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Say "No Mas" to Militarism and Colonialism: Na
vy Out of Vieques Now!
- Mario Hardy, CCCO Third World Outreach Coordinator
In August I participated in an international delegation to Puerto Rico sponsored by the Fellowship of Reconciliation's Task Force on Latin America and the Caribbean. The photo above shows many of us; in addition to activists from the U.S. mainland, there were delegates from Bolivia, Panama, Puerto Rico, Ecuador, Hawai'i, and Honduras.
More than a Half-Century of Destruction
Since 1941, the U.S. Navy has controlled three quarters of the Puerto Rican island of Vieques, as well as 200,000 square miles of ocean around it. On the western end ammunition is stored, while the eastern third is used as a bombing and maneuver area. In addition to their own bombing of this 33,000 acre island, the Pentagon rents Vieques to NATO and other countries for their bombing practice. In 1998, the U.S. government earned $80 million in rent. In recent years, the U.S. has admitted that their maneuvers have included both depleted uranium and napalm - on an island with a population of 9,300. Investigation is ongoing, but the high cancer rate in Vieques (27% higher than the rest of Puerto Rico) is looking less coincidental by the day.
Ecological destruction is another result of the Navy's activities. In his study "Vieques: The Ecology of an Island Under Siege," Professor Jose Seguinot Barbosa explains that "the eastern tip of the island constitutes a region with more craters per kilometer than the moon." He adds that the natural and human destruction violates international law and human rights.
The Navy has also historically monopolized the economic waterways, controlling the shortest point between Vieques and the main island. This 6 mile route is off limits to the Puerto Rico Ports Authority and all civilians, leaving only an 18 mile route for civilian and commercial use. The Navy additionally controls the highest points on the island, the best aquifers, the most fertile lands, extensive white sand beaches, and hundreds of archaeological sites.
The Destruction Continues
The Navy has only just begun to admit to its mistakes. In February, it mistakenly fired 267 30mm rounds tipped with depleted uranium - in violation of federal law. On April 19th, a Navy pilot launched two 500 pound live bombs from his FA-18 jet, missing the target and killing David Sanes Rodriguez, a civilian security guard, and injuring several others. In 1998, during Navy maneuvers, bullets broke windows of the public school buses parked at the Public Works area of the Municipal Government in the Santa Maria sector. Several government employees had to take cover until the shooting stopped. In October of 1993 another FA-18 fighter jet missed its target by about 10 miles, dropping 500 pound live bombs less than one mile from the main town of Vieques. The Navy admits to having used napalm on Vieques in 1993.
Basta! Enough is Enough
Stepping from a small boat onto the exquisite beach at Vieques, I understood what a local person had said the day before, "Tomorrow you're going to see God." The unexploded bombs, the depleted uranium-tipped shell casings, the craters and debris served as a sharp contrast to the enduring beauty.
Also remarkable for its endurance is the local resistance. Following the murder of David Sanes Rodriguez, several groups said, "No more!" They set up encampments in the line of Navy fire, rendering the military unable to destroy further. This selfless act of resistance has galvanized the spirit of the Puerto Rican people. Rueben Berrios of the Independence Party, whose encampment is set up right on the white sand beach amid the depleted uranium shell casings, pointed out to us, "One year ago, only about 13-14% of the Puerto Rican people would be saying, 'Navy Out of Vieques!' But according to today's newspaper, 73% of the population is calling for the Navy's withdrawal! Our efforts are helping people to see the truth."
Fishing is the largest and only industry left in Vieques. Yet it has been crippled by the Navy's environmental destruction of the waters and many of the fishermen have been physically injured by U.S. war games. For 50+ years, these fishermen have been among the leaders of the Puerto Rican resistance to militarism. Their encampment, Monte David, named for the slain civilian David Sanes Rodriguez, is built high atop a mountain overlooking the clear Caribbean. The bunkers and old Army tanks - built and supplied by the Navy as missile targets - are their homes and shelter. They have remained steadfast for over 140 days to date.
Meeting and talking to these people, and dozens others during our stay was one of the most moving experiences in my life. I recalled on the 90 minute boat ride from Vieques back to the main island, the last time that I was in a boat in the waters of the Caribbean. I was leaving my homeland of Cuba as a small boy, young, but I still remembered. To return to this region and view this destruction of life was devastating to me as a human being, and as a Latino.
Making the Links
Numerous sisters and brothers along the way acknowledged the irony in all of this: the military is using Puerto Rican and Viequense youth to assault their own land! Military recruiting in Puerto Rico is an all-out epidemic [see "Las Veinas Abiertas del Pueblo"]. This irony is recognized not only by activists, but also by youth, the elderly, and working people not identified with the activist community.
CCCO's Third World Outreach program has been invited to be part of an ongoing struggle to demilitarize the island in the classrooms as well as the bombing ranges. I will be working closely with organizations such as Caribbean Project for Justice and Peace, All Puerto Rico With Vieques!, Committee for the Rescue and Development of Vieques, and many others to counter not just the military's recruiting efforts but to eradicate all military plagues from the island nation of Puerto Rico.¦
For more information on the upcoming national speaking tour of Vieques fishermen, former political prisoners and anti-military activists, or for a copy of the delegation report, please contact Mario Hardy at (888) 236-CCCO or mario@objector.org or John Lindsay Poland at the FOR/Task Force on Latin America and the Caribbean 415-495-5628 or forlatam@igc.org. |