[CPEO-MEF] Navy Departs from Vieques

[Aimee Houghton <aimeeh@cpeo.org>]

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Navy Leaves a Battered Island, and Puerto Ricans
Cheer
By Dana Canedy

VIEQUES, Puerto Rico, May 1  For most of the more than 9,000
people of Viéques, the official end today of Navy bombing exercises after
more than 60 years was cause for an islandwide celebration of the
conclusion of a painful era and the hope for a new beginning.

"People are very jubilant," said Ardelle Ferrer, a 51-year-old
artist who has been celebrating all week and is building a sculpture in
honor of the island. "Everyone is so happy seeing something that
seemed so impossible."

Viéques officials were to begin four days of activities celebrating the
Navy's departure in the first minutes of today, but the party started
early when Gov. Sila M. Calderón arrived on Wednesday afternoon and
addressed already jubilant residents. Dozens of locals and residents from
the main island, many wearing shirts reading "Celebration of Peace
on Viéques," clapped and cheered when the governor arrived at Isabel
Segunda's town square to the sounds of a steel band.

"This is a moment of great happiness and profound emotion,"
Governor Calderón said. "Together, we achieved the end of the
bombing."

Surrounded by Puerto Rican government officials and 20 local
schoolchildren, Governor Calderón said the Navy's exit "marks the
beginning of a new era of peace and tranquility" for Viéques. She
said, "This is a triumph for all of the people of Puerto Rico, as
well as our brothers and sisters in the United States."

In an interview on Monday, Governor Calderón said that while political
pressure had helped end the exercises, President Bush deserved credit for
keeping his word to stop them. "It is a testimony to the president's
commitment to protect human rights," she said. Her administration
was setting aside $50 million for public works improvements here, she
added.

For more than 60 years, the Navy used a 900-acre firing range on the
eastern tip of the tiny island for bombing exercises. For decades it
insisted that the exercises could not take place elsewhere, because the
area offered a unique opportunity to conduct ship-to-shore gunnery
practice and aerial bombings.

The people of Viéques and the Puerto Rican commonwealth bitterly
complained that the drills were dangerous. The practice generated
international criticism in 1999, when two errant bombs killed a civilian
Puerto Rican security guard.

Thousands of people protested the exercises, including politicians,
actors and civil rights activists from the mainland. Under political
pressure, President Bush announced in June 2001 that his administration
would end the bombing practices today. The military will now conduct the
exercises in several southern states, including Florida.

Dámaso Serrano, mayor of Viéques, said the island was a safer place
today.

"Thanks to the unity of the people of Viéques, of the people of
Puerto Rico, of the people of the United States, we achieved the exit of
the Navy and a definite peace for the people of Vieques," Mr.
Serrano said. Still, he said a battle would continue to see that the land
was cleaned up and returned to the municipality.

Rafael Rivera Castaño, a doctor whose father, Antonio Rivera Rodríguez,
was mayor of Viéques from 1949 to 1973, echoed the current mayor's
concerns.

"We have to get working again," said Mr. Rivera, who believes
Navy activities are responsible for poor health among the island
residents.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., president of Waterkeeper Alliance, an
environmental group, spent a month in jail in 2001 for trespassing during
a protest on the island. Mr. Kennedy said the Navy's withdrawal was a
mixed blessing. "The problem is they're leaving the poison
behind," he said.

"There are tens of thousands of unexploded bombs," Mr. Kennedy
said. "Fish are contaminated, crabs are contaminated, seagrass is
contaminated. The soils are contaminated with toxins. The fact that
they're leaving the island would be great, if they would clean
up."

To view the rest of the article go to:
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/02/national/02PUER.html?8hpib



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Aimee R.
Houghton                    
            
Associate Director, CPEO
1101 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 1000
Washington, DC  20036
tel: 202-452-8039; fax: 202-452-8095
Email: aimeeh@cpeo.org
www.cpeo.org
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