There
is a petition for certiorari before the US Supreme Court to hear the
appeal in the Vieques case, on behalf of over 7,000 Viequenses against
the US Navy for 60 years of bombing and failing to warn the people of
the dangers of the biochemical warfare they were using. We are
currently looking for organizations interested in signing on to an
amicus brief, so if you are interested, please reach out to me ASAP.
Gracias,
Natasha Lycia Ora Bannan
Co-Chair, International Committee, National Lawyers Guild
See also info at the bottom about how you can support Radio Vieques, a community-run station-under-development raising funds to broadcast information about the continuing environmental and economic struggles of the people of Vieques and Culebra.Also, see a different version of the story below with VIVID PHOTOS at:U.S. rattles Puerto Rico with bomb site cleanup planby Ben Fox / Associated Press / Oct 4, 2012http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2012/10/04/puerto-rico-bomb-cleanup-plan/1614149/
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) The U.S. government has a new fight in
Vieques, the Puerto Rican island that was used as a Navy bombing range
for decades.
An extensive cleanup of the eastern portion of Vieques is years from
being finished, but the government says it is ready to declare work
completed on a nearly 400-acre site on the western side that was used to
store and detonate expired munitions.
The former storage site was turned over to the U.S. Interior Department
and declared a nature reserve. Under a proposal favored by the Navy, the
cleanup of the area would be deemed complete even though about 200 acres
has not been cleared of munitions debris, some potentially still live.
That has sparked outrage among activists and officials in Vieques and
the main island of Puerto Rico who favor a complete removal of all
debris. And it has brought back some of the angry rhetoric that helped
force an end to Vieques' use as a bombing range in 2003.
"It's not a cleanup. It is an affront to Puerto Ricans that those
responsible for the explosives would refuse to remove them," Maria de
Lourdes Santiago, a vice president of the Puerto Rico Independence Party
and a candidate for the U.S. territory's Senate, said Thursday.
Navy officials say it would hurt the nature reserve by tearing up the
dense vegetation to clear the remainder of the debris.
Opponents suspect the plan may have more to do with the cost of cleaning
up all the debris, estimated at $50 million.
Jorge Fernandez Porto, director of the territorial Senate's natural
resources commission and a member of a citizen advisory board that
monitors the Navy cleanup of Vieques, said he fears a partial removal of
debris will set a precedent for other parts of the island.
"You found this clean, you can't just give it back full of bombs,"
Fernandez said. "I'm sorry if it's costly. You should have thought about
that before. Now you want to do the cheap version and leave the bombs
there."
A public comment period on the proposal ends Friday, at which point it
will be under review by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Before the area became a nature reserve, the military would dig open
pits and burn expired 20-milimeter rounds, and occasionally unexploded
rounds were scattered in the surrounding brush.
Under the plan favored by the Navy, the area that has not been cleared
of munitions debris would be enclosed by a barbed-wire fence to prevent
people from scavenging for potentially explosive scrap metal and
souvenirs, said Kevin Cloe, a manager of the cleanup project.
Other parts of the reserve would be open to the public, but the entire
area has long been designated as a natural reserve and the government
never intended for the public to have full access, Cloe said.
Trying to clear the entire area would do extensive damage to site, he said.
"It's a balancing act. There are no silver bullets. It would be great if
we could turn over the island, shake out all the bad things ... but this
is a labor intensive, very destructive operation," he said.
Vieques, which is ringed by clear blue waters and pristine beaches that
have made it a popular tourist destination in recent years, was used as
a bombing range from the 1940s until the government agreed to give it up
in 2003 after years of angry protests.
The U.S. has removed more than 16.5 million pounds of munitions, but the
cleanup of the old bombing range on the island's eastern portion is
expected to run through at least 2025. The full cleanup of Vieques, one
of the most extensive rehabilitation efforts ever undertaken by theNavy, is budgeted at around $350 million.*****************************************************************************************Artists for Vieques
Recording Artists contribute music downloads to build a
radio station on the Island of Vieques in Puerto Rico.
Dear Friend of Vieques:
Your solidarity was key to the success of the Peace for Vieques Movement that celebrated the end of US Navy bombing here in May, 2003. In this decade of post bombing life, the struggles continue for environmental cleanup, health for our families and community based sustainable development. The Committee for the Rescue and Development of Vieques (CRDV) played a crucial role in the peace and justice movement and now works on projects related to health and socio-economic development.
The Federal Communications Commission approved a CRDV petition to establish a non profit, educational, full power FM radio station on frequency 90.1 that would cover Vieques, Culebra and the Eastern region of Puerto Rico. We have until July, 2013 to begin transmission, according to FCC regulations.
Radio Vieques (WVQR) will be a valuable tool for all sectors of Vieques society as well as the communities of Culebra, Ceiba and Naguabo, areas also affected for decades by US military activities. Over the past two years the CRDV works with local municipal governments, academic and cultural institutions, environmental, labor, women and youth groups, among others, to help shape the nature of RV and identify human resources needed.
To build the facilities - antenna (on nearby island of Culebra) and studio (Vieques) - we need to raise around one hundred thousand dollars. Technical advisors and help from important organizations in the community radio field like Latino Public Radio Consortium, Prometheus Radio, and the National Federation of Community Broadcasters, provide us with the necessary information to obtain the best possible equipment with a humble budget.
We appeal to your solidarity with Vieques at this important juncture in our history. Radio Vieques has great potential to become the leading mechanism for collective dialogue, dissemination, education and mobilization around crucial issues for our communities that seek recovery from half century of environmental, social and economic degradation. Your support for Radio Vieques will help us continue the struggle for a better quality of life now and for future generations.
In struggle, in solidarity,
Robert Rabin,
CRDV/Director, WVQR 90.1FM
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SIGN THE JERICHO COINTELPRO PETITION!
Free All Political Prisoners!
www.jerichony.org
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