The People Are One Not Three or Four by Rafael Cancel Miranda / Special for Claridad January 17 to 23, 2008 Translated by Pro-Libertad I have recently participated in two marches against colonialism and the abuses of the yankee Gestapo (FBI). On December 22, I marched with independentists and commonwealth supporters. In the second march, on January 10, we independentists of various stripes, marched united, without ceasing to be who we are. For the same reasons, I would march with the pro-statehooders, which I did when we were defending the Lajas valley. I know that on that occasion, the pro-statehooders were protesting, because they were the owners of the farms which would have been contaminated if the yankee Navy had located its proposed radar on those lands. I know that the pro-statehooders marched for their own interests, which they put ahead of the interests of the U.S. Navy. I marched so that our land would not be contaminated. Although for different interests, we coincided to confront the yankee navy. I have participated in marches for Vieques and for the imprisoned patriots, together with supporters of commonwealth and statehood, and, of course, independentists. We must learn to march as a single people on those issues on which we coincide, and not fall prey to imperialism's games by becoming each others enemies As for the January 10 march in support of the three young Puerto Ricans subpoenaed to appear before a so-called U.S. Grand Jury, the FBI says it is because they are investigating The Macheteros. I ask these individuals if, when they bombed us from the high seas on May 12, 1898, there were Macheteros; or when they invaded us on July 25 of that same year, they looked for The Macheteros; if when they massacred us in Rio Piedras, Ponce and Utuado, there were Macheteros; if when the FBI first arrived in Puerto Rico in 1936 to fabricate a case against don Pedro Albizu Campos, there were Macheteros, if during the 55 military interventions they have carried out against our peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean, they were looking for Macheteros Going a little further back, were these same anglo saxons looking for Macheteros in Rhodesia, New Zealand, South Africa, Aus-tralia, India or indigenous territory now known as the United States? Perhaps they were looking to drug Macheteros when they introduced opium to China? Were they looking for Macheteros in the territories they stole from Mexico? We can continue with the African and Arab and Asian countries whose territories they invaded, whose lands they robbed, whose natural resources they looted. As for me, I wish that there existed so many Macheteros. The history of humanity would be different. I think these FBI henchmen who are nothing more than instruments of the invaders either think we are idiots, or they are idiots, as that excuse for their persecution falls on its own weight. As for the January 10 march, I am proud to have seen that, in spite of all the persecutions and all the pressures to which we have been subjected as a people, they have not been able to destroy us, although we know there are prostitutes disposed to serve what-ever power invades their homeland. They have existed in every colony of the world, including those 13 colonies. We know that George Washington sent them to the firing squad. The Fraticellis of the world should know the history of their lords and masters. Then they would know what terrorism is. The mere fact that they are persecuting young Puerto Ricans in U.S. territory demonstrates that they know that we are one nation, that regardless of where we are, we are Puerto Ricans. It would be worthwhile to analyze why at the same time they persecute Mexicans, they are also persecuting Puerto Ricans, valuing, of course, the laws they themselves impose. They are 'legal' actions to try to legalize the illegal. Isn't this persecution due to the fact that just as they invaded Mexican territory, they invaded Puerto Rican territory, and robbed us both of our lands, and that as a result, they fear us? There was a time when the FBI chief some personn named Webster said that Puerto Rico was the Achilles Heel of the United States. So long as we are a colony, we will continue to be the Achilles Heel, and we know that they will continue to send the Fraticellis after us. But we also know that our people will continue to give birth to the Albizus, the Blanca Canales, the Filibertos, Lolitas, Corretjers, and Puerto Rican women and men such as those who were there protesting on January 10 in front of the yan-kee federal pig sty I congratulate the organizers of the two demonstrations of Puerto Rican dignity. We independentists must unite if we want to unite the people, because this is a struggle of the entire country. When they attacked us on May 12, 1898 from the high seas, they attacked all of us, and all of us suffer from the evils of colonialism. One of the main tricks the empire uses to dominate us is to divide and conquer, to set people against each other, so as to advance their imperialist interests. Lets not be fooled by the tricks of the empire!