And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: Fri, 18 Jun 1999 00:03:59 EDT
Subject: Vieques: "Yanqui Go Home!"
FROM UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE
FOR RELEASE: WEEK OF JUNE 18, 1999
COLUMN OF THE AMERICAS by Patrisia Gonzales and Roberto Rodriguez
"Yanqui Go Home."
'YANQUI GO HOME!'
That's not what's being shouted in the streets of Havana or Bejing
or even Kosovo. Rather, it's what Puerto Ricans may soon be shouting in
unison if the U.S. Navy does not halt its military maneuvers at Vieques, a
small, beautiful island off the coast of Puerto Rico. For the first time in
recent memory, Puerto Ricans of all political persuasions on the island and
the mainland are seemingly united -- behind that demand.
They are also in unison that the military return all of Vieques back
to civilians. These demands were triggered by the April death of Puerto
Rican resident David Sanes Rodriguez and the injuring of four others during
a mistaken bombing by an F-18 bomber, which dropped two 500-pound bombs 1
1/2 miles off target at Vieques.
But that's the least of the problems. If the residents are not
listened to, this could avalanche into an anti-military movement, similar to
ones seen around the world in places such as Okinawa and the Philippines, in
which the residents will want the U.S. military completely off not only
Vieques, but also the larger island of Puerto Rico itself, which is a U.S.
commonwealth. This, of course, would pose a serious problem for the U.S.
military, which has plans to move its U.S. Southern Command headquarters
(currently housed in the Panama Canal Zone) to Puerto Rico. The carrot of
jobs in Puerto Rico may not be enough when dealing with the dignity of a
people.
The Navy first occupied Vieques in 1940, evicting 3,000 residents
(half of the residents who were living there at the time) in the process. It
currently controls 75 percent of the 22-mile island, which is now home to
close to 10,000 residents. The uproar is not simply over the April deaths;
the Navy also admitted several months ago that it recently fired more than
250 uranium-depleted shells there in violation of federal law. Thus far,
only about 60 of the shells have been recovered.
If that weren't enough, there's a strong belief that there are
nuclear weapons illegally stored on the small island.
The ill will comes not simply from the military maneuvers, but also
because the U.S. military has historically been nonresponsive to the island
residents. This pompous attitude has greatly contributed to the coalescing
of this unprecedented movement that has the three main political parties --
always in bitter opposition to each other -- marching to the same beat.
While Ruben Berrios, Puerto Rican Independence Party president,
continues to camp out illegally (over one month) on Navy territory on
Vieques in protest -- both Governor Pedro Rossello and Resident Commissioner
Carlos Romero Barcelo have taken the diplomatic route. They recently wrote
to the president, telling him of their wishes that the Navy halt, not
suspend, its live ammunition bombings. President Clinton actually responded
earlier this month, with ramblings about Vieques being important to the
security of the nation. Subsequently, U.S. Defense officials named a panel
to examine whether live ammunition exercises should continue at Vieques and
to study the environmental, health and economic impacts of the military
exercises on the island.
The situation in Vieques is not too different from what has happened
in Hawaii, the Marshall Islands and other territories that have also been
subjected to bombings, nuclear or conventional, to the extreme detriment of
the residents.
One of the reasons the panel will not quiet the uproar is because
most people already know that commissions and studies are a sure way to
stifle protest. At the same time, there's genuine concern that the use of
depleted uranium -- which emits highly dangerous radiation and has been
linked to the Gulf War Syndrome -- may have been used in the past on the
island. Initially the Navy denied it, but later admitted their use. This is
of utmost concern because there are higher incidents of certain cancers on
Vieques than on the larger island, and the panel's charge doesn't
specifically call for a cancer study.
If the panel is perceived as a whitewash, can anti-American riots be
far-behind? What an irony. The people of Vieques/Puerto Rico are Americans!
COPYRIGHT 1999 UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE
For info on Vieques, visit these "Vieques Libre" websites:
http://www.micronetix.net/virus/vieques.htm
http://www.micronetix.net/virus/vieques.htm
* Both writers are authors of Gonzales/Rodriguez: Uncut & Uncensored (ISBN
0-918520-22-3 UC Berkeley, Ethnic Studies Library, Publications Unit.
Rodriguez is the author of Justice: A Question of Race (Cloth ISBN
0-927534-69-X paper ISBN 0-927534-68-1 Bilingual Review Press) and the
antibook, The X in La Raza II and Codex Tamuanchan: On Becoming Human. They
can be reached at PO BOX 7905, Albq NM 87194-7904, 505-242-7282 or
[EMAIL PROTECTED] Gonzales's direct line is 505-248-0092 or [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Reprinted under the fair use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html
doctrine of international copyright law.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit)
Unenh onhwa' Awayaton
http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
