What the Methodists say about Decolonization of PR and Vieques in the UN

[Suki]

GBGM News Archives - 2700 Bytes
UN Decolonization Committee adopts resolution regarding Vieques
The General Board of Global Ministries, The United Methodist Church
by Germán Acevedo-Delgado
A resolution calling on the United States government to 1) cease its Armed Forces maneuvers on Vieques, 2) clean the land, 3) return the land occupied by the Navy, and 4) cease the persecution, arrests and mistreatment of the peaceful demonstrators against the U.S. Navy, was approved by consensus.

At their July 12 meeting, the Special Committee On The Situation With Regard To The Implementation Of The Declaration On The Granting Of Independence To Colonial Countries And Peoples called on the U.S. to respect fundamental human rights, like the right to health and economic development. The statements by the Special United Nations Committee are part of a resolution dealing with the inalienable right of Puerto Rico to self determination in conformity with Resolution 1514 (XV) of the United Nations General Assembly.

This new resolution will be among many subject to vote during the General Assembly of the United Nations in September.

The U.N. Decolonization Committee also received a report prepared by Mr. Fayssal Mekdad regarding Puerto Rico; it includes the occupation of Vieques as a human rights issue. The report remarks that President Clinton was asked, by a United Nations representative, to let the people of Vieques vote as soon as possible to determine whether or not they want the U.S. Navy to remain in Vieques. The report also calls on the Decolonization Committee to stongly condemn the continuation of the military practices in Vieques.

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Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples

Special Committee decision of 6 July 1999 concerning Puerto Rico

Cuba: draft resolution

The Special Committee,

Bearing in mind the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, contained in General Assembly Resolution 1514 (XV) of 14 December 1960, as well as the resolutions and decisions of the Special Committee concerning Puerto Rico,

Considering that the decade of the 1990s, which will soon draw to a close, was proclaimed by the General Assembly, in its resolution 43/47 of 22 November 1998, as the Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism, and the eighteen resolutions and decisions adopted by the Special Committee on the question of Puerto Rico, contained in the reports of the Special Committee to the General Assembly,

Recalling that 25 July 2000 marks the one hundred and second anniversary of the intervention in Puerto Rico by the United States of America,

Further recalling the diverse initiatives taken by the political representatives of Puerto Rico and the United States in the past eleven years, which have thus far failed to set in motion the process of decolonization of Puerto Rico,

Stressing the need for the United States to lay the groundwork for the full implementation of General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV), and resolutions and decisions of the Special Committee concerning Puerto Rico,

Taking into account the proposals to convene a sovereign Constituent Convention of the people of Puerto Rico as part of the search for realistic procedures which would make it possible to launch the process of decolonization of Puerto Rico,

Aware that Vieques Island, Puerto Rico, has been used for over fifty years by the United States Marines to carry out military manoeuvres, thus limiting access by the civilian population to a space scarcely a quarter of the island, and having an impact on the health of the population, the environment and the economic and the social development of the Territory.

Regretting that, after a year of inactivity, which was welcomed by the people of Puerto Rico, the government of the United States has resumed its military manoeuvres and bombings on Vieques Island, which is inhabited, removing and incarcerating peaceful demonstrators and imposing further restrictions on the civilian population,

Noting that the consensus among the Puerto Rican people on the urgency of halting military manoeuvres on Vieques Island and on the return of occupied land to the people of Puerto Rico,

Further noting the consensus among the people of Puerto Rico in favour of the release of all Puerto Rican prisoners who have been serving sentences in United States prisons on cases related to Puerto Rico's independence,

Noting with satisfaction the release of eleven Puerto Rican political prisoners,

Further noting that the Final Document of the Thirteenth Ministerial Conference of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries, held in Cartagena de lndias on 8 and 9 April 2000, reaffirms the right of the people of Puerto Rico to self- determination and independence on the basis of General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV) and requests the Special Committee to continue actively pursuing the issue of Puerto Rico,

Having heard statements and testimonies representative of various viewpoints among the people of Puerto Rico and their social institutions,

Having considered the report of the Rapporteur of the Special Committee on the implementation of the resolutions concerning Puerto Rico,

1. Reaffirms the inalienable right of the people of Puerto Rico to self- determination and independence in conformity with General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV) and the applicability of the fundamental principles of that resolution to the question of Puerto Rico;

2. Reiterates that the Puerto Rican people constitute a Latin American and Caribbean nation that has its own and unequivocal national identity;

3. Reaffirms its hope, and that of the international community, that the Government of the United States of America will assume its responsibility of expediting a process that will allow the Puerto Rican people to fully exercise their inalienable right to self-determination and independence, in conformity with General Assembly resolution 1545 (XV) and the resolutions and decisions of the Special Committee concerning Puerto Rico;

4. Notes with satisfaction that, during the past year, progress has been achieved towards the implementation of a mechanism ensuring the full participation of representatives of all viewpoints prevailing in Puerto Rico, such as the proposals to convene a sovereign Constituent Conference of the people of Puerto Rico;

5. Expresses its hope that the General Assembly of the United Nations will give comprehensive consideration to the question of Puerto Rico in all its aspects;

6. Encourages the Government of the United States, in line with the need to guarantee to the Puerto Rican people their legitimate right to self-determination and the protection of their human rights, to order the halt of its armed forces' military drills and manoeuvres on Vieques Island, which is inhabited, return the occupied land to the people of Puerto Rico, halt the persecution, arrests and harassment of peaceful demonstrators, respect fundamental human rights, such as the right to health and economic development, and decontaminate the impact areas;

7. Welcomes the release of eleven Puerto Rican prisoners and expresses its hope that the President of the United States will release all Puerto Rican political prisoners serving sentences in United States prisons on cases related to the struggle for the independence of Puerto Rico;

8. Notes with satisfaction the report prepared by the Rapporteur, in compliance with its resolution of 6 July 1999;

9. Requests the Rapporteur to report to the Special Committee in the year 2001 on the implementation of the present resolution;

10. Decides to keep the question of Puerto Rico under continuous review.



July 13, 2000
Further Reading:
Justice and Safety for the People of Vieques: A GBGM Resolution
Links of Interest:
The United Nations Decolonization page

[AnotherRican]

You need to qualify and say "What SOME Methodists say..."

I know plenty of Methodists folks (including Clergy inside and outside the United Methodist Church) that don't share these views and would oppose them just like they oppose Gay and Lesbians being Ordained and Abortion espoused by SOME United Methodist Clergy.

[AnotherRican]

The following shows the divide withing the United Methodist Church :

Same-Sex Unions

In September, 1997, United Methodist Church Reverend Jimmy Creech performed a ceremony uniting two lesbian women even after receiving specific warnings from his bishop not to do so. In conducting `the ceremony, Creech, a pastor with a long record of pro- homosexual activism, knowingly and willfully disobeyed the church's decision (enacted at the 1996 General Conference) banning pastors from being involved in same-sex unions. 40 However, in the spring of 1998, Creech was acquitted of any wrong-doing by a United Methodist Church court. And although he was later forced out of his church by his bishop, Creech's acquittal was seen as a victory and provided encouragement for other United Methodist pastors performing same-sex union ceremonies. Among these pastors are the Reverend Karen Oliveto and the Reverend Cecil Williams, both pastors in the San Francisco area where the debate over gay rights has already caused 22 pastors to threaten to split from the church. 41 In Atlanta, at least one congregation has already made good on similar threats. 42

However, same-sex union supporters in the UMC are not the only ones facing persecution within the church. Conservative pastor Luiz Lemos was ordered by his more liberal bishop, Bishop Melvin G. Talbert, to transfer to a church in a different conference. This transfer order came after Lemos voiced his oppostion to the recent participation of sixty-seven pastors (all from Talbert's conference) in a union involving two women. Instead of following Talbert's wishes and transferring, Lemos resigned his pastorship, as had seven other pastors in similar predicaments. 43

Similarly, in June of 1999 the Reverend Charles Sineath, another critic of church sanctioned homosexual marriages, left his position as pastor of the local United Methodist Church and started a new group, the "Wesleyan Fellowship". This split occurred after Sineath learned that his alma-mater, Emory University (a Methodist foundation), decided it permissable for certain homosexual union ceremonies to be performed on its campus. This ruling went against the 1996 ruling of the General Conference disallowing same-sex ceremonies on any Methodist grounds. 44

Despite opposition from approximately one-third of the church's members, the General Conference of 2000 upheld the ban on gay and lesbian marriages. 45 However, they also decided not to entertain proposals to make it mandatory for every Methodist pastor to put his or her signature on an anti-gay/lesbian statement. 46 This decision was probably based on two points: the fact that several hundred United Methodist churches nationwide have already announced that they support gay rights including unions, and the fact that many Methodist pastors continue to perform same-sex unions regardless of church policy. 47

Original references at web site: http://www.meta-religion.com/World_R...methodists.htm

[Suki]

Stop stalking.

Get help.

If anyone else wants to comment go ahead.

[AnotherRican]

Originally Posted by Suki

Stop stalking.

Get help.

If anyone else wants to comment go ahead.

Stop being a psychotic and delusional. I was simply answering your lopsided and liberal article. Like I said, I know Methodist (specifically United Methodist Church) ministers that would totally reject your article. It does not speak for all UMC ministers or churches. Get yourself some medication!

[Suki]

Yujike done figured out the pulga reality....

Nothing much to add. If you stick around long enough, yep. La pulga is the correct description.

Yujike said about AR:

Remember that you are fighting a snake with two heads, AR and El Jib.

Kephrem, you got him running boy-Great job! He can't go the distance. I tried before , but you have to give it to the sucker, he is a formidable enemy, because of his singlemindness (a la Ronald Reagan) and ONE very tiny track mind, so I resorted to insulting the MF as hard as the site would let me, because, as you can see, the man IS certifiable insane and fixed on that agenda like una "pulga en el culo de una yegua". He will just assasinate your character and debase you and use all those techniques he learned with his masters on the little booklet of Torture and Assasination. Lately I have been feeding his ego to see if it grows to a truly gargantuan size and then, hopefuly, he will trip and fall of of it and kill himself..


S3xy, I warned you, this guy/animal/subhuman wench is the same evil tought that is running our country right now to the ground, and bankrupting the hell out of us. But you came through, keep on hitting the mother like there is no tomorrow because if it were for him and his handlers, THERE WILL BE NO TOMORROW. This is the same gangland/vengeful style of the Bushes, he is a master at it, and like them, if you disagree he'll will reveal your name to the enemy so they can kill you and do them a favor.

Now, back to the fun!!!

[AnotherRican]

Folks, have you noticed that simply answered the psychotic lady's article that was lopsided. No attacks. Then she started screaming "Stalker!" The Marxist Drama Queen is at it again. She is a Borderline Personality that loves to create chaos and then quietly slips out going to create more chaos.