------------------------- Via Workers World News Service Reprinted from the Jan. 16, 2003 issue of Workers World newspaper -------------------------
PUERTO RICANS WANT U.S. NAVY OUT: BOMBING PRACTICE IN VIEQUES REIGNITES STRUGGLE By Berta Joubert While children on the island of Vieques in Puerto Rico played with toys received on the traditional Three Kings holiday on Jan. 6, the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt was heading toward the island from its base in Norfolk, Va., to begin military exercises. This practice for war had been scheduled for the latter part of January, but was suddenly moved forward so the battleship group could be deployed in the Gulf by the end of the month. The announcement of the change, made in the middle of December, has incensed the people of Vieques and Puerto Rico, who have been struggling to get the U.S. Navy out. As soon as the Committee for the Rescue and Development of Vieques heard of it, it sent a message saying in part: "Comptuex 03-2: 13 Jan -10 Feb. 2003. That is the ominous title of the next war exercises with which the U.S. Navy threatens our people during this Christmas-Three Kings period. We ask for peace and the Navy brings us war. We demand justice and the U.S. government--every day more militarized--imposes upon us a Navy dictatorship. "At different moments over the next two months, warplanes, submarines and warships will attack us again--and our people will respond in defense of our right to live in peace. Our people will be in the firing range when Navy cannons shoot. Our people will be in the firing range when bombing from jets begins. Our people will be walking and working the disobedience on military roads while the Navy patrols during these next maneuvers." Referring to encampments set up by the movement opposed to the use of Vieques as a huge firing range, the statement continues, "Entire Viequense families will be at the Peace and Justice Camp, the Milivy Camp and the Luisa Guadalupe Camp. At Monte Carmelo, there will be constant action. In boats, our men of the sea will be 'fishing for dignity.'" Since the announcement, preparations for actions repudiating the U.S. war moves have been in high gear in Vieques and in the rest of Puerto Rico. Civil disobedience training workshops are being conducted. In December, dozens of activists began staying at Cayo La Yayi, a key close to the firing zone. They have vowed to stay put after the exercises start. As an augur of things to come, in the early hours of the new year activists tore down close to 500 feet of the fence encircling the U.S. Navy's Camp Garcia Naval Base on Vieques. Even Puerto Rico's governor, Sila Calderon, has written to President George W. Bush calling the plan "patently offensive" and saying she is "extremely disappointed and concerned." The Pentagon at this point admits that it is committed to leave Vieques in four months, according to spokesperson Dawn Cutler. However, the White House has sent no official, written response to the 48 members of the U.S. House of Representatives who have sent letters to Bush expressing their concern over the situation of Vieques and requesting his prompt, official action guaranteeing the U.S. Navy's departure from the island municipality by May 2003. The people will continue the struggle until the Navy leaves. The Vieques committee's message ends: "We invite you all to celebrate with us the beginning of a new year with acts of love and against violence, actions for peace against war. Say no to war in Vieques! No to war in Iraq! No to war in Palestine-Israel! PEACE! PEACE! PEACE!" - END - (Copyright Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but changing it is not allowed. For more information contact Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe wwnews- [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe [EMAIL PROTECTED] Support the voice of resistance http://www.workers.org/orders/donate.php) ------------------ This message is sent to you by Workers World News Service. To subscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To switch to the DIGEST mode, E-mail to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Send administrative queries to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
