41 / 88
41
One of the most important concerns to be dealt with before a terri-
tory can become self-governing is violence and oppression. If, for exam-
ple, two
factions
are fighting for control of a territory, the people will not
feel safe enough to make necessary steps toward self-government. When
they are being terrorized, they are not free to make decisions about their
future. Political candidates might face the threat of assassination, and resi-
dents could be intimidated into voting a certain way. In this case, the fact
that the territory held an election would not necessarily mean the will of
the people had been done. Resolution 1514 states,“All armed action or
repressive measures of all kinds directed against dependent peoples shall
cease in order to enable them to exercise peacefully and freely their right
to complete independence, and the integrity of their national territory
shall be respected.”
Chapter Three
The Turks and Caicos, an island nation south of the Bahamas in the Caribbean
Sea, is also a Non-Self-Governing Territory of the United Kingdom.