The testimony was dominated by the struggle that has become the center of politics on the island today, as well as an issue in U.S. politics--the mass movement demanding that Washington halt the bombing practice on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques and end the Navy's occupation of that territory.

At the end of the day's testimony, the 24-member committee adopted a resolution, introduced by the revolutionary government of Cuba, reaffirming "the inalienable right of the people of Puerto Rico to self-determination and independence." It was the second year in a row that the committee adopted such a resolution by consensus.

Presenting the resolution, Cuban ambassador Bruno Rodríguez called on Washington to immediately halt the war training on Vieques. In addition, the resolution demands the return of land occupied by the U.S. Navy and an end to the arrests and harassment of anti-Navy protesters, as well as the release of six longstanding pro-independence political prisoners currently in U.S. prisons.

The adoption of the resolution was considered a particular victory in light of heavy behind-the-scenes lobbying by the U.S. government against it. In the end, only the representatives of Chile and Papua New Guinea announced that they would not "participate" in the adoption of the resolution, but they did not vote against it.

With the exception of a handful of speakers who spoke in favor of statehood, and a legislator from the ruling Popular Democratic Party (PPD) that backs Commonwealth status, those testifying connected the devastating effects of the U.S. military's occupation of Vieques with the more than 100 years of U.S. colonial rule over Puerto Rico.

"For anybody who could not understand the colonial problem of Puerto Rico, Vieques has provided the simplest and most dramatic example: the fact that the United States, consciously and completely ignoring our will, has insisted on a course of action that clearly causes harm to Puerto Ricans," said María de Lourdes Santiago, vice president of the Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP), in her testimony.

Despite broad opposition by the residents of Vieques, Santiago said, Washington continues to occupy most of the island, using it as a bombing range and ammunition depot since World War II, destroying the livelihood of fishermen, contaminating the environment, and contributing to a higher-than-average rate of cancer among residents.

Vanessa Ramos, speaking on behalf of the Association of American Jurists, pointed to the use of depleted uranium shells by the U.S. military. "This ammunition has been used on Vieques not only in preparation for interventions in Bosnia and Kosovo, but it was also tested [by Washington] before going to the Persian Gulf War and Iraq," she added.

Many speakers condemned the rough treatment by U.S. authorities of demonstrators arrested for entering the restricted bombing range in acts of civil disobedience. They pointed out the disproportionate sent tences--up to four months of jail--imposed by federal courts for what is usually treated as a minor trespassing charge.

Ismael Guadalupe, a central leader of the Committee for the Rescue and Development of Vieques, who himself has been arrested several times for joining protests on the island, testified while showing videos with striking footage of the arrests, including male military personnel who dragged handcuffed female demonstrators along the ground and abusively frisked them.

Edwin Pagán from Pro-Libertad, a New York-based organization, called for the release of the six current pro-independence political prisoners. The six were not part of former U.S. president William Clinton's conditional clemency order granted to 11 Puerto Rican independence fighters in 1999. Some of them have spent more than two decades in U.S prisons.

Highlighting another expression of colonial rule, Jorge Farinacci of the Socialist Front pointed to a recent decision by a federal court in Boston reversing the ruling of a district court in Puerto Rico on the applicability of the death penalty for federal crimes, despite the fact that the Puerto Rican constitution prohibits capital punishment.

Héctor Pesquera of the Hostos National Congress described how the U.S. Navy draws millions of gallons of water a day from the Río Blanco River, aggravating the water shortages faced by many working people on the island as a result of the colonial underdevelopment of basic infrastructure. In response, "the community has blocked [the Navy's] intake of water" from the river, said Pesquera, describing an ongoing guerrilla war between the U.S. Navy and local residents. "The soldiers come and open it up. And the people continue to exercise their right to self-defense."

Referring to U.S. president George Bush's announcement that the Navy will end its war exercises in Vieques in May 2003, PIP leader Santiago noted that the decision was made because Washington now feared losing the vote in a November referendum by Vieques residents, which was agreed on by Clinton and former colonial governor Pedro Rosselló.

Other speakers at the hearing included longtime pro-independence leader Juan Mari Brás, Father Luis Barrios of the San Romero Church of the Americas in Upper Manhattan, Rosa Meneses Albizu-Campos of the Nationalist Party of Puerto Rico, Rosa Escobar from Women for Peace and Justice in Vieques, Jaime Medina of the Working Group on Puerto Rico, and Martín Koppel of the Socialist Workers Party (see statement reprinted on page 7).

That evening, many of those testifying at the hearings spoke at a public event hosted by Pro-Libertad at Hunter College, attended by some 70 people. A featured speaker was Rafael Dausá, Cuba's alternate ambassador to the United Nations, who underscored revolutionary Cuba's consistent support to the struggle for Puerto Rico's independence.
 
 
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Puerto Rico independence: stakes for workers  
 
 
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