[CPEO-MEF] (repost)Viques Digest 1/9/01

[bieke@coqui.net]

1)Informe de Reyes CPRDV     3 Kings Report from CRDV
2)Actividades 13-14 de enero de 2001        Activities 13-14

Report from the Peace and Justice Camp


Three Kings Day, 6 January, 2001


Members of the Committee for the Rescue and Development of Vieques =
(CRDV) and the Peace and Justice Camp (PJC) wish everyone great =
happiness and the strength to continue the struggle for peace and =
justice througout the world. We take this opportunity to thank you all =
for your support and solidarity during this past year of intense =
struggle and we ask for your continued efforts in the upcoming events to =
end the Navy presence in Vieques.=20


Last Saturday, December 30, we held a Christmas and New Year/New =
Century/New Millenium Party at the PJC, in front of the entrance to the
Navy's bombing range of Camp Garcia. Around 500 people, mainly =
Viequenses, participated in the party with messages about the struggle, a
militant picket in the street in front of the entrance to the base, a =
concert by the Latin American music group, TEPEU and by our =
guerrilla/contractor/carpenter/singer/song writer, Noel Hernandez.


The night began with the Peace Caravan through the neighborhoods of =
Vieques from 6 to 8 PM. A float decorated with a large, wooden Peace Dove
and anti-bombing symbols, moved through all the neighborhoods of Vieques
with the Rub=E9n Bonano Trio. The song of the night was PEACE FOR VIEQUES,
sung for two hours with the participation of our people in the streets who
came out to greet the CRDV Christmas Peace Caravan.




Three local merchants donated and roasted two large pigs at the PJC
beginning early in the day, while women from the camp and the Comit=E9
prepared lots of rice and beans, arroz con dulce (rice dessert), cakes and
other treasures of the holiday menu.


While Noel Hern=E1ndez sung classics from the Puerto Rican protest song
movement, Alberto "Tito" de Jes=FAs (Tito Kayak), appeared suddenly atop a
nearby lightpost, installing a Vieques flag in a gesture of solidarity with
the Vieques struggle.


On the 31st, another pig was roasted at the Camp, this one brought from
the town of Santa Isabel by Zayda and Oscar, of the Don Pedro Committee in
Solidarity with Vieques from the South Coast area of Puerto Rico. Minutes
before midnight, we began a ceremony at the PJC simultaneously with others
at Monte Carmelo and the Luisa Guadalupe Camp. The ceremony - a candle lit
for peace on Vieques- was suggested by friends from the =
Caguas diocese of the Catholic Church. With candles lit, we spent time
reflecting on the struggle, our individual and collective participation and
our strong desire to see an end to the military presence here. In a
specially prepared fire, papers with messages about things we=B4d like to
see disappear were burned.


On several occasions during the night people at the PJC felt the effects
of pepper gas, released from inside the military zone of Camp Garc=EDa,
just across the street. Between 10 PM and midnight and on three specific
moments, people meeting peacefully at the camp felt the burning in the eyes
and throat and the coughing generally associated with the use of pepper
gas, a favorite tactic of the PR Riot Police and the Military Police of
Camp Garc=EDa. People at the camp noted the presence of a military vehicle
upwind from the camp, close to the Navy fence, each time people felt the
effects of the gas.


At a special meeting of the CRDV last week, plans were made for the next
civil disobedience actions to take place in repudiation of the Navy=B4s
announcement about military maneuvers here beginning on January 17th. We
will carry out the Third Embracing of the Navy Fence during the weekend of
Martin Luther King commemorations, from the 13th to the 15th of this month.
In addition to the Embrace, a series of CD actions are being >coordinated
to denounce and block Navy exercises schedule for the next =
two months.


Since the establishment of the Luisa Guadalupe Camp, in the area where the
Navy attempted to build a new road using civilian lands, the Navy has not
tried to reinitiate the project. A constant, 24 hour a day vigilance has
been set up to warn the community in the event the Navy tries to start up
construction in the zone. During the first three weeks of the camp, members
of the Peace and Justice Camp and the CRDV as well as dozens of people from
the community keep the LGC running.


Military personnel on the other side of the fence that separates Camp
Garc=ECa from the LGC, have not stopped their harrassment with vulgar
expressions and throwing stones. Several nights ago, people at the camp
heard a series of gunshots and noted projectiles falling at the camp.


Our people maintain a firm defense of the right to use peaceful protest
against the imminent dangers that result from the Navy`s activities here.


On Wednesday, January 3rd, Tony "Mapeye" Rivera and his group brought a
beautiful Christmas parranda (concert) to the LGC as an expression of
solidarity and love for the struggling people of Viequese.


We now prepare for the long fight ahead to end the presence of the most
powerful military force in the history of humanity. We hope to have the
support of our new government and Governor. However, we must keep clear
what we have constantly stressed - we cannot trust the politicians, because
history does not allow that! It will not be the mayors, governors,
congresspeople nor the presidents that get the Navy out of Vieques. This is
the resonsibility of the people of Vieques and all the people of Puerto
Rico committed to peace on this "Isla Nena" (child island). We hope to
enjoy the support of our elected officials who work for us and whose
responsibility is to use the PR police not to protect the entrance to the
Navy base, but to arrest those military criminals who for decades have
practiced genocide against the Puerto Rican people on Vieques.


We remind all those interested in participating in civil disobedience
actions that this is the moment to make the sacrifice. The Navy plans to
bomb here during the next two months. Call us at the Peace and Justice Camp
to include your name in the list of our forces of peace for Vieques!


Actividades 13-14 de enero de 2001        Activities 13-14

(Warm greetings from Vieques.  Before the Navy=B4s threats to begin
maneuvers again here in mid January, the Committee for the Rescue and
Development of Vieques announces a series of protest activities and
preparations for the next civil disobedience actions.  Following is the
calendar for the next weekend).
=20
=20
SABADO, 13 DE ENERO
1:00 PM
ALBERGUE JUSTICIA Y PAZ
CAMAPMENTO JUSTICIA Y PAZ

          =20
TALLER SOBRE LA DESOBEDIENCIA CIVIL=20
(Workshop on Civil Disobedience)

CON EL PROF. CARLOS AL=C1 Y VARIOS VIEQUENSES CON "EXPERIENCIA DE CAMPO" =
EN LA DESOBEDIENCIA CIVIL

                           =20

7:00 PM
VIGILIA POR LA PAZ
CAMPAMENTO JUSTICIA Y PAZ

FRENTE AL PORTON DE CAMP GARCIA
=20
=20
ROSARIO CANTAO=B4 CON=20
(Rosaries set to music in PR Tradition)
DO=D1A NORMA SALAZAR Y DON TITE CURET ALONSO
UN ROSARIO CANTAO CON MUSICA Y BAILE AFRO CARIBE=D1O, POR LA PAZ DE =
VIEQUES=20
=20
CONCIERTO DE SOLIDARIDAD=20
(Solidarity concert)=20
AMERICO BOSCHETTI Y SU GRUPO, COLINDANCIAS
   =20

DOMINGO, 14 DE ENERO
11:OO AM

AREA DEL CAMPAMENTO JUSTICIA Y PAZ

                  TERCER ABRAZO A LA VERJA MILITAR -=20
CADENA HUMANA POR LA PAZ DE VIEQUES
(Third Human Chain vs. Navy Fence at Camp Garc=EDa)

                               =20

12:00      PARRANDA DE SOLIDARIDAD CULEBRENSE EN EL CAMPAMENTO JUSTICIA =
Y PAZ
(Christmas Caravan of people from Culebra in Solidiarity with the =
Vieques Struggle)



El 15 de enero se celebra oficialmente el natalicio del Dr. Martin =
Luther King, defensor de los derechos civiles y maestro de la =
desobediencia civil.  Rendimos homenaje a Martin Luther King con nuestro
compromiso de continuar la lucha por la Paz de Vieques.  Les esperamos en
el Campamento Justicia y Paz.

(January 15th is the official celebration of Martin Luther King.  We
will honor him with our continued struggle for Peace in Vieques)


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