Boricua activists arrested at Capitol

Days before being inaugurated as president, Barack Obama pledged to Puerto Rican officials that he would "enable the question of Puerto Rico's status to be resolved" during his first term. Since that January promise, however, the process of creating a plebiscite on the island to decide Puerto Rico's political status has progressed at a glacial pace.

It should come as no surprise then that some activists have protested and are calling for prompt action by the federal government:

Police escorted six pro-Puerto Rican independence protesters out of the U.S. Capitol Wednesday after they caused a disturbance in the House chamber.

The demonstrators stood up in the House gallery while legislators were debating a bill on the floor and shouted slogans calling for more respect for Puerto Rican right. They group also held up signs reading “111 years of Colony. It’s a shame. End the colony.”

The protesters received visitor’s passes to the House gallery from Puerto Rico's delegate to Congress- Pedro Pierluisi. He promptly decried the demonstrators’ actions which were not “appropriate… to speak one's mind about the political status of Puerto Rico.”

Admittedly, the White House has had much more important issues to handle (e.g. the weakened economy, conflicts abroad) and the disruption at the Capital may have been illegal. Yet it is high time to respect the right to self-determination and allow Puerto Ricans the chance to decide the island’s political status. One may disagree with the viewpoints of the independientistas, but their opinions should matter along with other Puerto Ricans who care for the future of their island.

Image- The Fact Checker (“Demonstrating for statehood, San Juan, Puerto Rico.”)
Online Sources- AP, The Latin Americanist, The Speaker’s Lobby