U.$. attempts to buy end to Vieques protests

by MC17 and a MIM-led study group

The U.$. government, in an attempt to buy peaceful subservience to 
imperialism, is giving the Puerto Rican island of Vieques $40 
million in aid as part of the military appropriations bill signed 
into law on July 13th.(1) This is the same bill that gives funding 
to the Colombian military, infamous for working with paramilitary 
groups to torture and kill the Colombian people. This money is 
being given to Vieques as pay off to try to get the anti-navy 
bombing protests to stop.

The u.$. Navy seized over 72% of Vieques in 1941 and has used it 
ever since as a military training ground. Live-ammunition 
exercises have devastated the environment and economy of the 
island. After a year of protests following the "accidental" death 
of a civilian security guard on the base shut down the Naval 
bombing, on February 10, the Puerto Rican government, acting as a 
good lackey for u.$. imperialism, agreed to let the U.$. Navy 
resume military training on the island.

The $40 million is allocated for economic development of the 
island of Vieques and for a health study of the residents.(1) The 
island of Vieques suffers from a cancer rate 27 times higher than 
the main island of Puerto Rico as a result of the toxins the 
bombing releases into the environment.

This would be small compensation for the destruction of the island 
and the lives of the people of Vieques. But even the $40 million 
comes with more strings. The U$ Navy Secretary has to certify to 
the House and Senate Armed Forces Commissions that access to the 
Naval firing ranges on Vieques are not being interrupted and 
illegal entries to the land the Navy claims to own have ended.(1) 

The people of Puerto Rico have staged on-going protests against 
the U.$. bombing of their island including occupations of the 
bombing ranges. Over 600 protesters have been removed from the 
site since May of this year. Over 100 of them remained in jail in 
July for refusing to pay bail.(1)

A u.$. Navy spokesman put the following spin on the protests: 
"Most of these people have a political affiliation, and their 
cause has nothing to do with Vieques."(3) While MIM can't speak 
for the protestors, it is clear that they are taking a stand 
against the damage being done to a part of their nation by an 
imperialist military. If Gordon's statement is alluding to the 
fact that the protestors have larger goals in mind besides getting 
the Navy out of Vieques, then more power to them. For without 
dealing with the larger problem of u$ involvement in Puerto Rico, 
the smaller problems will not go away.

Even politically conservative Puerto Ricans are outraged at the 
u.s. occupation and destruction of Vieques. There were over 400 
cases pending against Vieques protesters on July 10 when assistant 
u.s. prosecutor Lilliam Mendoza Toro filed papers demanding that 
she be excused from prosecuting the cases. The papers filed by her 
lawyer stated "As a Puerto Rican, Mendoza believes strongly in the 
Vieques movement and feels that she cannot prosecute another 
Puerto Rican who is defending something that she believes in."(1)

President Clinton stated that the Navy will leave by May 2003 if 
the people of Vieques vote them out some time next near.(3) 
Clinton needs to wake up because the people have already spoken! 
If he had any true intentions of listening to their needs the Navy 
would have been pulled out a long time ago. The vote is being used 
by Clinton to postpone action. If it does occur next year it will 
give the u$ plenty of time to influence the results, as is their 
common practice with votes in Latin America. A vote will not 
reveal the people's true desires as long as the nation is under 
imperialist influence.

On July 12 the United Nations Decolonization Committee passed a 
resolution supporting an end to the u.s. occupation of Puerto 
Rico. The resolution stated in part: "[we] encourage the 
government of the United States...to order an end to the exercises 
and military maneuvers of its armed forces on the inhabited island 
of Vieques and to return the occupied land to the people of Puerto 
Rico, to end the persecution, arrests and mistreatment of peaceful 
demonstrators, to respect fundamental human rights like the right 
to health and to economic development, and to order the 
decontamination of the areas of impact."(1)

Passing a resolution that is non-binding and requires no action on 
the part of the UN member states is not going to change the u.s. 
position. But the global pressure against u.s. occupation of 
Vieques is growing as the Puerto Rican people remain steadfast in 
their vocal protest.

In 1975, the united $tates withdrew the naval forces from Culebra, 
another small island that is part of Puerto Rico, because of the 
powerful and united protests against the Amerika's presence.(2) 
The successful resistance to that occupation serves as an example 
that liberation can only be achieved by forcing the Amerikan 
military out, not by asking politely or electing the right person. 

This is why MIM talks about the importance of building a 
revolutionary party that can lead the anti-imperialist struggle to 
victory. The imperialists are organized and already well armed. 
The people are stronger in numbers but need organization and 
strategy to defeat the imperialists. We stand strong in our 
support of the protests against u.s. occupation of Vieques and we 
believe that this is a winnable battle. But we know that the end 
to u.s. imperialist colonization of Puerto Rico will not come 
until the people force it out in revolutionary struggle. 

Notes:  

1. Weekly News Update on the Americas, Issue #546. July 16, 2000. 
Nicaragua Solidarity Network of Greater New York, 339 Lafayette 
St., New York, NY 10012. wnu@igc.org.

2. Edwin Melndez ed., Colonial Dilemma, Boston: South End Press, 
1993, p. 61.

3. Boston Globe, August 7, 2000.