El 23 de abril de 1982 al mediodía, Key West se declaró independiente y se erigió (por un minuto) en la "Conch Republic".
El acto de guerra simbólico fue partirle un pedazo de pan viejo cubano en la cabeza, a un hombre vestido con el uniforme de la US Navy. Además, los testimonios que aparecen en la prensa de la época reflejan que los "Conchs" le lanzaron pedazos de pan cubano y frituras de cobo (conch fritters) a los guardias y agentes federales, que se ocupaban de mantener el orden en los disturbios de ese día.
El conflicto se originó porque la Guardia Fronteriza estableció un bloqueo y punto de chequeo al sur de Florida City, en la U.S. Highway 1, para registrar cada auto que entraba o salía a o desde los cayos, buscando detener el tráfico de drogas e inmigrantes ilegales (fundamentalmente cubanos que llegaban por mar desde la Isla). Esto causó inmensa una baja en el turismo, industria de la que vive el territorio.
El alcalde de Key West, Dennis Wardlow, intentó que fuera desestimada la medida (única barrera fronteriza dentro del territorio nacional). Fue desoido por las autoridades federales y por ello decidió declarar Key West, territorio independiente "Conch Republic" y se autonombró su Primer Ministro.
La secesión duró solo un minuto, logrando sin embargo una importante publicidad sobre la protesta, la eliminación de la medida fronteriza y un rebote positivo del turismo.
A partir de 1982, cada 23 de abril,celebran el suceso, en Key West, por todo lo alto.
Dennis Wardlow,
Prime Minister
Conch Republic
----------
El texto de la proclamación:
Conch Republic Proclamation of Secession
"We, the people of Key West are called Conchs... Sometimes we are called Conchs with affection, sometimes with humor, and sometimes with derision.
I proclaim that Key West shall now be known as the Conch Republic, and as the flag of our new republic is raised, I thereby state to Washington and the rest of the United States, and the world that the Conchs are and were.
When Jamestown, Virginia was settled by Englishmen fed up with the arrogance, the derision, the abuse of rights by a despot, a King without compassion or a sense of humanity, another group was settling in the Bahamas and they were called "Conchs." They were known as "Conchs" because they hoisted flags with the tough, hard conch shellfish indicating they'd rather eat conch than pay the King's taxes and live under his tyranny.
That's our flag. It has a conch on it. We secede from the United States.
We've raised our flag, given notice, and named our new government.
We serve notice on the government in Washington to remove the roadblock or get ready to put up a permanent border to a new foreign land.
We as a people, may have suffered in the past, but we have no intention of suffering in the future at the hands of fools and bureaucrats.
We're not going to beg, to beseech the nation of the United States for help. We're not going to ask for something we should naturally have as citizens - simple equality.
If we are not equal, we'll get out. It's as simple as that.
The first step was, like Mariel, up to Washington. This step is up to us.
We call upon the people of the Florida Keys to join us or not, as they see fit. We're not a fearful people. We're not a group to cringe and whimper when Washington cracks the whip with contempt and unconcern. We're Conchs, and we've had enough.
We're happy to secede today with some humor. But there is some anger, too.
Big trouble has started in much smaller places than this.
I am calling on all my fellow citizens here in the Conch Republic to stand together, lest we fall apart - fall from fear, from a lack of courage, intimidation by an uncaring government whose actions show it has grown too big to care for people on a small island.
Signed,
Dennis Wardlow, Prime Minister
April 23, 1982"
-------------------
Para más información puedes visitar los siguientes enlaces:
The 'Conch Republic' claims a moral victoryConch Republic was born
The Conch Republic
That Time the Florida Keys Tried to Secede from the US by Dropping Conch Fritter Bombs
No comments:
Post a Comment