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THE ORLANDO SENTINEL
Rossello:
U.S. Navy Impeding Vieques Bombing Range Talks
January 9, 2000
Copyright © 2000 THE ORLANDO SENTINEL. All Rights Reserved.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Gov. Pedro Rossello accused top U.S.
Navy officials last week of blocking discussions with the White
House to decide the fate of a controversial bombing range on
the outlying Puerto Rican island of Vieques.
"It's a process in which I have to admit that the Navy
presents a position of inflexibility," Rossello said. "They
represent a serious obstacle in our coming to a fair decision
in the reclaiming of Vieques."
He identified Navy chief of operations Adm. Jay Johnson and
Marine Corps Commander James Jones as "divorced from reality,
of what this means for the people of Vieques, and in my estimation
they're acting in insubordination of their commander in chief,
who is the president."
Capt. Jim Kudla, a spokesman for Johnson, said the two officials
"remain committed to ensuring the combat readiness of Navy
and Marine deployable forces" and were willing to find the
best compromise.
"They support the plan put forth by Secretary of the
Navy Richard Danzig and continue to work with (Danzig), Secretary
of Defense Richard Cohen and the White House toward a solution
agreeable to all parties," Kudla said.
The Navy has owned two-thirds of Vieques since the 1940s,
with the island's 9,400 people living on the other third. Residents
have claimed for years that the bombing range harms the environment
and fishing industry, chases away tourism investment and even
contributes to a higher cancer rate.
The situation came to a head in April, when a civilian guard
was killed by two bombs dropped off-course within the range.
President Clinton proposed a compromise in December that would
have the Navy resume bombings next year, but only with dummy
ammunition limited to 90 days a year compared to 180 days of
live bombings, and withdraw entirely from Vieques within five
years.
Puerto Rican leaders rejected the proposal and have continued
talks with officials in Washington.
Rossello, a strong statehood supporter who has fostered ties
with politicians in the United States to further his cause, said
he believed the "Navy structure" was not following
Clinton's plan and had resisted Clinton's original plan to use
inert "dummy" bombs on fewer days of the year.
"In this place of democracy, the United States, there
has to be a civil power that has prominence over the military,"
Rossello said.
Kudla said the Navy officials are working with local officials,
and he pointed to Johnson's comments at a December Pentagon news
conference in which he said it was time to "get to work
on these challenges ... it's important to us and to the people
of Vieques."
The December proposal also includes a $40 million development
grant for Vieques.
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EFE NEWS SERVICE
Clinton
Reiterates Confidence In Vieques Military Officers
January 6, 2000
Copyright © 2000 EFE NEWS SERVICES (U.S.) INC. All Rights
Reserved.
Source: World Reporter (TM)
Washingon - U.S. President Bill Clinton has reiterated his
complete confidence in the two military officers blamed by Puerto
Rican Gov. Pedro Rossello for allegedly derailing an agreement
on the future of the Navy's maneuvers on the Puerto Rican islands
of Vieques.
"The president has total and full confidence in the leadership
and judgment of the head of naval operations and the commandant,"
National Security Council spokesman, Jim Fallon, said late Wednesday.
Adm. Jay L. Johnson and Gen. James L. Jones have publicly
campaigned to allow the Navy to continue exercises on Vieques,
suspended until April in the wake of the protests that resulted
following the accidental bombing in 1999 of a control tower in
which a civilian security guard was killed.
Clinton said in December that the exercises, which have been
conducted for 60 years, would resume in March despite the opposition
of dozens of Puerto Ricans determined to stop them.
The Puerto Rican governor on Wednesday accused Johnson and
Jones of "military insubordination" and criticized
their "irrational insistence" that the Navy renew maneuvers.
Spokesman Fallon said the White House will continue trying
to find a solution satisfactory to everybody.
"While the negotiating process continues, it does not
help for there to be public comments that undermine the confidence
of either side," Fallon said.
"The president maintains his commitment to continuing
a process toward a solution that fulfills the training needs
of the Navy, our national security and heeds the concerns of
the people of Puerto Rico," Fallon said.
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