On June 14th Héctor Rosario began a fast for peace and justice for
Vieques. He believes that fasting will be a minor way to urge President
Clinton to meet with the leadership of the religious and civic
organizations of Vieques.
BackgroundVieques is a small island about 8 miles east of the island nation of
Puerto Rico. In 1938, the U.S. Navy began using the island-municipality
of Vieques for military practices. In 1941, during the height of WW II, the
U.S. initiated a campaign of expropriation of territory (evicting more
than 3,000 people), which ended with the U.S. owning over two-thirds
(75%) of the island's most arable land. The people of Vieques, the local
government, civic and religious organizations, and the Commonwealth of
Puerto Rico are indignant that the U.S. Navy continues to place the
people of Vieques in danger every time they have any kind of military maneuver.
For the first time, all Puerto Ricans have joined hands to demand that
the U. S. government removes the U.S. Navy from the island of Vieques and to
return the land to the people of Puerto Rico. On May 4, 2000, the U.S.
government removed more than 200 protesters camping in the target impact
area. These peaceful protesters prevented the U.S. Navy from bombing the
island for more than a year. On January 31, however, the White House reached an agreement
with the Governor of Puerto Rico without any kind of consultation with the people of Vieques.
Before this agreement was reached, the leadership of the struggle for Vieques sent a letter to the
President asking him for an audience only to find out that an agreement
had been reached without an opportunity for the people of Vieques to
raise their voices. The fast that Héctor Rosario is observing is a last
resort, due to the constant disregard of the White House to meet with the
representatives of the people of Vieques, to urge the President to meet
with this group of Vieques' leaders.
United Methodist PositionIn the Social Principles the Church has stated that: "We believe war is
incompatible with the teachings and example of Christ. We therefore
reject war as an instrument of national foreign policy and insist that the
first moral duty of all nations is to resolve by peaceful means every dispute
that arises between or among them; that human values must outweigh
military claims as governments determine their priorities; that the
militarization of society must be challenged and stopped. . ." (Social
Principles, ¶69. C). In addition, the 2000 General Conference stated that
"The United Methodist Church joins these voices of indignation for the
conditions to which our country has kept the people of Vieques, Puerto
Rico. We are appalled by the immoral actions of keeping a community
depressed, oppressed, and subjected to a slow but certain annihilation."
And the Church "Express[es] its strong support for the cessation of all
military activities and support for the return of the land expropriated
from the people of Vieques by the U. S. Navy." (DCA, Advance Edition
p.908)
Action:
The President's Address: The President The Vice President June 19, 2000 | Top | Vieques |
Puerto Rico | Latin America/the
Caribbean | United States | Produced by The General Board of Church and Society |