The strike and protest won the support of the electrical and water workers union, as well as 90 percent of municipal workers and teachers, according to the Puerto Rican daily El Nuevo Día.

"We want to demonstrate that our people are determined and that the campaign against the military presence in Vieques has not stopped," said Robert Rabin of the Committee for the Rescue and Development of Vieques, one of the groups organizing the strike.

Before the march began, participants circulated a petition to U.S. President George Bush requesting the U.S. Navy to leave the island as soon as possible and to respect the results of the referendum held July 29. In that vote, organized by the Puerto Rican government to counter a planned November referendum foisted on the people of Vieques by Washington, 68 per cent cast their ballot in favor of the Navy's immediate departure. The two other choices would have allowed the Navy to remain in the island indefinitely, or to leave in May 2003, as had been agreed to by the Clinton government and a previous administration in Puerto Rico.

The general strike was called in response to a U.S. Navy exercise that began September 24 and involves several weeks of bombing and mock invasions. Following the September 11 attacks in New York and Washington, some organizations on the island had called off civil disobedience actions in which protesters had planned to enter restricted areas on the base ahead of and during the naval maneuvers.

On the day of the strike, Alejandro Torres, Héctor Pesquera of the Hostos National Congress, and others announced at a press conference a series of protest activities over the coming weeks to demand an immediate and permanent end to the bombings even if the Navy doesn't withdraw until 2003.

Leaders of the struggle in Vieques announced a breach that day in the moratorium on civil disobedience actions. Two boats had entered a restricted area during military exercises near the island and had fired two flares at a SH-3 Sea King helicopter that was following them.

In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, as part of Washington's imperialist offensive at home and abroad, the U.S. rulers have tried to justify the Navy's use of the island for its war preparations and to leave open the final departure date for the military. The U.S. colonial rulers also see this as an opportunity to cancel the referendum scheduled for November 6. Many residents of the island view the referendum as an insult and a sign of Washington's refusal to accept the results of last July's vote.

In an October 6 ruling on a case filed by a group of fishermen from Vieques, a Puerto Rican judge prohibited the printing of the ballots for the November 6 referendum. The fishermen claimed in their suit that the referendum was unconstitutional because it violated the rights of voters and allowed for the disbursement of funds without legislative approval.

"Many people in Vieques are very happy [with the decision], because they understand that the people have already decided," said Myriam Sobá from the group Vieques for Peace Now. "If the U.S. government doesn't accept that decision, that's another story."  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home