NEW YORK CITY, Dec. 16 – Acting on a resolution passed at its fall meeting last October, the General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM), has embarked on a campaign of support for the Methodist Church of Puerto Rico over the U.S. Navy's use of Vieques island for training with live ammunition.

A Global Ministries delegation, led by GBGM Director Joan Chapin of the Detroit Conference, is scheduled to arrive in Vieques on Thursday, Dec. 16 for a demonstration of solidarity with the Methodist Church of Puerto Rico and others who are struggling to get the navy out of Vieques. The protestors plan to occupy the restricted area of the naval site for three days. GBGM will continue sending protestors to Vieques over the next several months and expects to lead an ecumenical effort in support of the people of the besieged island.

The United Methodist campaign will include witness at the site, pressure on the U.S. Congress, a letter writing campaign, a pastoral letter, and other expressions of solidarity with the people of Vieques. It is a response to Methodist Church of Puerto Rico Bishop Juan Vera Mendez' appeal to the board for assistance with the church's efforts to stand in solidarity with the people of Vieques. Vera cited near-unanimous Puerto Rican opposition to the military exercises.

Dr. Randolph Nugent, General Secretary of the mission agency, called the Navy presence on Vieques "an assault on the environment and an assault on the physical well-being of the island's 9,000 residents. They have had to live with noise, fear, contaminated soil, and contaminated water. We demand no less than justice and safety for the people of Vieques.

"We are prepared to support the Methodist Church of Puerto Rico and God's people on the island of Vieques for as long as it takes to remove this deadly menace," Dr. Nugent said. GBGM, mission agency for the 9.5 million member United Methodist Church, will work with the General Board of Church and Society, the Council of Bishops, local congregations, and other denominations to help end the live ammunition training.

The United States has used Vieques, located eight miles east of the main island of Puerto Rico, as its main firing range since the 1950s. The navy, which now controls more than half the island, contends that Vieques is vital to national security and is the only place in the Atlantic where the U.S. can stage realistic land and sea training using live ammunition.

Protest over the naval presence heated up last April when the navy dropped two 500-pound bombs that missed their target and instead killed a civilian security guard. Most recently, Bishop Vera called "totally unacceptable" a proposal by President Clinton to close the base within five years and to offer the island's 9,000 residents a $40 million aid package. The Church and the people of Vieques countered the proposal with a demand that the U.S. close the site immediately and permanently.