People Power

Protesters blocked the United States navy bombing exercises on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques on April 25th, after they occupied the range and vowed to act as human shields. Vieques mayor was one of the first into the restricted zone. “You can capture and arrest me that’s for sure. But when you do, you should understand that you will have to jail the mayor of Vieques. I have no intention of defending myself in court, nor paying bail to win my release.”
The US has used Vieques, a small island with about 9,000 residents as a bombing range, including the testing of DU weapons, for more than 50 years and in 1999 an islander was killed during the bombing. Figures compiled 1990-94 show that the islanders are 27% more likely to get cancer than those on the mainland of Puerto Rica. It is estimated that since then the rate has risen to 52%. The US military have water for their own use piped over from the mainland to avoid contamination. For the Puerto Ricans this is a colonial struggle against US imperialism. Do send messages of solidarity.
Contact: Committee for the Rescue and Development of Vieques P.O. Box 1424 Vieques, Puerto Rico 00765 Tel. (787) 741-0716 E mail: [email protected]