Today, May 1, 2009, is the commemoration of the 6th anniversary of the U.S. Navy’s departure from Vieques. Editorial Vieques Libre offers a reprint of an editorial from May 1, 2003, still relevant six years later:
“The struggle for peace and justice in Vieques continues. The U.S. Navy’s May 2003 departure from Vieques is an admirable victory for the people of Vieques and for their many peace-loving allies who participated in that important struggle. However, the U.S. military still controls certain lands in Vieques -namely the Monte Pirata communications site and the ROTHR (Relocatable Over The Horizon Radar) site- on the Western part of the island. The federal government also controls several acres of land in the Western part of Vieques that used to be used as ammunition depot. And following the U.S. Navy’s departure from the eastern side of Vieques, the totality of the land will remain in the hands of the federal government, as the U.S. Navy has transferred it to the U.S. Department of Interior and not to the people of Vieques.
Thus, the demands of decontamination and clean up of the lands, of the return of the lands to the people of Vieques, and of sustainable development for Vieques, remain unmet and the struggle to achieve those goals continues. At the same time, the health crisis caused by more than 60 years of bombing in Vieques with everything from live bombs to napalm and depleted uranium, will still be felt in Vieques long after the Navy’s departure. There must be remediation, compensation and treatment for the many Viequenses who suffer as a result of the military activities on their island. On July 29, 2001, the people of Vieques were given the opportunity to cast a vote over the issue of the Navy presence on their island. In spite of all the money and influence of the Navy to try to influence the results, the people of Vieques spoke with a clear voice: 68 percent of the residents voted for the “Immediate and permanent termination of the military exercises and bombings of the Navy in Vieques, withdrawal of the Navy from Vieques, and cleaning and return of Viequense lands to its citizens.”
The cessation of bombing and the Navy’s departure from the eastern side of Vieques has been a huge victory, long overdue for a people who have suffered too much for too long. But the remaining demands are unmet.
The struggle for peace and justice in Vieques continues.”
Photograph from www.nyboricua.com/vieques.htm
Also see “Canción para Vieques,” a 2001 song dedicated to the Vieques struggle:
