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Puerto Rico Update,
December 2000 Vieques Protest Update by Luis Monterrosa Since last July, several groups, including the Committee for the Rescue and Development of Vieques (CPRDV), Vieques Youth United, (VYU), and the Vieques Women's Alliance, have taken many powerful actions in Vieques against the Navy's military exercises. These ranged from weekly vigils in front of the gates to Camp Garcia, the navy's bombing range entrance, to penetration of the Navy's restricted zone. The CPRDV has also continued to maintain the Peace and Justice Camp (PJC), allowing Viequenses to camp out directly in front of the Camp Garcia gates. The following are just some of the many nonviolent acts of resistance by the many groups. On August 1, several members of the CPRDV and VYU held a sit-in in the office of the Secretary of Health to demand information, including cancer and infant mortality rates, on Vieques. On August 6, thirty-two women penetrated the Navy's restricted zone, conducting a ceremony representing Vieques' desire for peace. One week later, approximately 1,000 people, primarily Viequenses, representing the CPRDV, the Viequense Women's Alliance, and the VYU, created a human chain in front of the Camp Garcia gates. And on August 28, a group of graphic artists and actors entered the Navy's restricted zone, where they performed the theatrical play, I Believe in Vieques. On September 22, thousands of people traveled from all over the United States and Puerto Rico to hold a demonstration at theWhite House. About 75 people were arrested for civil disobedience. On October 18, a group of Viequenses penetrated the bombing range during military maneuvers; they risked their lives as the Navy continued bombing even after being advised of human presence on the range. Nine people were arrested, including seventy-year old Angel Navarro, a Korean War veteran. Most of them were freed on a $1,000 bail; however Robert Rabin, spokesperson for the CPRDV, was ordered to pay $5,000, which he could not pay at the time and had to spend the night in jail. Four days later, following intense bombing by the Navy, the various action groups, accompanied by church leaders, fishermen, and elderly people formed a human chain, composed of hundreds of people, which partook in taking down the military fence. On October 21, more than a thousand people in New York City marched for peace in Vieques down Fifth Avenue, an event organized by a coalition of Puerto Rico and human rights groups. On December 21, several members of the Peace and Justice Camp stopped a US Navy construction project on civilian land near the Camp García military fence, where the Navy was building a new entrance to the base. Protesters believed it was to avoid the constant protests and vigilance by the community. Members of the PJC placed themselves in front of Navy tractors and other heavy equipment to block what they described as an illegal movement of land in property of the Puerto Rican people. The protesters insisted that the Navy produce necessary governmental agency permits to prove that they were not acting illegally. When representatives of the Navy said they only had a permits from the regional office of Public Works, the protesters pointed out to police officials that Navy construction required permits from Natural Resources, the Planning Board and the Archaeological Council. The presence of people from the community shined on the military, who when confronted with the lack of building permits and forced to take their equipment and personnel back onto the Navy's side of the fence. Meanwhile, members of the PJC and the CRDV set up a new camp named Camp Luisa Guadalupe, in honor of the 83-year old Viequense woman and well known activist against the Navy, who died the week prior to the action. The acts of peaceful disobedience have served to garner world attention to the plight of Viequenses. Public figures such as Rev. Jesse Jackson, the Dalai Lama, and most recently Nobel Prize winner Rigoberta Menchú from Guatemala, have expressed their solidarity with the Viequenses' non-violent resistance to the U.S. Navy. As we see, with every action taken against the military's presence on the Isla Nena, the people of Vieques are growing stronger and the Navy's days there are counted. |
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Fellowship of Reconciliation ©2001 Fellowship of Reconciliation
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