University of Guam to hold Public Forum on Decolonization

Press Release

Mangilao, Guam – The University of Guam will be hosting a public forum on decolonization at the CLASS Lecture Hall on October 29, 2015 from 5:30 PM – 8 PM. This event is sponsored by the Divisions of Social Work, Chamorro Studies, and Women and Gender Studies.

The forum will feature four panelists, including Dr. Carlyle Corbin, who is an international advisor on governance and the present Executive Secretary of the Council of Presidents of the United Nations General Assembly. Dr. Corbin is a noted global expert on decolonization from the U.S. Virgin Islands and has lectured on this topic throughout the world. He stated, “Decolonization is recognized by all the nations of the world as a fundamental human right, but its completion has been deferred in relation to the remaining 17 small island territories including Guam and my own Virgin Islands.” 

Panelists are as follows and will speak on the following themes:

Dr. Laura Souder-Betances- “Revisiting Chamorro Sovereignty & Self-Determination from a Language & Culture Perspective”

Former Senator Hope Cristobal- “Development of Guam Public Law on Decolonization”

Speaker Judith T. Won Pat- “A report back on Guam’s testimonies to the United Nations 4th Committee in October 2015”

Keynote Speaker- Dr. Carlyle Corbin- “Decolonization: What happens to a dream deferred?” 

The forum is a chance for the people of Guam to learn more about Chamorro Self-Determination, as the government postures to hold a plebiscite in the near future. There will be an opportunity to register for the Guam Decolonization Registry at the event.

For further information or to schedule interviews with panelists in advance of the event, contact Jacob Pederson at (671)489-4975 or jpederson23@gmail.com. 

___________________________________________

U.N. General Assembly Resolution 69/105

5th December 2014

(excerpt of U.N. Resolution on small territories)

*****

The United Nations General Assembly, 

"3. Further reaffirms that it is ultimately for the peoples of the Territories themselves to determine freely their future political status in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Charter, the Declaration and the relevant resolutions of the General Assembly, and in that connection reiterates its long-standing call for the administering Powers, in cooperation with the territorial Governments and appropriate bodies of the United Nations system, to develop political education programmes for the Territories in order to foster an awareness among the people of their right to self-determination in conformity with the legitimate political status options, based on the principles clearly defined in Assembly resolution 1541 (XV) and other relevant resolutions and decisions." 

_____________________________________________________________________________

U.N. General Assembly Resolution 69/105

5th December 2014

Guam Section

Taking note of the working paper prepared by the Secretariat on Guam and other relevant information, 

Noting the statement made by the representative of the Governor of Guam at the Pacific regional seminar held in Nadi, Fiji from 21 to 23 May 2014, presenting an update on the efforts of Guam towards decolonization and on the engagement of the Guam Commission on Decolonization for the Implementation and Exercise of Chamorro Self-Determination in reinforcing public awareness in order to address the limited and distorted understanding of decolonization, 

Cognizant of the efforts made by the Guam Commission on Decolonization to promote in the Territory the holding of a plebiscite on self-determination, to populate the decolonization registry, as required by public law, to enhance the ability to expediently register those who have not yet been registered and to identify and secure territorial and federal resources for a self-determination education programme, 

Aware that, under United States law, the relations between the territorial Government and the federal Government in all matters that are not the programme responsibility of another federal department or agency are under the general administrative supervision of the Secretary of the Interior,

Recalling that, in a referendum held in 1987, the registered and eligible voters of Guam endorsed a draft Guam Commonwealth Act that would establish a new framework for relations between the Territory and the administering Power, providing for a greater measure of internal self-government for Guam and recognition of the right of the Chamorro people of Guam to self-determination for the Territory, Aware that negotiations between the administering Power and the territorial Government on the draft Guam Commonwealth Act ended in 1997 and that Guam has subsequently established a non-binding plebiscite process for a self-determination vote by the eligible Chamorro voters, 

Cognizant of the importance of the administering Power continuing to implement its programme of transferring surplus federal land to the Government of Guam, Noting that the people of the Territory have called for reform in the programme of the administering Power with respect to the thorough, unconditional and expeditious transfer of land property to the people of Guam, 

Aware of the deep concern expressed by civil society and other parties regarding the potential social, cultural, economic and environmental impacts of the planned transfer of additional military personnel of the administering Power to the Territory, 

Conscious that immigration into Guam has resulted in the indigenous Chamorros becoming a minority in their homeland, 

 1. Welcomes the convening of the Guam Commission on Decolonization for the Implementation and Exercise of Chamorro Self-Determination and its ongoing work on a self-determination vote, as well as its public education efforts; 

 2. Calls once again upon the administering Power to take into consideration the expressed will of the Chamorro people as supported by Guam voters in the referendum of 1987 and as subsequently provided for in Guam law regarding Chamorro self-determination efforts, encourages the administering Power and the territorial Government to enter into negotiations on the matter, and stresses the need for continued close monitoring of the overall situation in the Territory; 

 3. Requests the administering Power, in cooperation with the territorial Government, to continue to transfer land to the original landowners of the Territory, to continue to recognize and to respect the political rights and the cultural and ethnic identity of the Chamorro people of Guam and to take all measures necessary to address the concerns of the territorial Government with regard to the question of immigration; 

 4. Also requests the administering Power to assist the Territory by facilitating public outreach efforts, including through the funding of the public education campaign, consistent with Article 73 b of the Charter, and in that regard calls upon the relevant United Nations organizations to provide assistance to the Territory, if requested, and welcomes the recent outreach work by the territorial Government; 

 5. Further requests the administering Power to cooperate in establishing programmes for the sustainable development of the economic activities and enterprises of the Territory, noting the special role of the Chamorro people in the development of Guam.

West Papua Liberation Army Commander joins the ancestors

  

WEST PAPUA NATIONAL COALITION FOR LIBERATION

Secretariat: Box 1571, Port Vila, Republic of Vanuatu,
Ph.:+678 7740808, E-mails:
ayamiseba@yahoo.com.au
rrumakiek@gmail.com

"When injustice becomes law Resistance becomes duty."

PRESS RELEASE

BRIG. GEN. URIA RICHARD JOWENY, COMMANDER OF

WEST PAPUA NATIONAL LIBERATION ARMY (TPN) AND

CHAIRMAN OF WPNCL HAD PASSED AWAY

(4 December 1942 – 16 October 2015)

Brig Gen Richard_Joweni and then- Prime Minister of Vanuatu Moana Carcasses

Brig. Gen. Joweny passed away at 11.00 pm on Friday, 16 October 2015 in Jayapura and was buried with Military honor on Sunday 18 October 2015 at his jungle Head Quarters. He is succeeded by 2 sons and 1 daughter. His passing was received with deep sorrow by families and friends especially members of TPN and the independence movements as a whole because his Wife Johanna had just passed away on 22 September 2015.

His passing is a temporary setback for the independence movement because the movement had just completed its Congress following the results of this year‘s MSG and PIF decisions. There were structural adjustments to be made and appointments to fill the position of Vice Chairman due to the passing of Dr. John Ondawame and earlier the passing of Pacific Rep. Clemens Runawery. There were also major recommendations to be followed through with the agenda for self-determination and independence. His leadership would be greatly missed.

EUOLOGY

Brig. Gen. Uria Richard Joweny is the longest serving Commander of the Military Wing (TPN) of the Free Papua Movement (OPM). He rarely mentioned his home Village in Wondama of the Manokwari region. As a Papuan nationalist he feels at home anywhere in West Papua.  His wisdom and strong sense of Patriotism is reflected all the time in his leadership that always places unity and cooperation at the center of his decisions. He is highly disciplined and always lead by example. On duty he is tough but off duty he is humble and easy to crack jokes with. He is a complete role model for those that he command. He is utterly religious and observed and practiced his Christian faith daily.

He was Chief of Staff under Gen. Rumkorem responsible for political education during TPN 3-4 months Military training. He earned the position of Brig. Gen. after he established TPN regional commands throughout West Papua.  He recommended regional commanders like Kwalik, Jogi, Awom etc for appointment by Gen. Rumkorem.

Uria Yoweny joined the OPM at the age of 23 but during his teenage years he was active as leader of Youth Fellowship for his Church in down town Jayapura. After he came back from 2 years study in Java he worked for the Department of Commerce and Industries. While working he joined the underground nationalist movement called PENTANA that maintained communications with OPM leaders Jacob Prai and Agus Jerisetouw near the border with PNG.  In 1968 there was active recruitment by KKPB now TPN run by former PVK Sergeant Tukayo. Uria left his job and together with some members of PENTANA including Rex Rumakiek, Dan Kafiar, Louis Nussy, Louis Bonay and others from Colleges around Jayapura took to the mountains to join the training.

In early 1970 the air of anger and the fighting spirit was still high because of the bad results of the act of free choice a few months earlier.  There were highly skilled public servants from the Dutch era who just walked off from their jobs. Brig, Gen. Seth Rumkorem and some of his men also follow the example of Uria and went bush. There was no need for recruitment people took to the mountains willingly looking for training and arms. Being a skilled youth worker Uria was active in arranging meetings and organizing people in the camps and assisted with the staff. His administrative skills were recognized by the other leaders and become an important member of the staff at the Victoria Head Quarters of TPN. Not for long he was promoted to Chief of Staff by Gen. Rumkorem.

On 1 July 1971 Brig. Gen Seth Rumkorem and Jacob Prai unilaterally proclaimed the independent State of West Papua. Brig. Gen Seth Rumkorem was made President while Mr. Jacob Prai was the Chairman of the Senate. The proclamation they claimed, was West Papuan people’s response to the fraudulent act of free choice of 1969.  They declared Waris a liberated zone where they set up the offices of the Provisional Revolutionary Government (RPG) of the Republic of West Papua. Uria was appointed the Minister of Information. In 1976 Mr. Jacob Prai attempted a coup against Rumkorem but failed so he set up another government called Defacto. The conflict was not contained and spread to become conflict between highlanders and coastal people. TPN was split and the Senate in disarray. TPN was weakened considerably and could not respond effectively to the Indonesian attacks causing many deaths. The original Victoria was abandoned; many members of the RPG sought asylum overseas while Uria and Rumkorem took the remaining TPN personnel away from the border area. In 1982 as Rumkorem was preparing to travel overseas, Uria was appointed Minister of Defense.

Vanuatu that since independence in July 1980 declared its support for OPM was very concerned about the disunity within the OPM. The late PM. Fr. Walter Lini and Barak Sope, then Secretary General of Vanuaaku Pati worked with Andy Ayamiseba the Manager of the Black Brothers and OPM representative Rex Rumakiek to try and find a solution to the disunity. Finally, a break through. Both leaders accepted an invitation by the government  to come to Vanuatu to resolve their conflict. They were told that if they don’t unite it would be hard for Vanuatu to take the case to international forums. On the 10 of August 1986 Prai and Rumkorem signed what was known as Port Vila Declaration.

Once again Port Vila became host to another West Papuan leaders meeting when WPNCL was inaugurated in April 2008. It was in this meeting that Uria Richard Joweny was elected as Chairman of WPNCL, the late Dr. John Ondawame Vice Chairman and Rex Rumakiek, Secretary General; all members of OPM.  Brig. Gen. Uria Richard Jowey had visited Vanuatu and met with leaders of the country. He has also visited Fji, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. Under his Chairmanship West Papua was officially placed on MSG agenda and West Papuan right of self-determination being recognized.

In 2014 when Vanuatu once again hosted a unitary meeting on the request of MSG, Uria Yoweny led a delegation of 100 leaders and members of WPNCL (TPN/OPM, Presidium Dewan Papua, Dewan Adat, WPNCL, KNPB/PNWP, dan Bintang-14). These leaders managed to come as far as Port Moresby. They could not continue on to Port Vila due to lack of finance. The new body United Liberation Movement for Wes Papua was established without their presence. They remained in Port Moresby until the Secretary General arrived from Port Vila to brief them before they could go home. They all support the Saralana Declaration of Unity in respect of Vanuatu people and their government.

 Uria Yoweny is maybe gone but his legacy of true Papuan patriot will remain with us forever.

For further details contact,

Rex Rumakiek, Secretary General, +61414149001,

Andy Ayamiseba, Head of Vanuatu Mission, +678 7740808

Paula Makabory, Head of Australian Mission, +61 423451540

Former Jamaican Prime Minister takes British to task for failure to apologize for centuries of slavery

A former prime minister of Jamaica calls David Cameron out for side-stepping calls for reparations and diminishing the continuing present of slavery in his address to Jamaica's parliament.

Demands for reparations in Brixton. Peter Marshall/Demotix. All Rights Reserved.

This letter was originally released on 8 October 2015 under the title "Open letter to the Rt. Hon. David Cameron, M.P. Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland".

Dear Prime Minister Cameron,

We who belong to the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and cherish the value of the Westminster tradition should seek continually to foster rather than diminish it.

Given the honour which you were afforded to address the Joint Sitting of Jamaica’s Parliament on Tuesday, September 30, 2015, the traditional Parliamentary right of debate and reply could not be exercised by any of our Members who were in attendance. As I watched your presentation, knowing them on both sides of the aisle as I do, their good behaviour which you commended ought not to be interpreted as acquiescence in everything you said.

The gifts you presented in Gordon House were both welcome and timely. Only the shrewdest observers of Parliamentary custom would have noticed that the package you offered discreetly omitted any mention of a £25 million contribution for the building of a Prison.

That was understandable, as what exists constitutes no more than a Non-binding Memorandum of Understanding. You rightfully appreciated that its inclusion would have been premature as the framework Agreement has to be followed by further intensive negotiations and then the requisite legislation.

You wisely chose instead to add there the announcement of £30 million to make our hospitals more resilient to natural disasters. Given our vulnerability and the danger of climate change, this donation was highly appreciated.

Despite your recognition of not being “the only show in town”, the words of strengthening the bonds of friendship and the down-payment you brought would have been well received throughout the entire Caribbean.

Prime Minister,

The most noble intentions were jarred by those portions of your address which asserted that slavery was a long time ago, in the historical past and “as friends we can move on together to build for the future.”

Your host, The Most Hon. Portia Simpson-Miller, in her gracious welcome referred to the difficult issue of reparation which should be discussed in “a spirit of mutual respect, openness and understanding as we seek to actively engage the UK on the matter.”

You chose instead to throw down the gauntlet.

Mere acknowledgement of its horror will not suffice.

Mere acknowledgement of its horror will not suffice. It was and still is a most heinous crime against humanity—a stain which cannot be removed merely by the passage of time.

Those who perished in the Middle Passage and the fatal victims on the sugar plantations were victims ofgenocide. This is a crime in accordance with International Law.

The attempt to trivialise and diminish the significance of 300 years of British enslavement of Africans and the trade in their bodies reflect the continued ethnic targeting of our ancestors and their progeny for discriminatory treatment in both the annals of history and in the present.

The 180 years of slavery in Jamaica remain fresh in living memory. There are people alive in Jamaica today whose great grandparents were a part of the slavery system and the memory of slavery still lingers in these households and communities.

Those 180 years were followed by another 100 years of imposed racial apartheid in which these families were racially oppressed by British armies and colonial machinery. The scars of this oppression are still alive in the minds and hearts of million Jamaicans.

To speak of slavery as something from the Middle Ages is insufficient. For our communities its legacies are still present in their memory and emotions. To reject this living experience is to repudiate the very meaning and existence of these people’s lives.

How can we simply forget it and move on to the future? If there is no explicit admission of guilt now, when will be the proper time?

You argue that Britain abolished the slave system and the credit for this resonates in the British Parliament today and shows British compassion and diplomacy.

Where is the prior confession that Britain fashioned, legalised, perpetuated and prospered from the slave trade?

Indeed, the facts speak to a different explanation. In Jamaica the enslaved led by Sam Sharpe tried to abolish slavery themselves three years before your Parliament acted. The British army destroyed these freedom fighters and executed their leaders.

This attempt to destroy the seed of freedom and justice in Jamaica continued for another hundred years. In 1865 the peasants sought to occupy Crown lands in order to survive widespread hunger. The British government sent in the army and massacred those people, executing Paul Bogle, George William Gordon and other Leaders.

Furthermore, the British Act of Emancipation reflected that the enslaved people of Jamaica were not human but property. The 800,000 Africans in the Caribbean and elsewhere were valued at £47 million. The government agreed to compensate the slave owners £20 million, and passed an Emancipation Act in which the enslaved had to work free for another four to six years in order to work off the £27 million promised to slave owners. It was they who paid for their eventual freedom.

The enslaved paid more than 50 percent of the cost of their market value in compensation to slave owners. This is what your Emancipation Act did. The enslaved got nothing by way of compensation. The Act of Emancipation was self serving and was designed to support British national commercial interests alone.

You have refused to apologise. Yet your Government has apologised to everyone else for horrid crimes. Are we not worthy of an apology or less deserving?

Mere acknowledgement of the crime is insufficient. The international community and international law call for formal apologies when crimes against humanity are committed. The UN has deemed slave trading and slavery as crimes against humanity. The refusal to apologise is a refusal to take responsibility for the crime. In a law abiding world this is not acceptable.

Recently you urged your own nation to keep the memory of the Jewish experience alive in memorials and education curricula. We urge you to do the same for the black experience which remains before us all. It is precisely because we all want to move on that the reparatory justice movement is alive and growing. We all want to move on, but with justice and equality.

Contrary to your view, the Caribbean people will never emerge completely from the “long, dark shadow” of slavery until there is full confession of guilt by those who committed this evil atrocity.

“The resilience and spirit of its people” is no ground to impair the solemnity of a privileged Parliamentary occasion and allow the memory of our ancestors to be offended once again.

The Caribbean people have long been looking to the future. This is what we do in our development visions, but these legacies are like millstones around our necks. We look to reparatory justice as the beginning of shaping a new future. We invite Britain to engage in removing this blot on human civilisation so that together we can create a new and secure future.

ONE LOVE.

Yours sincerely,

P.J. Patterson
Former Prime Minister, Jamaica (1992-2006)

Suriname Reparations Committee proposes removal of colonial symbols

The Daily Herald

Reparations Committee: Withdraw Queens’ names from Suriname’s highest mountains

PARAMARIBO--Suriname’s National Reparations Committee NRCS has filed a request with President Desi Bouterse that the two highest mountains in the country – the Wilhelmina and Juliana Mountains – be given back to the indigenous people. “It would be prudent to do this now, in light of the 40th Independence Day,” NRCS chairman Armand Zunder explained.

“Independence is more than economic and financial sovereignty. People’s minds have to be freed as well and you achieve that by making people more aware of their own history,” he added.

Last year, when Suriname marked the 152nd anniversary of the abolition of slavery, NRCS convinced Government to place Suriname’s coat of arms on the historic Presidential Palace; it replaced an image that referred to the days of the West Indian Company that held a trade monopoly in the West Indies, a company that became instrumental in the Dutch colonisation of the Americas.

Zunder said there are too many places on Suriname’s map that still hold colonial names. “The Dutch colonialism is a horrible history of atrocities and mental slavery. A large part of the community does not know that this is what many of our problems today are rooted in,” said the NRCS chairman.

The Wilhelmina Mountains (with the Hendrik and Juliana peaks) is a mountain range in district Sipaliwini in central Suriname. It extends about 113km (70mi) from west to east. It is named after Queen Wilhelmina. The Juliana Peak, 1,280 metres high is the country’s highest peak.

The Wilhelmina Mountain was named after the then Dutch queen during expeditions in 1901 and 1902. It is not clear when the Juliana Peak got its name; then Governor Jan Klaasensz made the request in 1952 when reports reached him that the highest mountain was still simply being referred to as “Top 1280.”

NRCS Chairman Zunder hinted that the Indigenous People of the area still have their own names for the ridges.

Towards the Independence of the Ryukyus (Okinawa)

The Association of Comprehensive Studies

for Independence of the Lew Chewans (ACSILs)

___________________________________________

POSITION PAPER

By Dr. YASUKATSU MATSUSHIMA

before the UNITED NATIONS

Towards the Independence of the Ryukyus (Okinawa)

29 September 2015

1.Introduction

Kuyoonaara (Hello)

     My name is Dr. Yasukatsu Matsushima, and I am a Ryukyuan (Okinawan) who was born and raised in the Ryukyus. The Ryukyus consists of 160 islands in the Pacific Ocean surrounded by Japan, Taiwan, China, and the Philippines. It is populated by about 1.4 million people. I am co-director of The Association of Comprehensive Studies for Independence of the Lew Chewans (ACSILs). The object of our association is to conduct academic research, discuss the Independence of the Ryukyus, and promote international cooperation to actualize independence.  

　  Even though the Ryukyus has been subordinated to Japan, the sovereignty and the right of self-determination of Ryukyuans with their unique history, languages, culture and religious beliefs, should be preserved for Ryukyuans.

2.A Brief History of the Ryukyus

     The Ryukyus was an independent country called the Ryukyu Kingdom from the 14 ^th century until 1879. In 1879, the Japanese Government annexed the Ryukyus by military force and started to rule the Ryukyus as its colony. This was a serious violation of Section 2 Article 51 and Article 52 of the Vienna Convention.

    The Japanese Government imposed colonialist policies resulting in the dispossession of our lands and the prohibition of Ryukyuan languages in schools in an attempt to efface our languages, culture, and customs.

      In 1945, the Japanese Government used the Ryukyus as a battle ground even though it was heavily populated by civilians. The number of Ryukyuan fatalities reached around 150 thousand, or about one-fourth of the population of the Ryukyus at that time. Ryukyuans who spoke in their native tongue were slaughtered by Japanese soldiers because it was not understandable to the Japanese and was prohibited during the war. Others were ordered to commit group suicides by Japanese soldiers because they were thought to be a burden to Japanese soldiers.

    After the Pacific War, the Ryukyus were placed under the direct control of the US Military Government until 1972. The United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands forcefully confiscated land at gunpoint in order to construct military bases. 

    In the 1950s, US Marine bases were moved from the Japanese Islands to the Ryukyus. In 1962, following the United Nations Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples and The Charter of the United Nations, the Ryukyuan Legislative body passed a resolution, stating that the US rule over the Ryukyus violated the principles of self-determination and territorial non-aggrandizement prescribed in the Charter of the United Nations. This resolution was sent to all 104 member states of the UN at that time.

     In 1972, the colonial administration of the Ryukyus reverted from the US to Japan. The strong wishes of the Ryukyuans to remove all US bases were ignored. The military policies on the Ryukyus have been dictated by the US and Japanese governments unilaterally to ignore Ryukyuan claims. The colonization of the Ryukyus is clearly evident militarily, politically, economically.

    The large number of US bases are supported economically by the Japanese Government under the auspices of the U.S.- Japan Security Treaty and the Status of Forces Agreement. The power of this Agreement is beyond those of Japanese Constitution.

     In 1972, the Japanese Government instituted the Okinawa Development Agency, which has made the Ryukyus an economic colony of Japan. This agency has facilitated the destruction of the environment in the Ryukyus. The Japanese Government has also used development funds to force US military bases onto the Ryukyus.

     In 1996, I participated in the UN Working Group on Indigenous Peoples. In 2011, I was on the UN Special Committee on Decolonization as a member of the Guam Government to lobby for the decolonization and demilitarization of Guam and the Ryukyus. Thus far Ryukyuans have taken part in several UN organizations to decolonize and demilitarize the Ryukyus.

    In 2006, Dr. Deu Deu Dien, a special reporter from the UN Commission on Human Rights, came to survey military bases on the Ryukyus. He reported that the Ryukyuan situation is abnormal and the Japanese Government discriminates against Ryukyuans. In 2008, the UN Human Rights Committee recognized that Ryukyuans are indigenous peoples and that their own cultural and language education must be promoted. In 2010, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination stated that US military base problem on the Ryukyus is tantamount to racial discrimination.

3.Towards the Demilitarization of the Ryukyus

    74% of all US military bases in the Japanese have been concentrated in the Ryukyus, which covers only 0.6% of all Japanese territory. Many military bases are located in small and densely populated islands. That is why there are so many accidents and crimes committed by US personnel.

     The Government justifies the presence of the bases in the name of “public interest.” However, Ryukyuans argue that they suffer unusually from the consequences of the military bases and military training: permanent noise linked to military air traffic, plane and helicopter crashes, accidents due to bullets or “whiz-bangs”, oil pollution, fires due to air maneuvers, and criminal acts by American military personnel. The noise due to airplanes and helicopters is higher than the level permissible by law and causes severe health consequences, including school problems in which children cannot concentrate and lessons are regularly interrupted by military airplanes.

    We have faced such serious damage as field fires and bomb accidents caused by live ammunition practice, plane and helicopter crashes, deafening noise pollution, traffic accidents, the destruction of environmental and historical sites, erosion of indigenous cultural heritage, infringements upon the daily life of the Ryukyuans and so on. From 1972 to 2010, there have been 5,705 military related accidents and incidents.

    Two of the most shocking cases are the rape of a 12-year-old school girl by three US soldiers in 1995 and the 2004 US helicopter crash at Okinawa International University. This helicopter belonged to Futenma Air Base. At that time, Okinawa Prefectural police officers were driven out, and they were prohibited from participating in the investigation. Victims received no compensation.

    The Japanese Government hasn’t changed US-Japan Status of Forces Agreement in spite of the strong outrage amongst almost all Ryukyuans. This Agreement gives the US military personnel special privileges to refuse handing over criminal suspects to Japanese authorities and on-the-spot inspections.

  According to a poll carried by The Ryukyu Shimpo (a local newspaper) and Okinawa Television Broadcasting,83 percent of respondents oppose relocation of the Futenma base within Ryukyus on May 30,31 in 2015. The Okinawa Prefectural Governor Takeshi Onaga and Nago City Mayor Susumu Inamine also refuse to accept new bases anywhere in the Ryukyus.

   We Ryukyuans insist that the militarization on the Ryukyus is a direct affront to the process of decolonization under the UN Special Committee on Decolonization (C– 24).

   Ryukyuans must have the freedom to exercise their right of self-determination, eliminate discrimination, and protect and promote their human rights as an equal member of the international community according to the two International Covenants on Human Rights, the Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, the Vienna Declaration on Human Rights, and the U.N. Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples. 

.

4. Request for the Inscription of the Ryukyus into the UN List of Non-Self Governing Territories

     The Ryukyus are a colony of Japan and US Governments because both have forced numerous military bases onto the Ryukyus for 70 years despite strong protest.

    We petition that the Ryukyus once again become an independent state in order to be liberated from this colonial situation. We insist that the inscription of the Ryukyus into the UN list of Non-Self- Governing Territories under the purview of C-24 should be done as the obligation of UN.

     We need the purview of UN Special Committee on Decolonization for Ryukyuans to live on our islands peacefully as human beings by exercising the right of all peoples to self-determination.

Niifaiyou (thank you)

The Association of Comprehensive Studies 

for Independence of the Lew Chewans (ACSILs)

Dr. Yasukatsu Matsushima

Mail: matusima345@gmail.com

United Nations Committee adopts resolution on study and training for native inhabitants of non self-governing territories

United Nations

Seventieth Session 

Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee)

Agenda item 62: Offers by Member States of study and training facilities for inhabitants 

of Non-Self-Governing Territories

Resolution co-sponsored by Algeria, Argentina, China, Cuba, Egypt, Malawi, Sierra Leone, Singapore and United Republic of Tanzania

Adopted by Consensus

Offers by Member States of study and training facilities for inhabitants of Non-Self-Governing Territories The General Assembly, 

Recalling its resolution 69/100 of 5 December 2014, 

Having examined the report of the Secretary-General, prepared pursuant to its resolution 845 (IX) of 22 November 1954, 

Conscious of the importance of promoting the educational advancement of the inhabitants of Non-Self-Governing Territories, 

Strongly convinced that the continuation and expansion of offers of scholarships is essential in order to meet the increasing need of students from Non-Self-Governing Territories for educational and training assistance, and considering that students in those Territories should be encouraged to avail themselves of such offers, 

1. Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General; 

2. Expresses its appreciation to those Member States that have made scholarships available to the inhabitants of Non-Self-Governing Territories; 

3. Invites all States to make or continue to make generous offers of study and training facilities to the inhabitants of those Territories that have not yet attained self-government or independence and, wherever possible, to provide travel funds to prospective students; 

4. Urges the administering Powers to take effective measures to ensure the widespread and continuous dissemination in the Territories under their administration of information relating to offers of study and training facilities made by States and to provide all the facilities necessary to enable students to avail themselves of such offers; 

5. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its seventy-first session on the implementation of the present resolution; 

6. Draws the attention of the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples to the present resolution.

Imperios no mantienen colonias, las explotan / Empires don’t support colonies, they exploit them

Compañeros Unidos para la Descolonización de Puerto Rico: Cita  Patriótica ONU Junio 2012

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Imperios no mantienen colonias, las explotan / Empires don’t support colonies, they exploit them Muchos puertorriqueños creen que el gobierno de Estados Unidos (EEUU) mantiene a Puerto Rico (PR). Nosotros hemos estado continuamente bajo la propaganda estadounidense por 117 años. El ministro de propaganda en la Alemania Nazi decía que una mentira se convierte en la verdad si se dice suficientemente. Eso realmente no es verdad, pero la gente si piensa que es la verdad. Y eso es exactamente lo que busca el abusador. Esto ha sido impresionantemente efectivo ya que muchos puertorriqueños piensan que Puerto Rico no puede sobrevivir sin el gobierno de Estados Unidos. La verdad es que los imperios siempre explotan a sus colonias, y nunca las mantienen. El gobierno de Estados Unidos y las compañías estadounidenses se llevan $14 por cada dólar que invierten en Puerto Rico. Por eso es que no hay oportunidades para los puertorriqueños en Puerto Rico, y por eso los puertorriqueños se van de Puerto Rico masivamente. Por primera vez, hay más puertorriqueños fuera de Puerto Rico que dentro.  Sócrates dijo en la página 141 del libro PLATO THE REPUBLIC que, “Hasta que los filósofos sean reyes, o los reyes y príncipes de este mundo tengan el espíritu y poder de la filosofía, y la grandeza política y la sabiduría es una, y la gente común que lucha a la exclusión de los demás estén motivados a mantenerse aislado, las ciudades nunca descansaran de sus injusticias, -no, ni la raza humana, creo yo, y después solo esto nuestro Estado tendrá la posibilitad de vida y poder ver la luz del día. ”  El gobierno de Estados Unidos no tiene el espíritu y el poder de la filosofía. EEUU no tiene interés de obtener sabiduría en la búsqueda de la verdad para hacer justicia. EEUU solo le interesa la acumulación de riqueza para un grupito privilegiado.  El gobierno de Estados Unidos ha logrado meterle en la cabeza de sus ciudadanos la idea de que cada cual está por sí mismo. Hay demasiados ciudadanos que solo se preocupan por ellos mismos. Esta actitud impide la búsqueda de la verdad para eliminar la injusticia. Estos son, como dijo Sócrates, los que están inclinados a mantenerse aislado. ¡El resultado de eso ha sido que el mundo considera actualmente al gobierno de Estados Unidos en la amenaza más grande a paz mundial!  ¿Cómo será posible descansar de la injusticia? ¿Cómo será posible tener la posibilidad de vida y de ver la luz del día?  Tenemos que entender que todos pertenecemos a la raza humana. Nunca podemos pensar que es correcto que cada cual este por su lado. Todos debemos tener el espíritu y el poder de la filosofía para continuamente buscar la verdad. Y tenemos que siempre estar involucrado en lo que hace nuestros gobernantes, y nunca permitirnos quedarnos como espectadores.  Por eso tenemos que continuamente protestar por la descolonización de Puerto Rico. Sin la participación activa de todos, nuca podremos descansar de la injusticia. ¡No podremos, porque los que no les interesa unirla grandeza política con la sabiduría, y continúan manteniendo colonias, no creen en la JUSTICIA PARA TODOS!  Many Puerto Ricans believe that the United States (US) government supports Puerto Rico. We have been continuously subjected to US propaganda for 117 years. Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany, Joseph Goebbels, said that a lie becomes the truth if you repeat it often enough. It really doesn’t, but people will believe it is the truth. That is why many Puerto Ricans believe Puerto Rico can’t survive without the US government. The fact of the matter is that empires always exploit their colonies. That’s what they are for! The US government and US Companies get $14 for every dollar they invest in Puerto Rico. That is why there are no opportunities in Puerto Rico for Puerto Ricans, and why Puerto Ricans are leaving our beautiful island in large numbers. For the first time, more Puerto Ricans are out of Puerto Rico than in. Our economic crisis didn’t begin now. It began with the US military invasion of 1898. Socrates said in the middle of page 141 in the book PLATO THE REPUBLIC that, “Until philosophers are kings, or the kings and princes of this world have the spirit and power of philosophy, and political greatness and wisdom meet in one, and those commoner natures who pursue either to the exclusion of the other are compelled to stand aside, cities will never have rest from their evils, -no, nor the human race, as I believe, - and then only will this our State have a possibility of life and behold the light of day.” The US government does not have or want the spirit and power of philosophy. It has no interest in obtaining wisdom by seeking the truth to do justice. It is only interested in accumulating all of the wealth of the world for a small privileged group.  The US government has successfully managed to put in its citizen’s mind the notion that, “It’s every man for himself.” Too many citizens are only concerned with taking care of themselves. This attitude prevents people from seeking the truth to eliminate injustice. They, as Socrates said, “are the ones compelled to stand aside”. The result has been that the world regards the US government as the biggest threat to world peace. How can we ever “rest from evils”? How can we ever “have the possibility of life and behold the light of day.” We must understand that we all belong to the human race. We cannot permit ourselves to believe that every man for himself is the correct thing to do. We should all have the spirit and power of philosophy to actively and continuously seek the truth. And we must all get involved in what our leaders do, and never be compelled to stand aside. Therefore, we must protest continuously for the decolonization of Puerto Rico. Without everyone’s participation, we will never rest from evil. We won’t, because those who are not interested in joining political greatness with wisdom, and continue to maintain colonies, don’t believe in JUSTICE FOR ALL.