**[TESTIMONY of rubén berríos martínez]{.underline}**

**[president of the]{.underline}**

**[puerto rican independence party]{.underline}**

**[BEFORE THE United States SENATE committee on energy and natural
resources]{.underline}**

Washington, D.C.

November 15, 2006

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee:

There is more than enough testimony and evidence in the recent record of
the U.S. Congress to promptly approve legislation regarding the status
of Puerto Rico.

Suffice it to state certain facts and issues.

[In Puerto Rico]{.underline} the bankruptcy and failure of the colonial
Commonwealth experiment is self-evident.

[In the United States]{.underline}, the White House report under
consideration recognizes what the Puerto Rican Independence Party has
been saying for more than half a century, that juridically Puerto Rico
is nothing but a United States territory under the U.S. Constitution.

[Internationally]{.underline}, next Saturday and Sunday, the 18^th^ and
19^th^ of November, the most important Latin American and Caribbean
political parties -of the widest ideological spectrum- will meet in
Panama. They will meet to express Latin America's collective solidarity
with Puerto Rico's inalienable right to self-determination and
independence and to offer their good offices in the process to achieve
Puerto Rico's decolonization.

It is time for Congress to fullfil its constitutional mandate and to
dispose of the territory.

Puerto Ricans of all political persuasions, for more than a century,
have urged the United States Congress to act in order to decolonize
Puerto Rico. Congress has refused to act. Let us simply say -in order to
avoid recriminations at a time when we are looking for solutions- that
the historical and political circumstances were not appropiate. But they
are now.

The end of the Cold War, the unviability and costs of Commonwealth, the
consensus for change in Puerto Rico and, the need for a new United
States policy towards Latin America, mark the end of an era and signal
the beginning of a new one.

We propose a very simple solution, a very simple road map, leading to
your constitutional duty to dispose of the territory.

[First]{.underline}, a yes or no referendum should be held to discard
the present Commonwealth or any other territorial arrangement.

[Second]{.underline}, a sovereign constitutional status convention
should then be held in Puerto Rico to decide among alternatives
recognized by international law. As long as legal decolonization
principles are respected, the specific details or the road map can be
worked out with all flexibility. We in Puerto Rico will do all that is
in our power to advance such a plan. That is our duty. But the United
States is also under an obligation, both juridical and ethical, to act.

Under the present circunstances of utter dependence in Puerto Rico, it
is up to this Congress to jump start such a process. Otherwise the
colonial forces of inertia could prevail once more. But if inmobility
prevails then the situation in Puerto Rico will deteriorate and the
status problem will come back to haunt Congress in ever more menacing
ways. Now we are in a position to formulate an orderly process that will
balance all interests involved, both yours and ours.

When all is said and done regarding the issue of Puerto Rico's status,
the national self-interest -both that of Puerto Rico and the United
States- will prevail.

Commonwealth under any guise is the problem and thus it cannot be the
solution. Democracy and colonialism are radically and utterly
incompatible. Democracy cannot exist when the basic laws of a country or
territory are determined by another country. A democratic colony is a
contradiction in terms. It is no more than a tinsel cage.

Furthermore, Commonwealth is the open door to statehood. And statehood,
even though Congress may not openly acknowledge it at this time, is
undesirable for Puerto Rico and contrary to the national interest of the
United States.

Independence on the other hand, is the natural and rational solution to
our colonial problem. Independence is an inalienable right and
[independentistas]{.underline} will never surrender that right under any
circunstances. An orderly transition to independence with a date certain
should of course be part of any future arrangement.

Majorities come and go but nationalities remain and Puerto Rico is a
full grown Latin American nationality. I have no doubt that the Puerto
Rican people will proudly claim their independence once the blackmail
and intimidation to which we have been subjected for more than a century
cease to exist.

I urge the Senate to fullfill its constitutional duty and
responsibility. Responsibility, needless to say is a function of power.
Only political will is necessary.