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Vol. 3 No. 17
Para ver este documento en español, oprima aquí.
SPECIAL ISSUES PREVIEW
SENATE HEARING ON PLEBISCITE RESULTS
Petition to
the United States Government
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Status Quo
(Commonwealth)
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Free Association
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Statehood
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Independence
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None of the Above
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0.1%
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0.2%
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46.5%
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2.6%
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50.2%
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[T]he recent political status vote in Puerto Rico was a necessary but obviously
not decisive step on the road of self-determination leading to full
self-government. Rather than giving Congress an excuse for ignoring Puerto
Rico's political status dilemma, the vote of 50.2% for "None of the
Above" and 46.5% for statehood raises questions that only Congress can
answer.
[T]he current territorial commonwealth status as it exists under
federal law was decisively rejected when it received only .1% of the vote.
Separate nationhood in the form of either independence or associated republic
status also was rejected by all but 2.8% of the vote.
The commonwealth party's support of the "None of the Above"
option rather than an accurate description of the status quo only confirms its
lack of a commonwealth definition acceptable to both voters and Congress within
the framework of the U.S. Constitution.
Thus, rather than being an endorsement of the status quo, the vote of
commonwealth supporters…confronts Congress with the question of how
permanent union and irrevocable citizenship can be achieved for Puerto Rico
consistent with the U.S. Constitution.
Since 1789 Congress has resolved the status of 33 large and populous
territories in favor of separate nationhood or statehood. In each of those
cases, Congress defined the choices as continued territorial status, permanent
union and irrevocable citizenship through incorporation leading to statehood,
or separate nationhood. Eventually it will have to do the same for Puerto
Rico, by clarifying the current status and defining the options for change.
Even if full equality and democracy can be delayed, the truth about Puerto
Rico's real choices can not be obscured forever. Dick Thornburgh
Congressional Sponsored Plebiscite Necessary
The 1998 plebiscite confirms the need for Congress to ascertain the will of the
people of Puerto Rico among options Congress is willing to consider. This can
be accomplished only if Congress sponsors a referendum under Federal law and
informs the voters of the terms for continuing the current status or changing
to a new status.
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Puerto Ricans Did Not Reject Statehood
Letter to the Editor
Greensboro News & Record
Your April 5 editorial ("Puerto Rican Statehood Is A Wrong-Headed
Idea") regarding statehood for Puerto Rico needs clarification.
Puerto Ricans did not reject statehood. In fact, statehood received 46.5
percent of the vote. It was a rejection of the existing commonwealth status,
which received less than 1 percent of the vote.
Your editorial claims there is no colonialism in Puerto Rico because "the
island's 3.8 million people are perfectly free to declare independence."
You forget these people are also American citizens. Why should they be faced
with independence and lose their American citizenship and constitutional
guarantees?
Congress must act on the results of the Dec. 13, 1998, plebiscite - in which
there was no winner. Congress must help guide the people to make a decision. It
must spell out the conditions under which statehood would be granted - as was
done with other states.
Give the people the tools and let them decide. This will bring fairness to this
process. John A. Regis Jr., Santurce, PR
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White House: "None Of The Above" Win
Not A Clear Status Choice
Vote Said To Give Little Guidance
On Ultimate Outcome
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WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Following through on a promise in a Senate resolution
last year, Chairman Frank H. Murkowski announced he will hold a hearing on
Thursday, May 6, 1999 (9:30 a.m. - SH-216), to review the results of the
December 1998 plebiscite.
In September 1998, the Senate by voice vote passed S.Res. 279, which conveyed
the sense of the Senate that the chamber supports the right of Puerto Rico,
through referendum or other means, to communicate its desires on future
political status to the federal government, and that the federal government
will consider such communication.
"[W]e should provide a forum for our fellow citizens in the territories
when they have taken the initiative to express their views," said
Murkowski, who is Chairman of the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee.
"Recognizing the legitimacy of their aspirations and the validity of their
actions, this hearing will allow the Governor of Puerto Rico, in accordance
with local law, to formally present the result of the plebiscite."
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Write your Member of Congress in Support
of Puerto Rico Self-Determination!
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Under Statehood All Puerto Ricans
Would Have Been
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American Taxpayers
Have Forked Over
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Wealthier Today,
and
Commonwealth is Costing Them
$6,000.00 More Every Year!
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Subsidizing
Puerto Rico Commonwealth, and It's Costing Them $22,821,918.52
More Each and Every Day of the Year!
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PUERTO RICO SELF-DETERMINATION
Puerto Ricans Earning Their Own Way
Puerto Rico Paying Its Own Way
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