The same day of the protest, U.S. president William Clinton announced that the military training will not resume on Vieques until next spring. Eric Jiménez, one of the organizers, responded to this statement. "The position of the people of Puerto Rico is that there's nothing to negotiate. 'Not one more bomb!' " he said. "Everybody is staying on the camps and we continue organizing."

At the vigil, several participants spoke about their experiences growing up in Vieques amid the bombings and shootings. Jorge, who now lives in Orlando said, "We've never been alone [in our struggle] but now, there are more people who realize that this is not only the problem of Vieques, of Puerto Rico, but of all Latin America."

Irving Forestier, a leader of the National Committee to Free the Puerto Rican Prisoners of War and Political Prisoners in Orlando, has been in Vieques several times in the last months and is going back again. He described how the U.S. Navy is harassing the people who are occupying the shooting ranges by flying low over the camps with their helicopters.

Participants came from as far as Miami and Plantation, Florida, and included a few retirees from the U.S. military. Several local TV channels and newspapers covered the event.  
 

Half a dozen members of the Latin Women Group of Brooklyn College were among the demonstrators. "This is not a Puerto Rican thing. What the U.S. is doing to Puerto Rico is what they are doing to the rest of Latin America," stated Carla Moscoso, one of the students.

David Cline of the Veterans Support Vieques was among the speakers. "As military veterans, many of us have had first hand experience with the Pentagon's callous disregard for the earth and people, including U.S. troops," he said, pointing to the Pentagon's use of toxins such as Agent Orange and depleted uranium in Vietnam, Iraq, and Yugoslavia.

Myra Esdepa of the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund stated, "After 50 years of abuse, it is time for the U.S. to get out."

The picket line was called on the anniversary of Tokyo's bombing of the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, during World War II. The leaflet building the protest, headlined "No More Bombs, U.S. Navy out of Vieques," included the demand "Tell the Navy: Remember Pearl Harbor." Danny Figueroa the co-chair of All New York for Vieques chaired the rally and called for a moment of silence to remember the lives lost in Pearl Harbor and in Vieques.

This pro–U.S. military slogan was not the dominant theme of the action, however. The overwhelming majority of signs and chants focused on the demand, "U.S. Navy out of Vieques!" Numerous passersby stopped and were interested in the action.  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home