National Boricua
Human Rights Network

(By Déborah Santana, continued)
In 1999 a large group of San Juan-based professionals responded to a call from Vieques activists for ongoing technical assistance. The Technical and Professional Support Group (known as GATP for its initials in Spanish) included planners, attorneys, health professionals, ecologists, economists and other individuals with the expertise needed to assist the viequenses in developing their own development and conservation plans.

(By Déborah Santana, continued)
Decontamination

Several recently published investigations bolster the argument that contamination generated by military activities are largely responsible for a greater—and rising—incidence of environmentally linked diseases in Vieques than in Puerto Rico as a whole, such as cancer, kidney failure and respiratory ailments.

By Déborah Berman Santana
From Centro Journal, Volume 18 Number 1, Spring 2006
In recent years the decades-long struggle to stop the U.S. Navy from bombing the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico, and to end military occupation of three-quarters of the island, has made international headlines. This “David versus Goliath” story—replete with accounts of powerful, creative, and nonviolent resistance to the environmental and social degradation perpetrated by militarism—attracted attention from environmental, peace and social justice activists and gathered support from religious, political and civic leaders in Puerto Rico, the United States and worldwide.

(By Déborah Santana, continued)
Devolution
Over the years viequenses have struggled to recover lands taken by the military in a variety of ways. For example, during the 1970s many took part in “land invasions” and set up homesteads on lands held by the Navy but essentially unused, particularly lands bordering the civilian sector

January 2008, La Red
Michelle Morales of the NBHRN delivered a check to Dr. Ché Paralitici of the Puerto Rican Human Rights Committee as a donation to the Vieques ex-political prisoner José Pérez González. The donation of a thousand dollars was presented during the conference celebrating the 112th anniversary of the adoption of the Puerto Rican [...]

November 11, 1979
“I was there as a socialist, an independentist and a Puerto Rican”
28th Aniversary Asassination of Angel Rodríguez Cristobal
November-December 2007, La Red
The National Boricua Human Rights Network, its affiliates and chapters across the US, commemorate the 28th anniversary of the vile assassination of Angel Rodríguez Cristóbal, while serving a 6 month sentence for trespassing [...]