VIEQUES, Puerto Rico—The people of Vieques today celebrated a future without U.S. Navy bombing runs for the first time in 60 years. Hundreds of activists who have been arrested over years of protests against the bombing practice on the island gathered at the Navy's Camp Garcia with thousands of supporters to mark the transfer of the eastern third of Vieques from military to civilian jurisdiction.
Although the memorandum of understanding concerning cleanup responsibilities and other issues relevant to the transfer of lands from the U.S. Navy to the U.S. Department of Interior is still been worked out and was not ready, the official document which transfers those lands was signed today.
The Department of the Navy has transferred all real property on the eastern end of the island of Vieques to the administrative jurisdiction of the Department of Interior as required by a law passed in 2001 and amended last year.
Under the law, Interior Department is required to develop the land for use as a wildlife refuge, with the former live ordnance impact area to be designated a wilderness area and closed to the public.
A fund of $2.3 million has been designated this year for the Interior Department to use in the protection and conservation of the battered bombing range.
The Navy will retain responsibility for the environmental cleanup of the lands it has used for target practice. The final extent and cost of the cleanup is linked to land use plans being developed by the Interior Department in compliance with the National Wildlife Refuge Act.
The Navy said today in its announcement of the transfer that Navy officials will participate in future decisions and actions regarding the long term environmental cleanup at Vieques. In addition, the Navy is demolishing and removing all temporary facilities and structures from the former bombing range.
The community organizations historically involved in the struggle to end U.S. naval activity, are demanding "ample and active participation in all discussions, meetings, negotiations, and decision making" related to the land on the eastern portion of Vieques. They want input regarding the transfer, decontamination and restoration of all lands, coastal areas and other natural and cultural resources impacted on Vieques by military activities, says Raul Max of the Committee for the Rescue and Development of Vieques.
Adequate funding for the "total decontamination and restoration of Vieques," is a primary demand of dozens of community organizations, as is clear, specific and unequivocal language guaranteeing no future military uses of Vieques.
New York Governor George Pataki, who administers a state with a large Puerto Rican population, said today, "After more than 60 years, U.S. Navy bombing on Vieques comes to an end today. This historic event represents a significant victory for the people of Puerto Rico, the people of New York, and Puerto Ricans throughout the nation.
"Two years ago, I traveled to Vieques and expressed my strong support to Governor Sila Calderon and the people of Puerto Rico. I have continued to fight to ensure a permanent halt of Navy combat training and bombing in Vieques for several years, by calling on the federal government and U.S. Navy to find alternative training sites to ensure our military men and women remain the best trained in the world," Pataki said.
"The celebration on the Island of Puerto Rico today echoes the sentiments of all of us who strongly supported and fought for the bombing to come to an end. I congratulate the people of Vieques and Governor Calderon. We stood together, fought for peace and won."
U.S. Marines and U.S. Naval Security personnel train on riot control techniques at Camp Garcia on Vieques Island, Puerto Rico, April 2002. The techniques were used to control hundreds of demonstrators on Vieques. (Photo courtesy U.S. Navy)
In the morning the people of Vieques staged a great march from the island's major town to the inner doors of the military base Camp Garcia and the entrance to the newly demilitarized zone. This evening a concert directed by Tito Auger was held in celebration.
Tomorrow morning the Vieques citizens will place a large cross on the former bombing range to commemorate the people who have died as a result of illnesses such as heart disease brought on by the bombing.
The celebrations continue all weekend with a Catholic mass of thanksgiving for peace on Vieques, as well as poetry, art, films and speeches, and visits to the local cemeteries.
On February 26, the Community of Vieques expressed its concerns and demands to the White House, the U.S. Congress, the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Government of Puerto Rico in a letter.
The community wants, "Active participation of relevant Puerto Rico government officials in all discussions, meetings and decision making related to the administration of the lands in the eastern part of Vieques as 'wildlife refuges' and 'wilderness areas' and discussions, meetings and decision making related to any possible "enactment of a law that addresses the disposition of such properties" as provided for by federal law," the community representatives wrote.
The community organizations' letter demands "complete and comprehensive environmental cleanup and restoration of all lands, coastal zones and other natural and cultural resources consistent with the community's historic uses of the eastern portion of Vieques that currently includes the Live Impact Area and Eastern Maneuvers Area and other elements of Camp Garcia."
The cleanup should be conducted with care for the future social and economic development of Vieques, such as "fishing, camping, hiking, kayaking, guided nature tours, other eco-tourism projects, cultural-educational and scientific investigation projects, agriculture, housing and other social uses," the groups wrote.
They are asking for funding by federal agencies for employment of Viequenses to provide adequate protection and conservation of the cultural and natural resources, translation into Spanish of all documents related to the environmental cleanup and restoration of the former Navy lands.
Until April 30, 2001 the west end of Vieques was also a Navy base where munitions were stored. At that time the Navy's property was transferred to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, including Playa Punta Arenas and Kiani lagoon. The Vieques Municipality received about 4,000 acres. The magazines once used for storage of munitions have been emptied. The radar area still belongs to the Navy.
VIEQUES, Puerto Rico—Islanders celebrated the end of nearly six decades of U.S. Navy bombing exercises Wednesday as the Navy formally withdrew from Vieques and activists prepared for their next battle of reclaiming lands taken by the military.
The Navy handed over 15,000 acres of land on the eastern end of Vieques to the U.S. Department of the Interior, the military said in a written statement. After an extensive cleanup, the land will become a wildlife refuge.
"We are here today to mark the beginning of a new era in peace and prosperity for Vieques," Gov. Sila Calderon said Wednesday to the thunder of applause. "It is a moment of great joy for we have achieved our dream."
Anti-Navy groups were calling for a mass invasion of the Navy bombing range after the handover. The groups say the invasions will continue until they reclaim the land.
Pulling large wirecutters out of their knapsacks, activists who once held anti-Navy protests rushed to help U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service workers dismantle a chain-link fence at the edge of the Navy's Camp Garcia.
U.S. President George W. Bush announced in 2001 that the Navy would stop using the island this year.
The eastern third will be administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, forming the largest federal wildlife refuge in Puerto Rico, along with 3,100 acres from a munitions warehouse on Vieques' western end.
But the Fish and Wildlife Service risks being seen as yet another group of federal interlopers by activists who stoked anti-American sentiments among 4 million Puerto Ricans, and who ultimately helped oust the military from the outlying island.
"These lands are ours," said Ismael Guadalupe, who has protested for years to oust the Navy from Vieques. "We don't recognize the right of the Fish and Wildlife Service to administer the land."
Guadalupe said activists will continue with land invasions to get land back that the Navy seized to make room for the range.
In the 1940s, the United States bought up 25,000 acres - about two-thirds of the island - to make way for a bombing range, forcing out families and farmers with scant compensation. Military exercises began in 1947.
Some in Vieques now hope the land could be turned over to Puerto Rican authorities, who in turn could use it for development projects. Unemployment runs about 12% in Vieques.
Tensions between the Navy and residents have been constant since 1999, when two errant 500-pound bombs killed a civilian guard on the firing range.
After the death of David Sanes, protesters invaded the range and occupied it for a year before federal marshals removed them. The exercises resumed but only with dummy bombs.
More than 1,000 protesters have been arrested and jailed for trespassing in attempts to thwart the bombing. Celebrities who were jailed included Robert F. Kennedy Jr., New York civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton, U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez of Chicago and actor Edward James Olmos.
Sharpton, who arrived in Puerto Rico Wednesday to join the festivities, said he felt vindicated after spending 90 days in prison in 2001 and said Bush "did a good thing by finally listening to the people."
"I thank God we won this battle," said Sharpton, a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Protesters say the bombing has fouled the environment, stunted an economy limited to fishing and tourism and damaged the health of the 9,300 islanders. The Navy denies its practices have been harmful.
The Department of Defense announced the land handover in a statement posted Wednesday afternoon on a Navy Web site. It said the Navy will retain responsibility for the cleanup, the final cost of which has yet to be determined.
The Navy announced recently it was laying off or reposting nearly half its 6,300 employees at the Roosevelt Roads Naval Station on the main island of Puerto Rico.
Critics suggested it was a spiteful act of vengeance. The base is one of the largest employers on the island and injects an estimated $300 million a year into the economy.
"What's to celebrate? This is no victory," said Severina Guadalupe, 75, who described how her family was given 24 hours to pack their belongings in 1940 before a bulldozer ripped down their wooden farmhouse. "We still don't have the land."
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