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EDITORIAL
DAYTON DAILY NEWS
PUERTO RICANS TO DECIDE VIEQUES' FATE
May 8, 2000
Copyright © 2000 DAYTON DAILY NEWS. All Rights Reserved.
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EDITORIAL
THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
VOTE FOR VIEQUES
May 7, 2000
Copyright © 2000 THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, INC. All Rights
Reserved.
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EDITORIAL
SUN-SENTINEL, FT. LAUDERDALE
PEACEFUL END TO PROTEST
May 5, 2000
Copyright © 2000 THE SUN-SENTINAL. All Rights Reserved.
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THE PEACEFUL REMOVAL OF MORE than 200 protesters from Vieques
Island in Puerto Rico this week shows that violence doesn't have
to be the result when government and its citizens clash. Credit
goes to both the U.S. Justice Department and the demonstrators.
Federal agents made special efforts to avoid threatening language
and gestures. And protesters remained calm as U.S. marshals placed
plastic handcuffs on their wrists and led them away.
Yet the forced end of the yearlong demonstration does not
address Puerto Rican discontent about the military exercises
at the U.S. Navy bombing range on Vieques .
But that festering issue may come to a head soon. Puerto Rico
plans to hold a referendum on Vieques - part of an agreement
reached last year between President Clinton and Puerto Rican
Gov. Pedro Rossello. If voters support discontinuing military
exercises, the base will be closed by May 1, 2003. If not, the
base will be allowed to use live ammunition again, and Vieques
would receive $50 million in extra federal aid.
Puerto Ricans are patriotic and not anti-military, says Jose
Davila, who is on the board of the Puerto Rican Cultural Society
of Dayton. But most strongly oppose continued use of Vieques
for military exercises.
For about 60 years, Vieques - off Puerto Rico 's east coast
- has been a U.S. and NATO training ground. The Navy controls
the most fertile grounds of Vieques , protesters say, and its
military exercises have damaged coral reefs, ruined fishing grounds,
stunted economic development and caused health problems for islanders.
Yet Puerto Ricans have had virtually no say in how the Navy
uses Vieques .
The current protest was triggered when a Navy pilot launched
two bombs on April 19, 1999, that missed their target and killed
a civilian security guard. Puerto Ricans complain that they never
got explanations for this or other military errors that have
endangered Vieques residents.
Under the Clinton-Rossello pact, Puerto Rico must hold the
Vieques referendum within three years. Holding that election
as soon as possible could offset any building of tensions between
the mainland and the commonwealth.
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In a precise and incident-free operation, the federal government
peacefully cleared protesters from the Navy bombing range in
Vieques , Puerto Rico . In all, more than 200 people demonstrating
against the use of parts of their island as a military training
facility were removed.
In an impressive show of willpower, some of the protesters
had been at the site since April 1999, when errant bombs dropped
by a Marine Corps F-18 fighter jet killed a civilian security
guard. If the protesters truly want the Navy to leave, we recommend
they muster up the dedication that preserved them over those
months and refocus it on an upcoming referendum that will legally
determine whether the Navy remains. In the meantime, as a concession
to residents, the Navy already has announced it will begin using
non-explosive bombs instead of live ammunition when it resumes
training exercises.
The referendum could be held as early as August or as late
as February 2002. Should a majority of the people of Vieques
vote to allow the Navy to stay, the residents would see the Navy
scale back military activity to 90 days a year.
They also would get $40 million for health and environmental
projects and $50 million for housing and infrastructure improvements.
If a majority vote no, the Navy would be gone by 2003. End of
story.
Our own Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) was one of the protesters
arrested at Vieques , and he insists that protests of the bombing
range will continue. Why? A solution is already in place. Last
Thursday, federal agents were commended for their light touch
in removing the protesters, as were the Puerto Rican dissenters
for their part in keeping the situation from escalating into
violence. Unfortunately, the same results cannot be guaranteed
in future clashes.
Gutierrez, a veteran of the electoral process on both the
winning and losing ends, would be better off using that experience
to rally the people of Vieques to the ballot box. The referendum
is the only action that will decide the question permanently.
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The removal of dozens of protesters from a Navy bombing range
on the island of Vieques near Puerto Rico fortunately occurred
without violence.
The protesters made their point, and most allowed themselves
to be arrested or removed from the range without resistance.
They included a bishop, a local ex-senator and at least one U.S.
congressman. Federal marshals and FBI agents displayed a minimum
of force and the U.S. Justice Department is to be commended for
the professional and calm way in which it handled a potentially
explosive situation.
Now the people of Vieques , who are U.S. citizens, should
be given the opportunity to decide quickly whether they want
Navy war games to continue on their 52-square-mile island.
President Clinton has proposed a special referendum on this
difficult issue. This agreement was reached between the White
House and Puerto Rico 's Gov. Pedro Rossello last January to
end a civil disobedience campaign against the Navy. This campaign
began in April 1999, when protesters camped out on the military
range after an errant Navy bomb killed a Vieques security guard.
Not everyone in Puerto Rico , which includes the tiny island-
municipality of Vieques , is happy with this agreement. This
is understandable because many Vieques residents are fearful
that Navy bombing drills may be contaminating their community
and endangering their health.
The referendum would allow the Navy to continue target practices
with dummy bombs for three more years. Vieques would receive
$40 million from the U.S. government for infrastructure improvements,
economic development and environmental protection. Voters also
may choose to allow the Navy to stay indefinitely and practice
with live explosives. This option would provide another $50 million
for the tiny island.
This is not a perfect solution, but it is a democratic one.
At the very least, Navy exercises should not resume until the
referendum has been held. The U.S. government expropriated more
than two-thirds of Vieques in 1941 for military use. It is only
fair that the people of Vieques have a say in what goes on in
their back yard.
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