[CPEO-MEF] Vieques Digest 5/21/01

[bieke@coqui.net]

#1)News Release Issued by the International Secretariat of Amnesty
International *


#2) WE INVITE YOU TO A CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE TRAINING!*!




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#1)



 News Release Issued by the International Secretariat of Amnesty
International *

 9 May 2001

 Amnesty International will be sending an observer to
 Puerto Rico to investigate allegations that the US
 military police used excessive force against people
 protesting US military bombing exercises in Vieques.



 Yanette Bautista, a Colombian national and Officer of
 Amnesty International's Costa Rica office, will be in
 Puerto Rico between 10 and 14 May and will observe a
 hearing on 12 May. The hearing, organized by the Human
 Rights Commission of the Puerto Rico Bar Association,
 will look into ill-treatment of demonstrators by US
 marine officers. Yanette Bautista will also be
 interviewing victims, attorneys, local groups and
 others about the events in question.



A number of protestors were hospitalized after being
doused with pepper spray. Security forces also used
tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse non-violent
demonstrators. A three-month-old infant was treated in
hospital after the Navy sprayed gas during a
children's activity. Some of those arrested have also
claimed that they were ill-treated while in detention.


More than 120 people were arrestedd on trespassing
charges during the protests between 24 April and 2
May. Most of them have since been released on bail but
there are  apparently a dozen people still in detention.


Background

The United States has used Vieques, an island off
eastern Puerto Rico, as a bombing range for more than
50 years. The death of a  civilian security guard in a
botched bombing in April 1999 sparked protests and led
to a suspension of operations. However, bombing
exercises using inert ammunition resumed after lengthy
negotiations between the US Navy and the Puerto Rican
authorities.

The latest protests began just hours after a federal
judge in Washington turned down a last-minute appeal
by the  Puerto Rican Government to stop the Navy
resuming its bombing exercises. The lawsuit contended
the bombing could harm the health of Vieques residents
and created too much noise.

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#2)


COMMITTEE FOR THE
RESCUE AND DEVELOPMENT OF VIEQUES
P.O. Box 1424 Vieques, Puerto Rico 00765
787 741-0716 E mail: bieke@coqui.net

WE INVITE YOU TO A CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE TRAINING!*! 
SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO 
SATURDAY, MAY 18TH AT 2:00 P.M.

The Carribean Peace and Justice Project invites you to participate in a Non
Violence Workshops that includes theoretical and practical exercises, tomorrow
Saturday, May 18th at 2 p.m. at the office of Hermandad de Empleados No
Docentes (HEEND), which is located in 1001 Andalucia Street in Puerto Nuevo
(Enter for the PIP Central Committee en Roosevelt Avenue). The workshops will
be offered by Nancy Jodaitis of the War Resisters League, an activist from the
United States with vast experience in actions of civil disobedience. The
activity is free. For more information, please call 787-722-1640 or
787-767-8021.
The Carribean Peace and Justice Project is inviting everyone who is  
interested in supporting the civil disobedience in Vieques to 
participate in this workshop which will cover topics related to dealing with
fears and anxieties about getting arrested, as well as theoretical and
philosphical aspects of Non Violence.
May 18, 2001 
Santurce, Puerto Rico
Contacts: 
Wanda Col=F3n Cort=E9s 787-754-7343 
Carmen E. Mu=F1oz 787-767-8021




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