MIM Notes 193 
September 1, 1999

Activist arrested for opposing Puerto Rican colonialism

by MIM

Boston, MA -- On August 1 at the Annual Puerto Rican Festival, a 
member of Latinos for Social Change (LFSC) was arrested for 
protesting against the u.s. colonial occupation of Puerto Rico.

This year's festival was dedicated to the 65th Regiment of the U.S. 
Army, which was composed mostly of Puerto Rican soldiers. The 
festival received public funds. Organizers advertised the festival 
in the local newspaper and held the even on a public sidewalk.

Some attended the festival to put forward an anti-imperialist 
stance. Festival organizers called Amerikan police to arrest the 
anti-imperialists. This showed that the organizers work in service 
of their colonial masters. Those who called the police are Puerto 
Rican by birth but Amerikkkan training.

The police arrested LFSC member Steve Fernandez. He told MIM 
Notes: "What we were doing in no way represented a protest of the 
recognition of the loss and sacrifice of the Puerto Rican soldiers 
or veterans. Rather, we sought by our presence, to decry the use 
and abuse of these individuals by the U.S. military. We were 
present, as were many others. Yet we were singled out for police 
action because we were denouncing the atrocities committed by the 
U.S. military upon the people of Puerto Rico and the world, and 
upon the very soldiers who participate in it."

Protesters carried a banner that read: "Puerto Rico: Bomba y 
Plena" and "Colonia Basta Ya!" with pictures of a huge black 
uranium bomb and the slogan "USA - Uranio - Vieques."(1) 
Apparently this banner was enough to justify the charge of 
disorderly conduct against Fernandez.

Within the u.$. freedom of speech is often denied to those who 
fight against imperialism and colonialism. But the protester won 
in this case of blatant violation of u.$. freedom of speech laws. 
As he told MIM Notes about his arraignment: "I did not want to 
plead either guilty or not guilty, rather I wanted to make the 
point that the arrest was not warranted, thus should not be 
legitimized with a plea. When I was called up, I asked the judge 
if I could address her. I then pointed out that I was singled out 
solely because I drew attention to the U.S. illegitimate colonial 
domination over Puerto Rico. I stated that this was a violation of 
my free speech and I requested the dismissal of all charges. She 
agreed and the charges were dropped."

Amerikan occupation must end

Recent results of u.$. terrorism have strengthen Puerto Rican 
unity against the u.$. occupation. In particular, Puerto Rican 
masses are demanding an end to the military occupation of Vieques, 
a small island off the coast of Puerto. Vieques is a key location 
for u.$. war preparations. Since July, more than 30 people have 
occupied the naval camp on Vieques. The protesters are demanding 
that the u.$. military leave the island. Their protest continues 
at press time.

The u.$. military occupies the majority of Vieques with its base 
and uses the island for target practice. Recently, an Amerikkkan 
jet dropped two bombs during target practice there. Amerika killed 
a civilian security guard and injured four others when its bombs 
landed one and a half miles from the intended target. Another bomb 
exploded off-target this past July. It landed in the middle of 
Puerto Rico in Coamo, creating a large crater.

Last February, u.$. military pilots fired 263 shells tipped with 
Depleted Uranium (DU). Depleted Uranium, a radioactive substance 
with a half-life of 4.5 billion years, has been shown to cause 
lasting damage to humans. Amerika's use of used Depleted Uranium 
bombs against Iraq has been linked to birth defects. Already, the 
cancer rate on Vieques is inexplicably 26% higher than the 
mainland rates and the health situation is only made worse by the 
presence of depleted uranium.

The Amerikan government typically dismisses such explosions as 
"accidents" -- or denies them altogether. MIM recognizes these so-
called accidents as a direct and conscious result of imperialist 
and militarist occupation. The united snakes dismisses the death 
and destruction surrounding u.$. military bases just as it 
dismisses the slaughter of civilians during bombing raids as 
collateral damage. Death of civilians is inconsequential to 
Amerika as it maneuvers to increase its economic and military 
power.

Amerika also rents out the training facility at Vieques to foreign 
militaries. The rent payments go to the u.$. government; the 
Puerto Rican people are only given toxic waste.

Demonstrations, like the one by Latinos for Social Change are 
particularly important in light of the struggle to kick the united 
snakes out of Vieques. As LFSC stated in a press release following 
the arrest: "Our objective was to denounce the colonial status of 
Puerto Rico and the use, since 1941, of the Island of Vieques as 
an air-to-land target practice field with live ammunition. 
According to recent reports, the U.S. Navy has used depleted 
uranium and napalm bombs in Vieques."

LFSC correctly opposes Puerto Rican participation in the u.$. 
military: "LFSC recognizes the fact that the Puerto Ricans who 
have joined the U.S. Army do so by force or under great pressure. 
The colonial status of Puerto Rico becomes clearer in this case. 
We believe it is unfortunate that so many Puerto Rican soldiers 
have died fighting to defend the interests of their colonial 
masters."

LFSC points out that this participation is not something to 
celebrate. Some Puerto Ricans, both in the u.$. and in Puerto 
Rico, consider it progress to be honoring Puerto Ricans who served 
in the Amerikan army. LFSC responds to these people pointing out 
that "This ... assumes that Puerto Rico legitimately is part of 
the United States and that the country of Puerto Ricans is the 
USA. It also assumes that the wars against Korea and Vietnam were 
wars to defend democracy. LFSC strongly rejects both principles. 
The U.S. invaded Puerto Rico in 1898 and even the United Nations 
has stated that it is a colony. The wars in which the U.S. has 
forced Puerto Ricans to fight were wars of imperialist 
aggression."

MIM condemns u.$. military aggression against Puerto Rico and the 
use of police and the criminal injustice system within u.$. 
borders as a tool of social control, oppression and political 
repression. We fight against the repression of activists and also 
demand that the u.$. end its occupation of Puerto Rico. The people 
of Puerto Rico have a right to national self-determination free 
from economic, military and political domination by the united 
snakes of amerika.

Note: Bomb and Plena are two folk Puerto Rican dances. "Colonia 
Basta Ya!" means Colony. Enough is Enough!.