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A socialist newsweekly published in the interests of working people
Vol. 64/No. 38October 9, 2000

Marchers demand: U.S. Navy Out of Vieques
(front page)
 
BY HILDA CUZCO  
WASHINGTON--On September 23 nearly 2,000 people rallied and marched here to demand the U.S. Navy get out of the Puerto Rican island of Vieques. The mostly youthful marchers, in a festive and cheerful mood, came from more than 20 cities as part of a National Day in Solidarity with the People in Vieques. Joining the action were activists from Vieques who danced and chanted as the pleneros, a group of men and women, sang and beat drums and hollow gourds, leading chants such as, "Vieques Sí, Marina No."

Washington has used the island for live-fire training of naval and marine forces, devastating large parts of the island and surrounding waters. About 70 percent of its territory has been occupied since 1941. In the face of sustained protests and growing indignation by the people of Puerto Rico, the U.S government has asserted its prerogatives, saying Vieques is a unique training ground for its air, land, and sea forces.

The participants in the march arrived at Lafayette Park across from the White House from Alabama, Connecticut, Illinois, New York, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere. The number of high school students marked the action, with many coming from F.A. Edison, Hostos, Kensington, and Clemente high schools in Philadelphia. For many, this was their first time in a demonstration.

"Let them know that we are not alone with the problem of Vieques, and that we make this claim on an international level," said Ismael Guadalupe Ortiz, one of the featured speakers. "Let them know the fight for Vieques should never be sold out. We demand they give us Vieques back, that they meet their promises, and that they give us Vieques back clean" from effects of the decades-long occupation and use by U.S. military forces.

Puerto Ricans and supporters were angered when a bomb exploded off target killing a civilian security guard David Sanes in April of last year. The killing sparked a wave of sustained protests, including some of the largest political actions in Puerto Rico in some years. In order to diffuse the growing pressure demanding that the U.S. forces get out, U.S. president William Clinton, together with the Puerto Rican government, decided to hold a referendum in which Vieques residents can decide if the military should leave by the year 2003. Another option being considered is for Washington to resume live-fire maneuvers for a longer time period in exchange for $50 million for "development" on the island.

"A big march and rally is being prepared to take place in Vieques on October 1," said Miriam Sobá, one of the speakers from the Alliance of Women from Vieques, in an interview. "A fleet of motorboats will depart from the main island of Puerto Rico toward Vieques. The action will include civil disobedience with the participation of 1,000 people."

Sobá, a teacher and member of the Teachers Federation, said that her group organizes women who are professionals, students, and housewives to contribute their experiences in the fight for Vieques, not only in Puerto Rico but by traveling to other countries as well. Members of the organization have been invited to Japan, she said. In her speech to the rally, Sobá said that the U.S. Navy personnel stationed on the island are showing the same negative attitudes they did in the 1970s toward women.

The Washington action was one of several that will lead up to the October 1 demonstration. Others are scheduled for Philadelphia, New York, and in various cities in Puerto Rico.

Carlos Zenón, a leader of the Association of Fishermen in Vieques, also reported in an interview on the preparations for the October 1 action in Vieques. "Today we feel more committed to continue the fight for Vieques. This demonstration has been the biggest of its kind in Washington," he said. "Puerto Rico is not for sale," Zenón told the crowd.

Other speakers included city council Member José Rivera from New York, congressman Luis Gutiérrez from Illinois, and Mun Jung Kyun, a Catholic priest from the Coalition Against Bombing and Shooting in Korea. Kyun demanded: "Stop the bombing and shooting in Puerto Rico and South Korea! U.S. troops out of Puerto Rico and Korea!"

Around 78 participants were arrested after engaging in a civil disobedience protest at the White House, organized to dramatize the demand for the U.S. Navy to leave Vieques. They were charged with a federal misdemeanor, which carries a fine of $50, and were escorted to a bus in plastic handcuffs.

David Díaz, the president of CHIMEXLA, a youth group at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago, also marched holding a huge Mexican flag. "This is an injustice," he said. "The U.S. Navy is stealing everything from the Puerto Rican people." Díaz's organization is also involved in actions demanding amnesty for immigrants. The youth leader said that his group works with the Union for Puerto Rican Students at Northeastern, which is how he became involved in the fight around Vieques.

Betsey Stone in Chicago contributed to this article.

 
 
 
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