[antiwar-van] Demonstration Monday noon U.S. Consulate: Oppose Bombing Vieques

[Charles Boylan]

      Demonstration Against U.S. Navy Bombing of Vieques

      U.S. Consulate 1095 West Pender Street

      12 Noon Monday, September 23rd


      Bring Your Own Placard: "US Navy Out of Vieques Now!" or "Stop Bombing Vieques!" "Puerto Rico for the Puerto Ricans!"


      Hear live Interview with Dr. Luis Nieves Falcón, Puerto Rican Human Rights Committee, on Wake Up With Co-Op!, 7:30 a.m. Monday, September 23rd, at 102.7 FM (Co-Op Radio)

      [Hear live Interview with George Gallagher, Scottish MP Glasgow-Kelvin, on Wake Up With Co-Op! at 7:00 a.m. on Wednesday, September 25th speak on the necessity to stop Bush's war on Iraq]

      [please forward]

      September 23, 2002 
      Take Up the Just Cause of the Puerto Rican People 
      U.S. Navy Out of Vieques Now!

      On September 23, actions are being held in cities around the world to present the U.S. administration with the just demand of the Puerto Rican people to get the U.S. Navy out of Vieques. In Canada, actions will be held in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Windsor and Vancouver. By demonstrating and holding pickets in front of U.S. embassies and consulates around the world, peoples everywhere are joining the opposition to U.S. military practices and experiments on the Island of Vieques, Puerto Rico which have been jeopardizing the health and life of its inhabitants for more than 60 years. Furthermore, the U.S. Navy base in Vieques is one of its main training grounds for U.S. wars of aggression against the peoples of the world. Today, as the U.S. prepares to unleash a devastating war against Iraq, joining the people of Puerto Rico in rejecting U.S. military practices and demanding peace is all the more important. 

      On September 2, U.S. armed forces started the second phase of current war games in Vieques in the midst of protests by non-governmental organizations and political parties opposed to the exercises. The manoeuvres are continuing this week by air, sea and land with the participation of warships led by the USS Harry Truman aircraft carrier. During the past week, a dozen people have been arrested for entering the target range trying to stop the U.S. bombardment of Nena Island. Several members of the Puerto Rican Independent Party and the Socialist Workers Party are under arrest. Last week there were violent battles between the U.S. troops using tear gas and hundreds of demonstrators. The protesters are demanding an end to U.S. Navy exercises because of the serious consequences to the health of the 9,400 inhabitants of Vieques. As part of the protest, a march is being held today that will end in front of Camp Garcia, the centre of the military exercises. In April, the U.S. armed forces deployed their war arsenal in this territory for 23 days. The struggle against the Navy manoeuvres has intensified since 1999, when a Puerto Rican civil guard died after being hit by a bomb. The island, located 11 kilometres southwest of the main Puerto Rican island, has been used as a training area for the Pentagon since 1941. 

      Actions on September 23 will include pickets and sit-ins in front of U.S. embassies and consulates. A letter will be delivered to U.S. authorities demanding the immediate cessation of the military practices and activities in Vieques. See below for the draft letter being sent by the War Resisters International (WRI), as well as the Resolution on Vieques adopted at the International Conference of the WRI held in Dublin, Ireland from August 3-9, 2002. 

      All those participating in actions may contact their respective local and international press in order to disseminate news on their activities. Details of the activities and photos should also be sent to the following press e-mails in Puerto Rico: 

      eferedac1 at etbyte.net 
      editor at estreladepr.com 
      primerahora at elnuevodia.com 
      amarrero at raycommedia.com 
      redaccion at elvocero.com 
      claridad at coqui.net 
      elpais at elnuevodia.com 
      gaud_estrella at altavista.com 
      sjstar at sanjuanitar.net 
      enrique.cruz at hmtv.com 
      wkaq580 at yahoo.com 
      aspropr at yahoogroups.com 

      For further information, contact Dr. Luis Nieves Falcóón, Puerto Rican Human Rights Committee, at the following e-mail: nazysant at caribe.net 
      Tel: 1-787-725-1463, 1-787-727-4561, 1-787-758-0315 or 1-787-579-0315 
      Fax: 1-787-723-9829 or 1-787-756-0315 

      For more information about Vieques' struggle for Peace, visit the following websites: 

      www.redbetances.com 
      www.viequeslibre.org 
      www.prorescatevieques.org 
      http://endi.zonai.com/archivo/vieques 
      http://vieques.bravepages.com 
      www.viequesvive.net 
      www.viequespaz.com 
      www.viequestimes.com 


      International Conference of WRI, Dublin, Ireland, August 3-9, 2002 
      Resolution on Vieques

      The signing participants of the War Resister's International 23rd Triennial Conference (Dublin, Aug. 2002), hereby declare: 

      1. Considering that in 1941 the U.S. Navy seized more than three-fourths (75 percent) of the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico and has used it as a military base and firing range ever since. 

      2. Considering that Vieques is a municipality of Puerto Rico inhabited by 9,400 islanders; that 72 percent of its population live below the poverty level; that the Municipal Government reports over 50 percent unemployment; and that the University of Puerto Rico School of Public Health indicates that Vieques suffers from a cancer rate least 72 percent higher than the rest of Puerto Rico. 

      3. Considering that Vieques has been subjected to bombardment from both sea and air for a long time; that the startling sounds of heavy artillery, missiles and low-flying warplanes are heard in residential areas and in public schools. 

      4. Considering that 80 percent of the American ships and warplanes that participated in the NATO military interventions were trained in Vieques; that Vieques is regularly used and rented by the U.S. to military industrial complex corporations; that Vieques is regularly used and rented by the U.S. to foreign countries for their military training; and that the U.S. uses the Vieques military basis to organize military interventions in other sovereign states as Panama, Nicaragua, Grenada and most recently Iraq, Yugoslavia and Afghanistan. 

      5. Considering that Vieques is the largest inhabited area in the Americas for U.S. military exercises with live and inert ammunition; and moreover, the only place where bombing occurs near a substantial civilian population, only 8 miles away. 

      6. Considering that a large scale ecological destruction in Vieques and the destruction of the natural resources of the island is the result of over half a century of bombing and experimentation with new weapons systems, including depleted uranium and non-conventional weapons; and that the toxic materials generated by the bombings harshly deteriorate the health of local residents, the children in Vieques being the most affected by these diseases. 

      7. Considering that since August 20, 1980, the Decolonization Committee of the U.N. has condemned the military manoeuvres and provocations of the U.S. Navy in Vieques. 

      8. Considering that the United Nations General Assembly has proclaimed the period 2002-10 as an international decade for a culture of peace and non-violence, particularly for the children of the world. 

      9. Considering that the people of Vieques voted in a referendum for the immediate cessation of all U.S. military practices on the island, the decontamination and the return of the occupied lands to the civilians; and that the United States Government has refused to respect the will of the people of Vieques democratically expressed. 

      10. Considering that the indignation and outrage over the United States military presence and bombing in Vieques have spread to all sectors of the Puerto Rican society. 

      11. Considering that a prolonged non-violent civil disobedience campaign started more than three years ago directly challenging the use of Puerto Rican land for military purposes and demanding the cease of military practices in Vieques; where the activists exposed themselves as human shields inside the firing range at the risk of their health and lives. Considering that persons from all sectors of society and ideological orientations participated in such acts of civil disobedience and peaceful resistance. 

      12. Considering that camping protestors inside of the firing range, who stopped the military activities for more than a year, were arrested by the military police on May 4, 2000 in what was considered a military operation and in blatant violation of their human rights. 

      13. Considering that activists continue to access the firing range as human shields to stop the bombing every time the U.S. Navy announces new military manoeuvres. 

      14. Considering that more than 1,500 protestors have been arrested and more than 800 activists have been condemned to jail for the period of up to one (1) year. 

      Therefore, the signatories of this Resolution: 

      1. Deplore the military manoeuvres activities and repression against peaceful activists struggling to end military intervention in Vieques and Puerto Rico. 

      2. Demand the permanently and immediately discontinuation of the use of Vieques, Puerto Rico, as a weapon range and to stop the military manoeuvres and activities in the island, including experiments with depleted uranium and other non-convention weapons. 

      3. Demand the return of all land possessed by the U.S. Navy to the people of Vieques. 

      4. Demand the ordnance clearance and cleaning or removal of hazardous substances and other waste removal of the land and sea around Vieques island. 

      5. Demand the restoration of the land for human access, assuring the protection of human health, environment and the right to development of the people of Vieques. 


      * * *

      Draft Letter of the War Resisters International: 

      September 23, 2002 

      TO THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT: 

      The War Resisters International, individuals and organizations in solidarity with Vieques, Puerto Rico, herein request from the United States Government to stop immediately the gross violations of human rights inflicted on the people of Vieques for more than 60 years by the U.S. Navy through its military practices and war games. 

      The undersigned organization firmly demands the immediate cessation of all kind of military activities, and inhuman experiments with depleted uranium and other non-convention weapons in the Island of Vieques, Puerto Rico, and decontamination of the lands; and the return of the lands to the civilian population for their economic, social and cultural development. 

      Peace and Justice for Vieques and its children NOW! 

      * * *

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