MIM NOTES No. 201            January 1, 2000

Puerto Rican people: U.$. Navy out of Vieques

by MC17

On December 3 President Clinton ordered a halt to all live-fire 
military training on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques after more 
than seven months of vocal protests by the Puerto Rican people. 
Clinton also ordered an end to all military exercises on the 
island within five years unless local residents agree to an 
extension.

This plan demonstrates that under imperialism, some reforms are 
achievable through mobilized action on the part of the people. 
After years of people complaining to mainstream political leaders 
about the Navy activities on Vieques were ignored, recent protests 
and occupation of land the Navy claims to own finally got the 
attention of the u.s. government.

But the imperialists will not give in without a fight. What sounds 
like a victory for the Puerto Rican people is really just a few 
small concessions while the u.s. government and its military wait 
and hope that the protesters will go away. There has still been no 
decision on what is considered "inert" ammunition, a type of 
weapon that it seems likely the Navy will be allowed to continue 
using on Vieques. Far from inert, these bombs are considered less 
dangerous than live ammunition because they do not contain an 
explosive unit. But they can still carry hundreds of pounds and 
kill people and destroy the environment. The depleted uranium bomb 
is considered inert, yet it is a tremendously dangerous weapon.

The Secretary of the Navy made it clear that the Navy does intend 
to return to training on Vieques. Speaking about alternate 
training facilities currently being used he said, "These 
arrangements will not provide training as good as that obtainable 
in Vieques, but we believe that not pressing the issue at this 
moment in Puerto Rico is the most productive route for resuming 
training in Vieques over the longer term."(1)

The Navy is also offering Vieques $40 million for an economic 
revival project. But in the past they have claimed that they can 
not clean up the mess, including live and dead ammunition, on the 
island because that would be too dangerous for Navy personnel who 
might be injured or killed by unexploded live ammunition. It is 
not clear what this money will be used for but the people of 
Vieques are owed far more than $40 million in back rent alone for 
use and destruction of their land. Currently the unemployment rate 
on Vieques is 50% and 72% of the population lives below the 
poverty line.

Even if the people win this round and the u.$. Navy has to give 
back the Vieques land that it stole from the Puerto Rican people, 
the colonial system which keeps Puerto Rico subjugated to the U.$. 
and denies the Puerto Rican people the right to self-
determination, will remain. This system of imperialism is behind 
the need for the u.$. Navy to occupy Puerto Rican land to train 
for imperialist attacks on other nations. And it is only through 
the destruction of this system that we can remove the u.$. 
military from the many nations around the world that it occupies 
against the interests of the majority of the world's people.

"Accidental" death sparks protests

On April 1 a civilian security guard was killed and four were 
injured at the Navy training facility on Vieques. The Navy dropped 
two 500-pound bombs on them from an F-18 fighter. The Navy says it 
missed the target, but we say the Navy should not have been there 
in the first place. This event galvanized the Puerto Rican people 
to take action and demand the Navy get out of Vieques. The Puerto 
Rican people have never been happy with this dangerous use of 
their land. The Navy's occupation threatens them directly with the 
possibility of bombings hitting the wrong target. The occupation 
indirectly causes many more deaths through the use of dangerous 
materials like depleted uranium that will have effects for years 
to come, and destroys the environment on the island of Vieques.

There are currently 15 camps scattered throughout the island of 
Vieques set up to prevent the Navy from bombing. Protesters have 
been occupying the territory the Navy claims to own for six 
months. Federal agents have been prepared to move in and clear out 
the protestors but public outcry in Puerto Rico and the u.$. has 
at least temporarily convinced the government that such an action 
would lead to a dangerous and uncontainable response, particularly 
in Puerto Rico.

The government of Puerto Rico, led by Pedro Rosell— a supporter of 
statehood for the island, is trying to take advantage of the 
popular outcry against the u.$. Navy presence. Rosell— placed 
himself at the front of the movement (after the protests were well 
underway and clearly had gained the support of the vast majority 
of the Puerto Rican people) and claims that he is representing the 
people in their demands to get the Navy off of Vieques. But the 
Puerto Rican government has a long history of collaboration with 
the u.$. government and military. Puppets, willing to do the 
bidding of the Amerikan government, use the position of governor 
to fool the Puerto Rican people into believing that they have some 
amount of self-determination.

Pretending to objectively study the issue after it became clear 
that the protests on Puerto Rico would not go away on their own, 
President Clinton appointed a four-member Pentagon review panel. 
In the end of September they recommended resumption of live-fire 
combat training on Vieques.

The history of colonialism on Vieques

In 1898 the u.s. invaded Puerto Rico, becoming its colonial master 
after nearly 100 years of Spanish colonialism on the island. In 
1917 Puerto Ricans were granted a limited form of u.$. 
citizenship, against their will, so that the u.$. army could 
recruit them to fight in WWI.

U.$. corporations currently control 90% of the Puerto Rican 
economy and even the United Nations condemns the u.$. for its 
continued colonial occupation of the island.

In 1941 the u.$. congress passed legislation to take over the 
eastern and western parts of Vieques as a part of mobilization for 
World War II. Civilians were forced into the center of the island 
displacing 3000 people, half the population. Many people were 
forced off their land and had to accept the prices set by the Navy 
as the Navy took over 72% of the land.(2)

The Navy base on one side of the island is used for live practice. 
The terrain is pock marked from bombs and has more craters than 
the moon. There is live, unexploded, and dead ammunition scattered 
all over the land. The Navy base on the other side of the island 
is used for storage of ammunition. Among the dangerous weapons 
stored there are uranium and napalm bombs.

Vieques is the only training site that the u.$. Navy has where 
they can practice water, land and live ammunition exercises. It is 
used to prepare for the invasion of many countries, particularly 
those in Latin American and the Caribbean where the attack by the 
u.$. military comes from the water.

In 1947 and again in 1961 the u.$. Navy tried to take over the 
entire island of Vieques but protesters stopped them. Currently 
the u.$. military occupies ten percent of Puerto Rico's land.(2)

The u.$. has a long history of pretending that they are going to 
take the Navy out of Vieques or at least improve the conditions. 
In 1983 the Navy signed an agreement with Puerto Rico pledging to 
change its practice in Vieques but did nothing. In 1990 the u.$. 
congress told the Navy to look for another place to set up their 
deadly practice. The Navy did nothing and the u.$. government did 
not follow through. In 1993 the Navy pledged to protect the 
environment on Vieques, but then did nothing.

Navy destroying the environment

In 1992 the Navy used Napalm bombs on the island. And in February 
1999 the Navy fired 267 depleted uranium bombs on the island. 
Depleted uranium has a half-life longer than the entire existence 
of the earth up to this day. "A particle of uranium one quarter 
the diameter of a human hair emits 800 times the amount of 
radiation a human body can tolerate for one year." The total 
uranium content fired during exercises on Vieques this year was 90 
pounds.(2)

The Pentagon also admitted that they used Vieques to store nuclear 
weapons between 1956 and 1975 without informing even the puppet 
government of Puerto Rico.(3)

The u.$. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced that 
it will not renew the u.$. Navy's water quality permit in Vieques, 
issuing a report that contained 102 water contamination violations 
committed by the Navy during its military exercises on the island 
over the past five years.(4)

It is no wonder that the cancer rate on Vieques is 27% higher than 
on the main Puerto Rican island. It is for this destruction and 
the theft of both resources and labor that the u.$. government 
owes the Puerto Rican people reparations. 

The only solution is revolution

The movement to get the u.$. Navy off of Vieques is, for the most 
part, a single issue movement. This means that the people are 
demanding nothing more than the removal of the Navy from one 
particular location. MIM unites with this movement in this 
important anti-imperialist demand. But we know that this battle 
must be an integral part of the struggle for self-determination 
for the Puerto Rican people and for all peoples of the world.

The u.$. will retain Puerto Rico as a colony even if it gives in 
and ends the Navy training on Vieques. The U.$. will continue to 
invade countries throughout the world as it desires to maintain 
world hegemony whether or not it has a military training base on 
Vieques. The year 2000 marks the 102nd anniversary of the U.$. 
invasion of Puerto Rico. This is an anniversary we must organize 
to celebrate by demanding the u.s. get out of Puerto Rico 
entirely.

While single issue battles like the struggle over Vieques can be 
waged effectively by a variety of progressive organizations, the 
overthrow of imperialism will only be possible with the leadership 
of a communist revolutionary party. Join with us to demand and end 
to U.$. imperialist domination in Vieques and the world.

Notes:

1.  New York Times 4 December 1999, p. A1.

2. Toward Freedom Magazine, Nov. 1999.

3. El Nuevo Dia, Puerto Rico, 27 Oct. 1999.

4. Vieques Times, September 1999.