Congresswoman Linda Sánchez in Vieques to hear about contamination and health
The Viequenses demand action from the US Congress and the next president, for total and adequate environmental clean up and medical services for these people besieged for over half a century by US Navy and allied military practices.
Tropical Disconnect
By Mark Potter, NBC News correspondent Arriving on the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico recently, it was clear we had come to an extraordinarily beautiful place. The beaches are gorgeous, the water is crystal clear, the tourist hotels and restaurants are laid-back and the tropical vegetation and terrain are stunning, especially in the fiery light [...]
US Navy Continues Bombing Vieques!
From the Committee for the Rescue and Development of Vieques (CPRDV) The U.S. Navy continues bombing Vieques. In order to minimize costs and maximize profits, the Navy and contractors in charge of the “environmental clean up” of Vieques, have detonated tons of explosives here over the past two years. In this process, they release enormous [...]
US Navy pledges more money for cleanup of island near Puerto Rico
The Associated Press Wednesday, March 26, 2008 SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico: The U.S. Navy has set aside US$200 million (129 million) for the removal of military waste in Vieques island, just east of Puerto Rico’s main island, authorities announced Tuesday. The money will be used in the next seven years to remove explosives in the [...]
Viequenses oppose luxury million-dollar condominiums
Vieques – A project of 64 apartments proposed by Vieques Property Development for the southwest coast of Vieques was rejected by the majority of the Viequense community because it would require a large zoning change and possibly damage the environment.
Jan Susler and Sarah Piesh Honored with Blanca Canales Medal
Jan Susler, attorney for the Puerto Rican political prisoners and Sarah Piesh were honored on February 23 during the commemoration of the Birth of Blanca Canales at Casa Museo Canales, in Jayuya, Puerto Rico. Sarah Piesh, who passed away earlier this year of ovarian cancer, was honored posthumously for her activism in defense of Vieques [...]
La lucha continúa: Challenges for a Post-Navy Vieques (Part 4)
(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.
La lucha continúa: Challenges for a Post-Navy Vieques (Part 2)
(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.
La lucha continúa: Challenges for a Post-Navy Vieques (Part 1)
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.
La lucha continúa: Challenges for a Post-Navy Vieques (Part 3)
(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
NBHRN supports ex-political prisoner José Pérez González
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 [...]
November 11, 1979: 28th Anniversary Assassination of Angel Rodríguez Cristóbal
November 11, 1979 “I was there as a socialist, an independentist and a Puerto Rican” 28th Anniversary Assassination of Angel Rodríguez Cristóbal 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 [...]