Vieques Libre - http://www.viequeslibre.org
Committee for the Rescue and Development of Vieques
P.O. Box 1424 Vieques, Puerto Rico 00765
(787) 741-0716 E mail: bieke@coqui.net

Vieques Update from the Peace and Justice Camp

23 September, 2000

Last Saturday around 7PM, just before the Vigil we celebrate each Saturday at Peace and Justice Camp, Navy personnel in a Cherokee jeep approached the gate to Camp Garcú} from inside the base (across the street from Peace and Justice). We heard one of the Riot Police scream to the others that the military wanted an escort to go to the ATH machine to get cash from the bank in town. A detachment of Riot Police of the PR Police which provide security to the Navy at the entrance to Camp Garcú} 24 hrs. a day, 7 days a week since the arrests on May 4th, offering escorts to military vehicles that transit the civilian sector.
We immediately called our people in town to receive the Navy personnel at the ATM machine. When we arrived at the bank from Peace and Justice, there were already a dozen Viequenses denouncing the presence of the military using the ATM machine under the watchful eyes of the Riot Police. The policemen took up positions in the street and sidewalk to avoid any possible aggression toward the soldiers. Two more police cars showed up and a few more or our people began to arrive.
We yelled at the military people what we usually yell: WE DON´T WANT YOU ON OUR STREETS. GET OUT! GO BACK TO THE BASE! When one of the sailor’s smirked sarcastically, we yelled more energetically: DO YOU THINK THIS IS A JOKE? TAKE THE MILITARY POISON YOU PRODUCE HERE TO YOUR MOTHERS HOUSE! HOW MAY CHILDREN IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD HAVE LEAD, MERCURY, URANIUM IN THEIR BLOOD?! The sailor got into his Cherokee jeep with a new expression, a bit more serious. The police got in their cars and they all left together.
This incident, that lasted some twenty minutes, pointed out several things: the high level of indignation of our people toward the policy of protection which the Puerto Rico Police provide for the navy; the policy of provocation the Navy develops, allowing its personnel to drive through the civilian sector; the need to develop strategies to block the movement of military vehicles on the civilian roads.
We opened that night’s public discussion Epart of the Saturday night vigils Eon the topic of military vehicles in the civilian area: the need for legal advice on consequences and legal implications of actions to block the military on our roads (sit downs, standing in the road, using cars, etc.) and the need to create a team to monitor the movement of military personnel in the civilian sector.
We began the vigil last Saturday with a report on the health situation of Doña Luisa Guadalupe, a fundamental element in the struggle of our community and of the Peace and Justice Camp. Doña Luisa (83 years old) had open heart surgery last week. Preliminary info indicates normal recovery continues.
By the time this report gets out, the National Day of Solidarity with Vieques in Washington, D.C. will have taken place. We congratulate the organizers of this important event, in particular, we salute our good friend and representative of the Committee for the Rescue and Development of Vieques (CRDV) in Washington, lawyer Flavio Cumpiano.
El CRDV works on several projects related to this life and death struggle to end the military presence here. During the next couple of months members of the Committee will participate in international conferences in Japan (Okinawa) and England (on Depleted Uranium weapons) and in several cities in the US. We continue to concentrate great efforts with our Technical and Professional Group in Support of Sustainable Development in a Free Vieques. We are also preparing an educational campaign in the neighborhoods of Vieques through big screen presentations of a series of documentaries on the struggle beginning in November.
At the Peace and Justice Camp we continue carrying on community meetings and protest actions. The Peace and Justice Shelter is 99% finished. We have held several meetings and workshops already in the building and we will be housing several delegations and people arriving for protest actions beginning in early October. The shelter was the site of the reception at Peace and Justice of Rubén BerrúŒs. Shortly after, we had a community meeting with ex political prisoner Luis Rosa and workshops on preparing peace banners have also been held in the building. Part of the Artists for Peace group that recently participated in a civil disobedience action here stayed at the shelter and rehearsed part of the action there.
Last week a meeting was held at the Camp with most of the 56 Viequenses arrested since 4 May in civil disobedience actions to coordinate legal actions and make us all aware of pending cases. The CRDV coordinates and covers transportation and other costs related to the judicial processes for our people in the struggle.

NO MORE BOMBS! NO MORE CANCER!
WE WANT PEACE FOR VIEQUES!

Message from Puerto Rico on the International Day of Action for Demanding the Closure of the Bombing Ranges and Reparation for Human Rights Violations and Environmental Damages Stemming from US Military Bases and Practices

Dear brothers and sisters from East Asia and the Pacific:

Receive from the people of Vieques - Puerto Rico, our support and solidarity to this global effort in this first International Day of Action. Our demands are fair and necessary, we have the right to live in peace and with security. Military activities are a serious problem in our countries and all over the world. Military activities disrupt our lives, pollute the environment, damage human health and violate human rights. The most important thing is that we in Vieques- Puerto Rico, are not alone. We are in a common struggle with the people in Korea, Phillipines and Okinawa- Japan, against the injustice and the violence, that stems from the imperialism and colonialism.
Lets continue working together in our common demand for demilitarization, decontamination, return of our lands and for a sustainable social and economic development.

United we shall overcome!

For Peace with Justice:

Wanda Colón Cortez
Caribbean Project for Justice and Peace
P.O. Box 13241, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 00908-3241 / Tel: (787) 722-1640 /
wandac@coqui.net

Roberto Rabú‹
Committee for the Rescue and Development of Vieques
Apartado 1424 / Vieques, Puerto Rico, 00765 / Tel: (787) 741-0716 /
bieke@coqui.net
Committee for the Rescue and Development of Vieques
P.O. Box 1424 Vieques, Puerto Rico 00765
(787) 741-0716 E mail: bieke@coqui.net

21 September 2000 - PRESS RELEASE

More accidents on Vieques roads caused by military vehicles

On Wednesday, 19 September, at around 9:00 AM, a huge military truck crashed into a car driven by a young Viequense, Angel Rivera, in the Esperanza sector. This was the most recent of a series of accidents caused by military vehicles on civilian roads here during past months. The accident yesterday resulted in serious damages to Rivera´s car and a nervious-epileptic attack suffered by his wife, Nilsa Garcú} Franco. A hearing is scheduled for the following week.
Last month another military truck of exaggerated size, passing through the Destino sector of Vieques on the way to the Navy base at Camp Garcú}, destroyed a car belonging to Guillermo Brignoni, who was waiting in his driveway for the truck to go by. The driver, an elderly Viequense, received treatment in the local hospital for the nervous condition that resulted from the accident.
A week before the accident in Destino, another military flatbed truck, carrying an enormous tractor on the road in the Martineau area of Vieques, snapped the electric cable that crossed the street close to the Martineau Bay Resort. A young worker from the resort was seriously injured when he tried to move the live cable to avoid a major accident with passing cars.
During each of these incidents caused by Navy vehicles, agents from the Tactical Operations Division of the PR Police were escorting the sailors.
"Despite the police escort, the dangerous way the Navy people drive on our streets and the inappropriate size of the huge trucks for our small roads have caused this series of accidents," explained Nilda Medina, spokeswoman for the Committee for the Rescue and Development of Vieques.
Members of the Committee have urged the Superintendent of Police, the Mayor of Vieques and military officials to stop the use of Vieques civilian roads by military vehicles.

Contact: Robert Rabin 741-0716

The Center for Defense Information
The Weekly Defense Monitor
1779 Massachusetts Ave., NW * Washington, DC 20036
(202)332-0600 * Fax (202)462-4559 * www.cdi.org
VOLUME 4, ISSUE #38 September 21, 2000

The Disappearing Welcome Mat

Colonel Daniel Smith, USA (Ret.), Chief of Research, dsmith@cdi.org

The accident was waiting to happen. On April 19, 1999 it did. The live bomb was dropped too soon. The toll? One dead, a restive community finally galvanized, the Navy and the U.S. government threatening arrests and punitive economic measures, even Members of Congress hurling charges of heavy political pressure.
No one has ever wanted a bombing range in their backyard, which has been the fate of the 9,600 citizens of the small Puerto Rican island of Vieques. For 60 years these islanders tolerated naval gunfire, bombs and rockets dropped from aircraft, and live fire amphibious landings on the island. They suffered much the same way that Americans living near other military posts and training areas have for years, accepting the noise and nuisance of such activities because of the need to ensure that the war fighting skills of America's armed forces were sharp.
Some attribute the opposition to the continued use of parts of Vieques as a target range to the absence of a visible enemy that can militarily threaten the United States. But there is another dimension, of which Vieques is but one example, and a domestic one at that: the inability of civilian and military elites to step out of the comfortable Cold War world in which they matured and confront a much different 21st century.
This is not to imply that conflict (and therefore the need to prepare for conflict) is about to disappear. Rather, the United States must re-examine the elements that will shape future conflicts -- geography, mobility/distance, intelligence, forces, weapons, doctrine, allies Eand then re-align its worldwide peacetime presence and training to more effectively handle these elements when a threat begins to develop.
A priority in any such re-examination is the practice of permanently stationing large numbers of American forces on foreign soil. Most often this is justified on the basis of supporting friends and allies or enhancing regional stability. At the government-to-government level many foreign political leaders continue to voice approval of this practice.
This is reassuring. However, at the people-to-people level the United States is losing the battle, and in so losing will eventually lose at the governmental level as well.
This loss of support can be attributed to three main causes. As in the case of Vieques, there is a widespread perception that major wars are a thing of the past and therefore the permanent presence of foreign soldiers is no longer needed. This rejection is fueled by heightened nationalism (and perhaps a touch on xenophobia) even as the world opens political and economic borders. Both of these elements quickly take fire when U.S. military personnel or their dependents commit crimes against the indigenous population, turning "saviors" of freedom into devils to be exorcized.
Fortunately, such incidents are few, but they have devastating effects at the gut political level of constituency politics. Nowhere is this more apparent than in Asia.
On Okinawa, more and more citizens and politicians are opposing what many regard as the 50 year occupation of 20 percent of their island by 19,000 U.S. Marines and 7,000 other U.S. service members. In March two lawsuits were filed seeking compensation from the U.S. Air Force for noise pollution and seeking a ban on night flights. Passions were roused in July when a Marine was arrested for allegedly molesting a 14-year-old girl while she slept at home and by a hit-and-run accident involving a U.S. airman.
American officials like to cite a recent poll of Japanese (other than Okinawans) that tallied very strong support (71%) for the U.S.-Japan security alliance. But what they don't cite is the tally that 64% think U.S. bases in Japan should be further reduced. Such sentiment is fueled by incidents such as this month's refusal by the Navy to even acknowledge a request from city officials of Misawa, Japan, that it suspend night aircraft landing drills. The city has severed "friendship ties" with the Navy and has said if drills are conducted again it will ask that the Navy leave the airbase.
As it is, the U.S. had to accept a reduction in Japanese financial support for the U. S. presence in Japan from last year's $2.5 billion to $1.5 billion. Moreover, in the July 2000 issue of the Marine Corps Gazette, all the letters printed in response to a question as to whether the Marines should stay or be withdrawn favored the latter course.
In Korea the same sentiments are surfacing among the population, particularly since the June summit between the leaders of the two Koreas.
At the government level, South Korea now believes that American GIs killed at least 175 Korean civilians at No Gun Ri during the early days of the Korean War. For the first time since 1996, Korean and U.S. negotiators have met to revise the Status of Forces Agreement governing such matters as who exercises custody of any of the 37,000 American service members who might be suspects in crimes against Koreans. Environmental pollution from U.S. bases, such as the recent dumping of toxic chemicals into the Han River, is also at issue, as are labor rights of Koreans employed on U.S. bases.
And in what seems like an echo of Vieques, environmental and civic activists are demanding that the Korean parliament investigate and then close down the 23.7 million square meter sea and land bombing and strafing range near the village of Maehyang-ri. Bowing to protests by neighboring residents, the U.S. Air Force announced in August that it would close the portion of the range used for strafing exercises.
Half a world away, In Kosovo, U.S. peacekeepers are accused of threatening and assaulting civilians, and one soldier was convicted in August of the rape and murder of a young Albanian girl.
Back in North America, the Canadian government agreed to prohibit until next June all low level supersonic flights by NATO aircraft over the Indian hunting grounds in Labrador and upper Quebec.
Whether at home or abroad, American leaders are discovering that they must take seriously the sentiments not just of governments but of ordinary citizens if they expect to keep the welcome mat out when the U.S. military shows up.
For some our culture is already overbearing and regarded as destructive.
When military training is perceived to be conducted with little or no regard for the nearby populace, such training becomes a lightening rod for opposition to any permanent foreign presence.
It would be far better to reduce forces or even pull out voluntarily than suffer the embarrassment of being asked to leave, as in the Philippines, and have to scramble to make alternative provisions. But this requires a new look at a new world.

Korea solidarity with Vieques

Tue, 26 Sep 2000 15:04:55 EDT
Aloha Kakou
This article about Vieques is from one of the organizers of the South Korean demilitarization movement. She was recently on a delegation to Puerto Rico and Vieques where she spoke with Kaho'olawe activist, Atwood Makanani.
Kyle Kajihiro
AFSC Hawai'i

This is my article about Vieques

¡° Do not trust the US military¡±

Lee, Yujin (Green Korea United)

Until the early 20th century the once beautiful island of Vieques in Puerto Rico boasted its paradise to the world. But after 60 years of bombing the marvel turned into a living hell with environmental degradation and diseases caused by the US military. Recently a Green Korea United activist visited this island with a reminder of similar bombing problems in her own country in Maehyangri.
An activist from Green Korea United had the chance to visit Puerto Rico from August 12th to 20th thanks to the invitation from a peace organization called Fellowship of Reconciliation, which is actively participating in the peaceful resolution of US bases in the island of Vieques. 15 people from different countries and state such as Korea, Hawaii, Colombia, Panama and the US participated in this international gathering for the understanding, support and solidarity of the Vieques issue. The US marine has been operating the bombing site in this petit state since 1938. Because of the bombing drill and the stationed US bases, the people of Vieques had suffered from environmental catastrophe and military crime for the last 60 years. ¡°On the other side of the earth in Puerto Rico there was another Maehyangri¡±, said the Korean representative. Another Maehyangri, in the Island of Vieques With the population of 3.8 million the little island of Puerto Rico had been occupied by Spain and in 1917 it became a part of the US territory. So even in 1938 when the first bombing drill started and when the land was forced into requisition over half of the residents had to move, in exchange for a mere $20 without any protest whatsoever, to Santa Clause Island and to the US.
The Viequez bombing site became famous on the 19th of April last year when a young man named David Sanez was killed by an activated bomb while guarding the east guard post of Viequez. Enraged by the incident the residents of Vieques broke through the iron fence of the land that had been forbidden for 60 years and occupied the drilling site and went into rally. 200 residents raised 14 tents and named the place ¡®peace camp¡¯. The rally went for a year; they built temporary churches, raised cattles and planted crops. Some brave young couples would marry in the peace camp and many others would visit and encourage the people. Thus the US military had to stop the bombing and Viequez were able to be free for some instance.
But peace did not last for long. On may 4th of this year the US military proclaimed that they would reinitiate the bombing drill. The federal government agents and US marine arrested the 200 people rallying inside the site. But this instead brought world attention to the peace activist and brought solidarity among the Puerto Rican people. Peace activist from all over the world visited the Vieques. Religious people, politicians, students and intellectuals alike all gathered despite their diverse groups and ideologies. As an act of civil disobedience the residents of Vasquez deliberately penetrated the US bases and were captured. In the space of two months from April to June, 400 people have been captured. Even at this moment there is a tug between the people trying to enter camp Garcia and the police trying to stop them. Dr. George Fernandez and Lilio Marquez, both environmental experts from the independent party, stayed in the peace camp for a period of one year to make an environmental research in the bombing area. Instead of the beautiful floras, forest and diverse creatures of the island there were craters with a diameter of 50~60 meters wide and unexploded bombs and rockets, also old military wastes such as tanks and helicopters surrounded the island. To the astonishment of the residents of Vieques the results of detailed investigation on the weapons detected showed inert bomb, neipam, Agent Orange and even the much criticized radioactive bomb depleted Uranium What is even more surprising is that not only is US testing its newest of weapons but it is also making profits by lending Vieques to others.
According to Dr. Lilio Marquez ¡°Viequez is not only the bombing site for the US marines but also a military testing ground for new weapons for Venezuela, Great Britain, Guatemala and other NATO member states. The US is exploiting $80 million a year for lending Vieques to other countries.¡± The disaster brought about by the bombing of US military For the last 60 years the bombing has caused ! severe adverse effects on the people. The cancer mortality has abruptly risen since the 1990¡¯s, and in a research made by the Medical School of Puerto Rico the death rate was 27% higher in the Vieques Island than in the mainland Puerto Rico from 1985 to 1989. In 1999 Dr. Collin George from the Puerto Rico University did a research on the contamination of heavy metals on the 29 residents living in the Vieques Island. Among those researched 34% were contaminated with mercury toxin, 55% with lead, 69% with arsenic, 69% with cadmium and 90% with aluminum.
From the analysis made by Dr. Carmen Otiz of the environmental society in the Medical University of Puerto Rico, the reason for such a high percentage of cancer among patients is because ¡° It is due to the water pollution that contaminated the food chain in the ecological system caused by the military training that entered into the human body¡±. Toxic chemical matters that were bombed out during the military training are starting to erode and high explosives such as TNT and RDX were discovered.
After the research was announced the small Island of Vieques with a population of 9,300 were all ready to struggle for their rights. At a public hearing for economic development plan in the city hall of Vieques, on August 15th, the place was filled with outburst of cries and slogans regarding the evacuation of US military bases. Outside city hall there was a street demonstration with hundreds of people urging the US military to stop bombing.
After the original peace camp have been forced out, Robert Rabin rented a house in front of Camp Garcia and continues a new peace camp. The protest against US military base must develop into the identity movement of the Puerto Rican people says the staunch activist.
¡°Since Puerto Rico is a US territory most people, as an American citizen, are accustomed to the pension and social security system. Thus the majority silenced the Vieques issue while the minority suffered the consequences. That is why the protest against US military bases should develop into the Puerto Rican identity issue.¡± The peace camp is now filled with peace movement activists from all over the world. This place is seemed a lot similar to the Maehyangri ¡®Inhabitants Task Force Office¡¯. On the walls there are messages of encouragement, folding beds for those who work here and the displayed materials for demonstrations. An American named Iiolet Francis (19) who helps with the chores and the guide around, first participated after she came here as a tourist.
The Residents of Vieques spend most of their time on the anti-US base movement. Even the young children participate actively in demonstrations and cry out ¡®Vieques Marinano (We don¡¯t need the US military in Vieques)¡¯. This shows us how much damage the bombing has caused against the people living here.
The very day we visited the office, we could see for sometime children from 6 to 8 years old drumming and jeering at the US military car in front of camp Garcia. For them it was as natural as playing another game of toy soldiers. Another activist in the peace camp was Emma Mievas who calls herself the manager of this camp and who is also an activist for women¡¯s rights. Emma spent her childhood hiding inside a closet trembling with her elder sister while the US soldiers were searching for women prostitutes. But the misfortune of being born in a small country close to the US did not end in her childhood. Two of her sons and a cousin died of cancer and she herself, as she says with tears, had to go through painful medical treatment.
¡° Whenever dark clouds start to form in the east coast of Viequez, I start becoming afraid. I am very worried that my grandson and granddaughter will live their lives here. For sure, the US military should not be in this land. As the demonstrations became intense and international press were on the outlook, the Clinton Administration promised that if the public vote decides to close the site, then it will do so in 3 years time with $40 million for compensation. But the inhabitants believe that the immediate closure of the site is the only sure thing and rejects the proposal made. The overall public opinion is that they cannot trust the negotiation plan made by the US. Do not trust the US military Edward Makanani (47) who has been working 13 years to resolve the Kaholabi Island bombing problem, the eight biggest in Hawaii, has been chanting repeatedly to ¡®do not trust the US military¡¯, during the activities of the foreign representatives. The Kaholabi Island was sold for just one dollar to the US marine for bombing drills. The Hawaiians started a long struggle of 50 years and finally got the US to stop bombing in 1990. And since 1993 the US government has been investing $400 million on an environmental purification project. But the government project on the environment turned out to be a hoax says Mr. Makanini.
¡° When the contract was made with the US military we did not know when it meant to spend $400 million for 10 years. The US military after delaying 5 years started the purification project in 1998; even the trees that we planted were all dying. 50 years of bombing created a serious problem by causing soil and water pollution. With 3 years left from the contract the chances of environmental recovery is very weak. It requires immense amount of money and time.¡± Currently in South Korea there are 95 US military bases including the one in Maehyangri. The Korean government cannot do anything legal to the crimes and environmental damage caused by the military bases. In many cases such as dumping toxic fluid in Yongsan base, discharging of sewage in Gunsan base and oil leak in Osan, investigation was not possible because of the unfair Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA).
According to SOFA, Korea is not allowed to demand any compensation for environmental damages caused by the US military. The US has no obligations to build any environmental facilities within their bases. In these circumstances, the US military in returning gradually the non-military bases we cannot but think who will be responsible for the recovery of the damages done. If there aren¡¯t any environmental articles in SOFA the tremendous amount of recovery cost will have to be relied on the Korean government, eventually the people will be burdened for the financial cost. As it is seen in the Kaholabi case, the polluted land caused by military operations will take tremendous amount of money and time. Maehyangri should not make the same mistakes as Viequez nor the Kaholabi.
There are some similarities between Maehyangri and Viequez. For long periods of time the residents nearby the bases where the primary victims of noise, soil and water pollution. But they are not alone anymore because many people from all over the world are with them. Until the gun powdered lands of Maehyangri and Viequez return to their beautiful faces. Everybody should do their best to understand and help them in everyway they can. It is a fight between David and Goliath, and we still have hope.

Peace in Vieques (Paz Para Viequez!), Peace in Maehyangri! (Paz Para Maehyang-ri!).