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Church activists welcome US Navy plan to leave Vieques
Episcopal News Service
Issue:
Section:
2003-036-3
Posted: Wednesday, February 19, 2003
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The announced departure of a US Navy military base from the small Puerto Rican island of Vieques has been hailed by church leaders and others who have for years protested against the base's bombing range. 'Thanks to the religious leaders who knew how to be authentic pastors walking with their people and defending their people, David has once again overcome Goliath,' said the Rev. German Acevedo-Delgado, a United Methodist activist.
The US Navy began its last training operations on Vieques at the beginning of February, and has promised to leave by May 1, having used the eastern third of the Caribbean island for military maneuvers since 1947. The navy, which is moving its maneuvers to Florida and other areas on the US mainland, has said it will turn the Vieques base over to the US Department of the Interior for use as a wildlife refuge.
A widespread coalition of Puerto Ricans from all walks of life, including church ministers, nuns, bishops and the general secretary of the Puerto Rican Bible Society, as well as US Congressmen, had steadfastly opposed the naval base on the 37-kilometer-long island, which has a population of about 9,000. Tens of thousands of protesters have taken part in demonstrations against the base, and about 1500 have been arrested in the past four years. Protesters often occupied the bombing beaches until US marshals and troops dragged them off. On one occasion, an ecumenical chapel was built on the bombing range, only to be torn down when military forces retook the area.
Residents of the island, part of the United States Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, are worried the navy is leaving them to deal with an environmental mess, and have demanded that the US government clean up any toxic remnants of military exercises. Decades of bombing have left islanders with elevated cancer rates, say the residents, who are concerned that the military's legacy of depleted uranium shells and heavy metals will leave them suffering for years. A Pentagon report has confirmed that the navy also tested chemical weapons simulants on the island in the 1960s, news agencies reported on Wednesday.
After six decades of vicious feuds with the navy, Vieques residents are skeptical about the military's exit. 'We do not trust the navy or the federal government, so we will be steadfast in our struggle, attentive to any plan to continue using and abusing Vieques,' said Nilda Medina, spokesperson for the Committee for the Rescue and Development of Vieques, which has been campaigning against the military exercises.
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