[CPEO-MEF] Another View on Vieques

[CPEO Moderator <cpeo@cpeo.org>]

HC-01 Box 6615
Vieques PR 00765
July 6, 2001

The Honorable Gordon R. England
1000 Navy Pentagon 
Washington DC  20350-1000

Dear Secretary England:

I am a resident of Vieques, Puerto Rico.  I, along with many other 
residents think the Navy should keep training here.  A small group of 
protesters has waged a well-orchestrated propaganda campaign to convince 
people both here and around the world that there are serious problems in 
Vieques which have been caused by the Navy.  There is no evidence or 
reason to believe the exaggerations and lies these people have 
fabricated.  They have created hysteria here and throughout Puerto Rico 
with this misinformation, while their unsubstantiated allegations are 
reported verbatim by the media.  Because of a very small group of people 
who have no regard for the truth the United States and the Navy are in 
jeopardy of losing a primary military training area.  And no one, almost 
no one, seems to be doing anything about it.

Why hasn’t the United States sent investigators here to find out what is 
going on?  Why hasn’t the United States waged a publicity campaign of 
their own to combat the lies these people tell?  Why aren’t you fighting 
this situation?  Why are the President and his Cabinet basing decisions 
on rumors and unsubstantiated accusations?  The Navy is permitted little 
involvement with political situations such as this.

The media will not present the truth with the same coverage given the 
lies.  Many of us who really care about Vieques, including Navy 
personnel, have written to newspapers and television networks disputing 
what the protest groups have said - we have all been ignored.  Famous 
people come here for a couple of hours and quote the protest leaders 
verbatim without checking any facts; the media swarms.  Protest leaders 
are quoted without verification; lies appear as truth.  It is ludicrous.

This whole thing was started by a small group of Independenistas and 
left wing radicals who hate the United States and the military.  Others 
picked it up and ran with it.  It has nothing to do with the people of 
Vieques and the Navy.  It has to do with politics and greedy people who 
want the valuable land owned by the Navy (and the United States 
taxpayers).  They say the land was stolen from the people, but the US 
purchased it from plantation owners.  The people lived and worked on the 
land as virtual slaves, but they did not own it.  The Navy is not the 
problem here, though they should have been much better neighbors over 
the years.

There are several thousand Navy supporters in Vieques.  Others think we 
are the minority, but we are not so sure.  Most of the protesters are 
not from Vieques.  Most of the people who live here do not participate 
in these demonstrations; they stay home and quietly mind their own 
business.  When local protest rallies are held without the outside 
agitators, less than 100 people show up.  I am not sure what the count 
is now on a petition the Pro-Navy people have circulated., but at the 
last count over 2,500 registered voters had signed it.  That is a 
significant segment of the voting population of 6,400.  We are sure 
there are many more who have not signed the petition.  Many here have 
said they will vote against the Navy simply because they want the 
trouble the protesters have created to end, not because they want the 
Navy to leave.  There are fears the protests will continue until the 
Navy is gone even if a democratic vote says the people want the Navy to 
stay.

Recent polls and surveys indicate about 40% of Viequenses want the Navy 
to stay.  Other data shows that 60% of the population believes the Navy 
has caused cancer in Vieques - cancer which doctors have stated does not 
exist.  If a campaign were waged to present the truth on the same scale 
that the protesters have told their lies, we should be able to swing 
enough votes to have these referendums go in favor of the Navy.  If the 
United States and the Navy want to keep Vieques there must be some 
effort put forth.  Not up in the States, but down here on this little 
island.  This is the only place anything regarding this situation 
matters.  But no one comes here and little is done to support the Navy.  
Many Viequenses do not speak English or understand what is going on in 
Washington, nor do they care.  They only care what happens here.  You 
can sit up there in Washington and do all the talking you want.  If you 
wan to keep Vieques you have to come here or send people here to find 
the truth.  Use the truth to convince the people to vote for the Navy.  
Send us celebrities with more credibility than Al Sharpton.  What can it 
take?  The only thing that can overcome the protesters is the truth.

I have spoken at length to doctors, teachers, environmentalists, 
conservationists, and other living in Vieques who are familiar with the 
facts; very few think the Navy is the problem.  Navy supporters are 
afraid to speak out publicly because of what the protest leaders might 
do to them.  Violent retribution and destruction of property are very 
real concerns.  There may be health problems, but they are nowhere near 
as serious as has been reported.  The teachers who are not protesters 
will tell you the children are not sick.  Recent reports tell us that it 
is dust clouds from Africa which cause asthma.  If there are health 
issues here it is unlikely the Navy is the cause.  We have the brightest 
and bet bioluminescent bay remaining in the world, the only one that is 
not polluted.  There are many rare and endangered animals living quite 
happily on the Navy land.  The underwater life here is healthier than 
many areas of the Caribbean.  Coral, sponges, and anemone grow on Navy 
debris near the target area.  An extremely fragile environment exits 
here which simply could not exit if what the protesters have said were 
true.  

Please come down and see for yourself and then do something to help us 
to fight to save this place.  We are afraid that if this land is turned 
over to Puerto Rico greedy developers will destroy this island.  If the 
Navy loses this land it is vital that it remain a conservation zone - or 
becomes a National Park of some kind.

I am ready and willing to help anyone who seeks the truth.

Sincerely,

C. C. Robertson
briansue@coqui.net

cc: President of US, House and Senate Armed Services Committees, 
Secretary of Defense, Deputy Secretary of Defense, Secretary of the 
Navy.

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