SOCIALIST CANDIDATES
DECLARE:
'Solidarity with the
people of Vieques!'
Workers
World Party candidates Monica Moorehead and Gloria La Riva issued the following
statement Oct.
21.
While
Democrats and Republicans attempt the difficult task of differentiating
themselves in order to get elected this November, they consistently join
together in reinforcing the arrogance and racism of U.S. imperialism. Nowhere is
this clearer than in the case of Vieques, Puerto
Rico.
Both
George W. Bush and Al Gore pay lip service to the people of Vieques, but refuse
to call for any concrete solutions, such as getting the U.S. Navy out. The U.S.
Congress has approved an even more treacherous directive than the one signed by
President Bill Clinton. The original directive and the congressionally-approved
version both attempt to permanently impose U.S. military training practices on
that island against the will of the majority of Puerto
Ricans.
These
directives came about as a result of the massive opposition by the Puerto Rican
people against the U.S. Navy bombing of
Vieques.
Since
1941, the U.S. military has used Vieques as a bombing range for practices by all
of its military branches and its NATO allies. Three-fourths of the island is
occupied by the U.S. military. The Pentagon has polluted the air, water and land
with innumerable contaminants, including napalm and depleted uranium. There is a
high incidence of
cancer.
The
military practices have resulted in the economic devastation of the island, too.
The population suffers from 50-percent
unemployment.
All
of this would be impossible if Puerto Rico was an independent country. But
Puerto Rico is a colony of the United States, lacking any authority over its own
land. The Pentagon now houses its military arm for Latin America--the U.S.
Southern Army--in Puerto Rico, having been ousted from
Panama.
The
people of Vieques have always opposed the use of their land for military
maneuvers. But after two 500-pound bombs dropped by a fighter plane killed
civilian guard David Sanes in April 1999, a massive movement developed to oust
the Navy from Vieques. People from Vieques and Puerto Rico poured into the
restricted military areas. They set up encampments that effectively stopped the
Pentagon's exercises for a whole
year.
Last
May, federal marshals, FBI agents and U.S. military personnel forcibly evicted
the demonstrators and arrested them. Helicopters and battleships surrounded the
island and reinforced their
operation.
Since
then, the struggle has continued with massive demonstrations, incursions into
the restricted areas and international solidarity. The people of Vieques are
committed to ousting the U.S. Navy once and for all. They know that this is the
only way to bring peace and stability to their
land.
U.S.
Navy out of Vieques! U.S. imperialism out of Puerto
Rico!
Monica
Moorehead traveled to Vieques in August 1999. She took part in solidarity
rallies there, where she pledged her support for the people of Vieques and
Puerto Rico in their struggle to beat the most powerful armada in the world.
Moorehead and her running mate, Gloria La Riva, have helped to organize
demonstrations in support of the Vieques movement. Workers World Party offers
unconditional support to this magnificent struggle and vows to do everything it
can to assist the people's movement.
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