visits freely associated Federated States of Micronesia

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Special Envoy Jose Antonio Cousino of Chile seeks expanded diplomatic relations.

Press Release

 The acting secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Kandhi A. Elieisar, recently received a visit by Jose Antonio Cousino, a special envoy of the Republic of Chile.

The purpose of Cousino’s visit to the Federated States of Micronesia was to discuss and explore ways to strengthen and enhance relationship between the two countries, having established diplomatic relations in March 1990.

Cousino also raised an issue regarding Chile’s candidacy to the United Nations Human Rights Council for the period of 2011 to 2014, to which the acting secretary expressed FSM’s support.

As a way forward to enhancing relations between the two countries, Cousino expressed and confirmed Chile’s interest to establish an honorary counsel and/or a roving ambassador representation to the FSM, and solicited the department’s assistance in advising of potential suitable candidates.

Cousino also indicated that Chile is ready to explore developmental cooperative initiatives with the FSM, notably, in areas of health, nutrition, economic development, and infrastructure/housing projects.

A visa waiver agreement was also tabled by Cousino for the FSM’s consideration, including an invitation for the island nation to participate in diplomatic courses offered under the auspices of the Chile Diplomatic Academy.

Joining Acting Secretary Kandhi A. Elieisar were Assistant Secretary Ricky F. Cantero, Deputy Assistant Secretary Carson Mongkeya and Foreign Service Officer Stacy Yleizah.

Caribbean Dependencies to be focus of continued UK Military presence in region

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Anguilla News

Anguillanews.com

"The Royal Navy will continue to provide a permanent presence in the Caribbean, able to respond to the full range of foreseeable contingencies" -  UK Governor of Anguilla.

http://www.anguillanews.com/enews/index.php/permalink/3836.html

The Royal Navy is to continue its permanent presence in the Caribbean, focused mainly on Overseas

Territories, according to a release from the Governor's Office. As part of its duties, a naval ship will also visit Anguilla at some point over the summer, with details and dates to follow. The release from the Governor's Office is as follows:

"The primary purpose of the Royal Navy in the Caribbean is to deliver security and reassurance to the UK Overseas Territories, specifically in disaster relief operations. In addition, the Royal Navy has been able to offer support to other Caribbean countries in the event of disasters. For example, it provided support last year to communities in St. Lucia hit by the effects of Hurricane Tomas.

The Royal Navy will continue to provide a permanent presence in the Caribbean, able to respond to the full range of foreseeable contingencies. In the event of a humanitarian disaster, it will deliver initial military assistance. During 2011 this will be provided by a Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship, enhanced with a naval party and helicopter during the hurricane season (1 June – 30 November). This will provide a broadly comparable capability to previous years.

When Royal Naval vessels are not engaged in disaster support activity, spare capacity is used to disrupt and interdict consignments of illicit narcotics trafficked through the region en route from Latin America to the UK, Europe and the US. This work has been highly successful."

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"Cuando los robots mandan…" - los trabajos de su primera Compañía de Teatro para Adolescentes

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Ateneo Puertorriqueño

Conservatorio de Arte Dramático

ATENEO estrena R.U.R.

COMUNICADO DE PRENSA

Cuando los robots mandan…

Con esta pieza del teatro de la Ciencia Ficción, que estrena el próximo 15 de abril de 2001, el Conservatorio de Arte Dramático del ATENEO inaugura los trabajos de su primera Compañía de Teatro para Adolescentes

El Señor Presidente del Ateneo Puertorriqueño, el Dr. José Milton Soltero Ramírez, y el Rector del Conservatorio de Arte Dramático del Ateneo, el Prof. Roberto Ramos-Perea invitan a toda la comunidad puertorriqueña al estreno de la Compañía de Teatro de Adolescentes del Conservatorio de Arte Dramático, este próximo viernes, 15 de abril de 2011, en el Teatro del Ateneo.

Tal vez no ha existido comunidad más marginada del arte en Puerto Rico que los adolescentes. Con muy pocas oportunidades creativas que dirijan sus pasiones y sus sueños, los adolescentes se enfrentan a un vacío de opciones artísticas valiosas. La energía creativa de la adolescencia necesita cauce, fomentar su originalidad y desalentar la imitación. Ese es el principio rector de la formación de la Compañía de Teatro para Adolescentes que forma parte del Conservatorio de Arte Dramático del Ateneo Puertorriqueño.

Tras recibir varios talleres de entrenamiento en las técnicas básicas de la actuación, 14 adolescentes entre las edades de 13 y 17 años emprenden la misión de llevar a escena, bajo la dirección del dramaturgo y maestro de actuación, el Prof. Roberto Ramos-Perea, la obra R.U.R. (Robots Universales Rossum), escrita por los Hermanos Capek, y estrenada en Checoslovaquia en el año 1921.

La obra R.U.R. (Robots Universales Rossum), adaptada a estos tiempos y a nuevas mentalidades, trata sobre la sublevación de las máquinas inteligentes. Los Robots fabricados por la Compañía R.U.R. extinguen a la raza humana, pero no saben reproducirse, y condenados a su exterminio por haber imitado las ansias autodestructivas del hombre, se ven obligados a negociar con el único sobreviviente que queda. La palabra “Robot” viene de “robota”, que quiere decir en checo “obrero del campo” y fue en esta obra de teatro donde primera vez se usó con las implicaciones del hombre mecánico que hoy conocemos.

La Compañía de Teatro de Adolescentes del Conservatorio de Arte Dramático está compuesta por los jóvenes actores Ricardo Varona, Amira Yassin, Randy Calzada, William Soto Llovet, Keyla Negrón Pagán, Nicole Rivera Morales, Naudelis Fernández, Bianca Vélez, Gabriela Fonseca, Caleb Ocasio, Priscila Román, Yarilka Albaladejo, Adrián González Paz y Johnathan Rosado Aquino.

R.U.R. (Robots Universales Rossum) cuenta con la Asistencia de Dirección de Gina Figueroa y la Producción Ejecutiva de Evelyn Monzón.

Las únicas tres funciones de R.U.R. (Robots Universales Rossum), se llevarán el viernes 15, sábado 16 a las 8:30 pm y el domingo 17 de ABRIL, a las 4:30 pm.

R.U.R. (Robots Universales Rossum), es el quinto ofrecimiento del XXXIV Festival de Teatro del Ateneo, este año dedicado al Primer Intelectual Puertorriqueño Negro, Don Eleuterio Derkes Martinó (1835-1883)

Para mayor información favor de llamar al 787-977-2307. Para Coordinación de Medios, Menades08@gmail,com Angela Mari.

New Caledonia capacity to be supported by University of the South Pacific

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The Vice Chancellor of the University of the South Pacific (USP) Professor Rajesh Chandra, said USP is willing enter into a partnership with MSG (Melanesian Spearhead Group) countries in developing the human resource capacity for the Kanaks in New Caledonia.

“A decision by MSG leaders was for each country to take the responsibility of assisting the Kanaks of New Caledonia in building up their capacities in preparation for the independence referendum in 2015,” the Prime Minister said during a courtesy visit to the Vice Chancellor of USP, Professor Ranjesh Chandra.

Professor Chandra said if Vanuatu wishes to sponsor for instance, a Kanak to study law in Port Vila, USP would be glad to facilitate the effort by providing a crash courses in English for potential candidates to acquire the required standard of English needed to pursue tertiary education at USP.

Prime Minister Kilman said he raised the issue with the Vice Chancellor so that there is continuity and to show that Vanuatu is committed to the independence and development of New Caledonia. He said Vanuatu as the key voice of independence for New Caledonia wants the Kanaks to develop their resources to the capacity where they are competent of running their own affairs in government, economic development, legal institution and social services etc…

“If each MSG government offers sponsorship for a number of our Melanesian brothers in New Caledonia, it will go a long way in helping to build their capacity in different fields.”

In other developments, the Professor said USP is going to offer French language programs at the Emalus campus in Port Vila as part of a tripartite agreement between USP, the University of New Caledonia and the University of Mauritius.

Melanesian Spearhead Group Endorses Indonesian Observer Status over West Papua Objections

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"Don’t discuss West Papua behind our back."-  West Papua activist Andy Ayamiseba

By Ricky Binihi

Vanuatu Daily Post

The decision by Prime Minister Sato Kilman to ignore the wish of the people of Vanuatu and join Melanesian Spearhead Group leaders to accept Indonesia in MSG has angered the West Papua movement for Independence.

Representatives of the custodian of the West Papua issue that are based in Vanuatu had repeatedly asked the Vanuatu government to listen to their concerns before Prime Minister attended the MSG meeting in Fiji.

PM Kilman is not obliged to listen to West Papua independence movement leaders because Vanuatu signed a diplomatic relation with Indonesia in 1995 and as such recognises West Papua as an integral part of Indonesia. He was however mandated by the Council of Ministers and the Parliament to vote against the granting MSG Observer Status to Indonesia as well as support West Papua’s application.

MSG accepted Indonesia as an Observer in March 15, nine days before the Council of Ministers decided the Vanuatu should oppose Indonesia at the MSG, and Vanuatu did not prepare an application for West Papua membership at the MSG in line with the wish of Parliament when it passed the “Wantok blong Yumi Bill”.

Instead when PM Kilman returned to Vanuatu he was reported as saying that “when we talk about Independence for West Papua, we need to talk directly with Indonesia. It’s no use talking to the media without going directly to the source. Indonesia will only take our concerns seriously if we engage directly with then through diplomatic relations.”

But outspoken West Papua international activist Andy Ayamiseba pointed out the Vanuatu must not discuss the issue of West Papua independence without engaging the view of the majority of the people of West Papua.

“In the 60’s, West Papua was left in the cold while their destiny was determined by the Dutch, United States of America, and the Indonesian government,” Mr Ayamiseba said referring specifically to the 1969 Act of Free Choice.

“Is the MSG going to do the same?” Mr Ayamiseba asked.

There are fears among West Papua supporters in Vanuatu that Indonesia’s military and economic power will tilt the table of negotiations in favor Indonesia once the issue of West Papua is put on the MSG table.

There are also concerns that Indonesian economic power that Vanuatu could benefit from may force Port Vila to sweep the West Papua issue under the carpet in favor of the economic gains promised by Jakarta.

Many Vanuatu politicians and leaders believe that the avenue towards West Papua Independence is to correct the mistake done by the international community through the conduct of the 1969 Act of Choice by the UN under the Indonesian Military control, and eventually re-list West Papua back in the Decolonisation Committee.

Mr Ayamiseba said the ultimate aim is to have an international supervised referendum like the one held in East Timor and Namibia.

“Dealing with Indonesia is a conflict of interest, and more importantly a recognition of Indonesian sovereignty over West Papua,” Mr Ayamiseba.

Perhaps that was how the majority of council of ministers felt when they decided that Indonesia should not be part of the MSG.

And maybe that was the consensus too in Parliament when they unanimously voted that West Papua should be part of MSG and that its case should be raised in the International Court of Justice.

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INDONESIA OBSERVER ROLE, BREACH TO MELANESIAN UNITY

Vanuatu Women council disapprove Prime Minister’s decision

RNZI

Vanuatu’s National Council of Women says the Prime Minister’s decision to grant Indonesia observer status at the Melanesian Spearhead Group summit, was a breach of Melanesian solidarity. The Council’s President, Manina Packete, has described the move as irresponsible and a slap in the face for the people and against the will of parliament. She says the Prime Minister, Sato Kilman, has made a mockery of the country, going against Vanuatu’s support for Papuans, who are yet to be made MSG observers.

Ms. Packete says Vanuatu must refocus on what it stands for and find a way to correct what she believes was a mistake.

"That’s why my recommendation is instead of MSG, that has lost its way from our culture and custom, that we call this MSG secretariat building has to turn into a greater council of chiefs of Melanesia." Manina Packete is suggesting the MSG secretariat be moved from Port Vila to Fiji or Papua New Guinea.

Betances y la Confederación Antillana

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por Ramón O'Neill

prindymedia.org

http://pr.indymedia.org/news/2011/04/48295.php?l=en

Hoy, a los 185 años del natalicio del Dr. Ramón Emeterio Betances Alacán, les adjuntamos el artículo:" Ramón Betances y la Confederación Antillana", escrito por Ramón O'Neill, como inicio de la Sexta Jornada Betances en México. Antonio Salas, Prensa y Propaganda Comité Amigos de Puerto Rico.


Ramon Emeterio Betances

El presente trata de un egregio personaje y de un proyecto político, que son uno en sí mismo, el personaje: Ramón Emeterio Betances Alacán; el proyecto: la Confederación Antillana.

Nace Betances el 8 de abril de 1827, en Cabo Rojo, municipio del occidente de la Isla Grande del archipiélago de Puerto Rico. Fueron sus progenitores: Doña María del Carmen Alacán y Don Felipe Betances Ponce. Sus primeros estudios los realizó en Puerto Rico. Ya adolescente, cursó estudios de bachiller en Letras y Ciencias en el Colegio Real, en Toulouse, en el Sur de Francia, ingresando en 1848 a la Facultad de Medicina de la Universidad de Paris.

En ese año, siendo estudiante, participó en Francia, en la revolución del 24 de febrero que derrocó la monarquía e implantó la Segunda República Francesa. Allí, en la Francia convulsa, en la lucha solidaria y victoriosa del pueblo contra sus opresores, recibió en el campo de acción las primeras sales de libertad, igualdad y justicia que curtieron por siempre su espíritu revolucionario. Regresa a su patria en 1853, donde revalida su título de médico-cirujano.

Inmediatamente ejerce su profesión atendiendo en especial a los esclavos y a los jornaleros pobres afectados por la epidemia de la fiebre morbo. Fueron muchos los corceles que agotó en su recorrer médico para salvar miles de vidas de negros y blancos por igual. También, fueron mucho los ojos del gobierno imperial que comenzaron a concentrar sus miradas reaccionarias sobre el joven médico mulato.

No se arredra y funda junto con su compatriota Segundo Ruiz Belvis, la Asociación Abolicionista para trabajar por la abolición de la esclavitud en su patria. Superando en ello su procedencia de clase de hijo de hacendado esclavista, al manumitar a sus esclavos y al comprar la libertad de otros infantes negros en la pila bautismal. Ese actuar unido a su atención médica gratuita a los pobres, dio lugar a que lo llamaran en un principio el “Padre de los Pobres.”

El desafío a las autoridades coloniales españolas lo pagó con su primer destierro en 1858. El siguiente en 1864, por apoyar a los dominicanos en su Guerra de Reconquista de la Soberanía Nacional en contra de los españoles; y el tercero en 1867, bajo el pretexto del amotinamiento de los soldados del Primer Batallón de Artillería de San Juan, el 7 de junio de ese año. En el último influyó la llegada días antes, de España, de los comisionados puertorriqueños que participaron en la Junta Informativa decretada por el Gobierno español, donde demandaron - a diferencia de los comisionados cubanos que pedían lo contrario - la emancipación de los esclavos en forma inmediata, con o sin previa indemnización económica, con o sin previo Código de Trabajo.

A lo anterior hay que añadir el conocimiento de las autoridades españolas de la existencia desde 1866 de la logia masónica Unión Germana, de la cual Betances era miembro, y de la logia Yagüez, en la cual trabajaban con él: Ruiz Belvis, Juan Sagardía y los hermanos O’Neill, fomentando la manumisión de los esclavos y la independencia de la patria.

La última vez fue desterrado con los comisionados puertorriqueños acabados de llegar, entre los cuales sobresalía, su mano derecha, Ruiz Belvis. Además, incluyeron a cuatro extranjeros que consideraban de alta peligrosidad, uno de ellos Joaquín la Portilla, mexicano que participó con la fuerzas juaristas en la guerra contra la intervención francesa y quien gozaba de la fama de haber asesinado a varios oficiales galos.

Betances y el abogado Ruiz Belvis se fugaron para evitar el destierro a España donde quedarían sometidos a su control. Luego de peripecias dignas de una novela lograron llegar clandestinamente a la ciudad de New York, Estados Unidos de América (EU). Ya allí, en unión a otro desterrado boricua, el Dr. José Francisco Basora, fundan el “Comité Revolucionario de Puerto Rico” para trabajar por la independencia de Puerto Rico y de Cuba. Posteriormente la directiva del Comité se amplió para incluir a otros puertorriqueños y al arzobispo dominicano Fernando Arturo de Meriño.

En el 16 de julio de 1867 el Comité Revolucionario de Puerto Rico emite la siguiente proclama: “¡puertorriqueños preparaos a ser los primeros, vuestro es el honor, vuestra será la gloria, Cuba os seguirá y os prestará ayuda ¡Cubanos y puertorriqueños, unid vuestros esfuerzos, trabajad de concierto, somos hermanos, somos uno en la desgracia; seamos uno también en la Revolución y en la independencia de Cuba y Puerto Rico! Así podremos formar mañana la confederación de las Antillas.”

La semilla de la Confederación Antillana se había plantado.

La proclama fue la antesala de la insurrección en Puerto Rico, del 23 de septiembre de 1868, conocido históricamente como: el Grito de Lares, seguido por el Grito de Yara en Cuba 17 días después (10 de octubre de 1868).

En su proclama del Grito de Lares los insurrectos puertorriqueños incluyeron inmediatamente la emancipación de los esclavos y la eliminación de las libretas de jornaleros, la cual sometía a los últimos a servidumbre. Así, contundentemente, implementaron los patriotas las demandas que habían planteado en la Junta Informativa y en la Proclama de los Diez Mandamientos de los Hombres Libres.

Para desgracia de Puerto Rico, la insurrección fue sofocada por las fuerzas militares españolas. En ella murieron combatiendo los insurrectos sobresalientes y cientos de simpatizantes fueron encarcelados en condiciones infrahumanas por el gobierno imperial, muriendo muchos de ellos.

Las causas principales del fracaso fueron: el adelanto de la insurrección por el descubrimiento del plan insurreccional por parte del espionaje español, lo cual impidió que se levantara al unísono los 15,000 insurrectos contemplados en todo el archipiélago puertorriqueño; la muerte misteriosa de Ruiz Belvis en 1867, en Chile; la ausencia de su gran ideólogo y promotor, el proscrito Betances y con él, el armamento libertario; y por carecer de jefes y oficiales militares experimentados que condujeran la misma.

No obstante, el Grito de Lares ayudó a la insurrección cubana, al atraer sobre Puerto Rico la represión militar y política española en el inicio y el abastecerla de armamento, pertrechos y combatientes en el futuro. Y como consecuencia directa de ella la emancipación de los esclavos en 1872 en Puerto Rico.

Betances no se da por vencido e intenta reactivar la insurrección infructuosamente desde Venezuela y la isla de San Thomas, Expulsado de ésta, se establece en New York en 1869, donde comienza a utilizar el seudónimo de “El Antillano” en sus artículos en pro de la libertad de las Antillas irredentas. Simultáneamente trabaja con los patriotas dominicanos, en especial con Gregorio Luperón, en contra de Buenaventura Báez, dictador de República Dominicana, quien pretendía anexionar a su país a EU mediante el tratado que negociara con el presidente Ulises Grants el 29 de noviembre de 1869 (Grants fue uno de los oficiales norteamericanos que participó en la invasión de EU a México –1846-47) “El Antillano” apoya a Luperón entregándole parte del armamento puertorriqueño y el vapor artillado El Telégrafo. Sus gestiones políticas y las de su compatriota Basora impiden que el Senado de EU ratifique el Tratado de Anexión.

Igualmente colabora con los patriotas haitianos para evitar que el dictador Silvain Salvone venda la península de San Nicolás a EU en 1869. Derrotado Salvone toma el pode el patriota Jean- Nicolas Nissage –Saget, lo que le permite a “El Antillano” hacerse presente en la isla hermana en donde insiste en su proyecto de la Confederación Antillana.

Prueba lo anterior el legado que Betances dejó a los masones haitianos reunidos en Puerto Príncipe y a todos los antillanos en mayo de1870: “Las Antillas atraviesan hoy por un momento que jamás han atravesado en la historia: se les plantea ahora la cuestión de ser o no ser. Rechazamos este dilema. Es este el instante preciso de obrar en una defensa unida. Unámonos los unos con los otros para nuestra propia conservación; unidos venceremos contra estas tentativas; separados seremos destruidos. Unidos formaremos un frente resistente, una fuerza capaz de imposibilitar a nuestros enemigos de su acción, y nos salvará de esa amenaza” Igualmente lo comprueba su escrito al general. José María Cabral, del 1 de abril de 1870: “A los falsos intérpretes de la Doctrina Monroe debemos contestar siempre: “¡Sí!, la América para los americanos; pero las Antillas para los antillanos.”

Para el 1873, la posibilidad de re insurreccionar a Puerto Rico eran menores. Las reformas del gobierno español (desde creación de partidos políticos hasta la emancipación de los esclavos) habían cambiado el panorama político. Es entonces que la dirección de los independentistas puertorriqueños deciden, en palabras de Betances: “consagrar a la revolución de Cuba... las armas y pertrechos pertenecientes a los patriotas puertorriqueños, que se hallan en San Thomas, Curazao y Haití”.

Betances regresa a Francia donde pudo ejercer su genio científico y literario que le dio fama y prestigio mientras apoyaba en todos los sentidos a los cubanos en su guerra de independencia y con ella la de Puerto Rico. Ya en la última etapa revolucionaria es nombrado por José Martí, Agente Diplomático del Gobierno Revolucionario de Cuba en Francia con implicaciones en toda Europa.

En el país galo, además de cumplir como diplomático, desempeñó otras funciones: periodista, reclutador de combatientes, comprador de armas y pertrechos, recaudador de fondos, alimentista de prisioneros de guerra y políticos, y conspirador y promotor por excelencia de la libertad de Cuba y Puerto Rico.

Conspiró, entre otras, en las fugas de los presidios españoles de los oficiales cubanos: José Maceo, Flor Crombert y Calixto García. También con el anarquista Miguel Angiolillo al financiart el magnicidio del cruel, sanguinario, antiindependentista y antianarquista Primer Ministro del Consejo de Ministro de España, Antonio Cánovas del Castillo, acontecido el 8 de agosto de 1897. Magnicidio que modificó toda la política nacional e internacional española al instante.

Al “Padre de la Patria” puertorriqueña le llegó la parca en París, Francia, el 16 de septiembre de 1898, en víspera de cumplir treinta años de proscrito, posterior a la intervención de EU en la Guerra Iberoantillana y previo a la firma del infame Tratado de Paz entre España y EU donde fueron excluido por igual Puerto Rico y Cuba.

Tratado que dio por terminada una gesta épica que implicó 30 años de beligerancia en las Antillas contra el imperio español (1868-1898) con amplia solidaridad internacional, en su búsqueda de la libertad e independencia antillana, la manumisión de los esclavos y la justicia social. Representada la última en el último período de la guerra (1895-1898) por la fuerte presencia del anarcosindicalismo antillano e internacional en todos los ámbitos de la lucha libertaria.

Más aún, truncó el proyecto de la Confederación Antillana visualizado e iniciado por el Dr. Ramón Emeterio Betances Alacán en los años sesenta del siglo XIX. Confederación que en el campo de guerra estaba representada de facto por el General en Jefe del Ejército Cubano, Máximo Gómez Báez, de Baní, República Dominicana; su segundo en mando, el General Antonio Maceo Grajales, de Sierra Maestra, Cuba; y por el General Juan Ríus Rivera, de Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. Y en el campo político e internacional, entre otros, por los puertorriqueños: Betances Alacán y Eugenio María de Hostos Bonilla; los dominicanos: Félix Delmonte y Gregorio Luperón; los haitianos: Jean - Nicolas Nissage y Fabre Geffrard; y José Martí como el máximo exponente de los cubanos.

Cuya meta era asegurar la futura libertad, soberanías y desarrollo de las Antillas y de América Latina ante los viejos imperios europeos y el emergente de EU. Llegando al extremo de que se le ofreciera a Betances la presidencia de República Dominicana, y al Gral. Máximo Gómez Báez la de Cuba.

Betances, “El Antillano”, el que participó en el derrocamiento de la monarquía francesa, el Padre de los Pobres, el emancipador, el orientador de los delegados puertorriqueños en la Junta Informativa, el cerebro e inspirador del Grito de Lares, el que colaboró sobresalientemente a impedir la anexión de República Dominicana y de Haití a EU, el ideólogo y promotor de la Confederación Antillana, el que conspiró en el magnicidio de un tirano, el que por treinta años se entregó a la Guerra Iberoantillana –llegando al extremo de vender su equipo quirúrgico para aportar su producto a la lucha- nos dejó físicamente sin ver consumada sus dos grandes proyectos: la independencia de su patria: Puerto Rico y la conformación de la Confederación Antillana.

“Dos francos y setenta y cinco céntimos, es su riqueza al fallecer,” cuando dieciséis meses antes rehusó aceptar (a diferencia de Emilio Aguilnaldo en Las Filipinas que aceptó para él y sus Jefes 1 millón 700 mil pesos) “sudando frío pero sonreído” cincuenta millones de pesetas oro ofrecidas por los iberos como soborno a cambio de que aceptara la autonomía para las Antillas. Oferta que contestó: Independencia o Muerte.

Otro proscrito como él, a quien la mayoría conceptuaban el mejor escritor del habla hispana (el amigo íntimo de los prestigiosos anarquistas Enrique Malatesta y Carlos Malato), su biógrafo, el puertorriqueño de Guayama, Luis Bonafoux Quintero, tuvo la ocasión de recoger su último suspiro: “Con su larga barba parecía un Cristo muy viejo, agonizando entre los escombros de todo cuanto había amado. Me hizo una seña para que me aproximara. Y me habló de Puerto Rico con su quejumbroso acento, que más parecía una plegaria entre sollozos. Mi hija Coconí le ofreció un ramo de flores frescas, las últimas que vio él”.

Hoy, 114 años después de la intervención armada imperial de EU en la Guerra Iberoantillana y de la invasión a Puerto Rico, las Antillas, al igual que Nuestra América y el resto del mundo, siguen sufriendo los mismos males del ayer: coloniajes, explotación, discriminación, atraso, pobreza e intentos prepotentes de nuevos tutelajes y protectorados bajo la nueva modalidad de la Doctrina Monroe esgrimida por el imperialista presidente norteamericano Barak Obama Todo producto de nuestra desunión.

Por ello estamos obligados a volver a levantar la bandera de la Confederación Antillana en busca de la independencia de Puerto Rico y de las Antillas Menores, como corolario de la unidad latinoamericana bolivariana y mundial.

Confederación que deberá ser amplia, democrática, incluyente, revolucionaria, libre de todo tipo de tutelaje y en cabal cumplimiento con las órdenes de El Antillano recordadas por otro gran revolucionario de prestigio internacional, el mexicano Ricardo Flores Magón en su artículo La Patria Burguesa y la Patria Universal en el periódico Regeneración del 19 de septiembre de 1915, donde expresó lo siguiente haciendo alusión a Betances: “Un revolucionario dijo esta gran verdad:” “Los tiranos nos parecen grades porque estamos de rodillas; ¡levantémonos!”.