Vieques – At approximately 6:45 am on May 4th, U.S. Marshals and FBI agents raided the Christian Obedience Camp sponsored by the Puerto Rico Evangelical Council in the U.S. Navy's restricted zone on Vieques. Twenty-two persons in our camp were detained by the federal authorities. All of us, with exception of one woman, were handcuffed. I had been awake since 4:25 am waiting for them. By 5:00 am, we already had confirmation that the operation to remove the protesters had begun. Although most of us had slept only a few hours during the last four days, we remained calm. We had breakfast and a moment of prayer and song while we waited for the federal authorities to remove us. All of us present at the Christian Obedience Camp had agreed to reject any enticement to leave the area voluntarily, and we had also committed ourselves to nonviolence.

We were detained for nearly seven hours, and the protesters who were removed from Campamento Justicia y Paz at the entrance of Base Garcia were detained for approximately nine hours. No food was given to us. The U.S. Marshals and FBI agents, heavily armed but acting very courteous at the beginning of the operation, moved us to the Observation Post within the restricted area. There the men and women were put into separate holding areas without any means of communication with the outside world. Cell phones and pagers were taken away. Our handcuffs were removed just before we were put in the holding area. After being held there for a couple of hours, we were transported in U.S. Navy helicopters to the Roosevelt Roads U.S. Navy base in Ceiba, Puerto Rico. There we were put in another holding facility, again the men separated from the women. They told us that we were not under arrest, but we were locked up in an area adjacent to a building, surrounded by a tall fence that had barbed wire on top. When the large group was informed that we were not under arrest, members of the group requested to be released immediately. We were told that we needed to wait. Six hours after they put the handcuffs on us, we were photographed, then released. The U.S. authorities never bothered to develop a list of the persons detained.

Many of us were disappointed that the Justice Department did not press charges. We were looking forward to having our day in court to expose the U.S. Navy as the real criminals, the ones who pose the real security threat to the inhabitants of Vieques. They are putting the well-being of U.S. citizens on Vieques at risk. Bishop Vera, in a statement to the press, stated that if anyone needs to be removed by the Justice Department from Vieques, it is the U.S. Navy.

The U.S. marshals and the FBI agents, with the logistical support of the U.S. Navy, enforced the letter of the law, but justice was not served. The cry for peace, the cry for true justice went unheard by the U.S. Justice Department and by President Clinton.

Any act of violence would have undermined the message we wanted to convey to the world. Our demand is peace for Vieques, peace for the people who have endured living under the violence of the U.S. military target practice for the last 60 years. The U.S. Navy and government have done violence against the people of Vieques and their environment. The continuous violence manifests itself in different ways, including: exposing the population to several cancer-causing chemical agents which are by- products of the bombing practices; exposing the inhabitants of Vieques to the danger of being killed or seriously hurt by bombs missing their target, such as the one that killed David Sanes Rodriguez and injured several others in 1999; curtailing the livelihood of those who earn their sustenance by fishing, thus seriously limiting the economic development of the island; ignoring the will of the great majority of the people of Vieques who want not even one more bomb, not even one more bullet fired in Vieques; imposing a referendum that only provides unacceptable options, making a mockery of the "democratic process."

Coral reefs are being destroyed and areas where endangered species live or come to lay their eggs are being bombed or mined or used for other war games. Two barges were sunk containing hundreds of barrels presumed to be filled with toxic materials. The U.S. Navy has denied that it used Vieques and its surrounding waters as an illegal toxic waste dump, but it also denied the use of depleted uranium shells. When confronted with the evidence, the Navy had no choice but to admit its use of radioactive shells. This violence against the environment is also violence against all humankind. The U.S. Navy's use of dangerous uranium in bullets that were shot in Vieques during target practice is clear evidence of its lack of regard for the environment and for the health of the people of Vieques.

The 22 persons present in the Christian Obedience Camp at the time of the forced removal from the U.S. Navy restricted area represented the following organizations: Puerto Rico Evangelical Council, Ecumenical Coalition pro Vieques, General Board of Global Ministries of The United Methodist Church, NCCC/USA, IFCO/Pastors for Peace, and Christian Peacemaker Teams. Each one of these organizations is committed to continuing the struggle to stop the U.S. Navy abuses in Vieques. Among those taken prisoner from the Christian Obedience Camp were Bishop Juan A. Vera of the Methodist Church of Puerto Rico, president of the Puerto Rico Evangelical Council; the Reverend Wilfredo Estrada, spokesperson of the Vieques Ecumenical Coalition and Executive Secretary of the Puerto Rico Bible Society; the Reverend Luis Rosario, General Pastor of the United Evangelical Church; the Reverend Carmen Julia Pagan of the Baptist Church; Ms. Corrine Kohut, a staff member of Pastors for Peace and a member of the Bethany UMC in Chicago; the Reverend Alberto Rodriguez of the Episcopal Church of Puerto Rico; Ms. Maria Ester Cruzado Ortiz, a missionary working with the NCCC/USA; Mr. Cliff Kindy, coordinator of an eight-person delegation of Christian Peacemaker Teams; and this reporter.

The Vieques struggle is far from over. There are still a small number of civilians in the restricted area in Vieques serving as human shields to prevent the resumption of the U.S. Navy target practice.

Click HERE to see photos taken by Germán Acevedo Delgado while a part of the ecumenical civil disobedience on Vieques.

May 4, 2000