United Methodist to End Fast over Navy Bombing of Vieques

WASHINGTON (UMNS) -- A United Methodist lay missioner has announced the end of his fast and White House vigil for Vieques, the Puerto Rican island that the U.S. Navy is using for bombing practice.

Andres Thomas Conteris, a missionary between assignments, said he will end his hunger strike Oct. 2, 10 weeks after it began and seven weeks after he switched to a more stringent, water-only fast. He reported that he has lost 60 pounds in his bid for President Clinton to meet with religious and community leaders from Vieques.

Speaking at a press conference across the street from the White House on Sept. 28, Conteris said he would make his final vigil appearance there that evening. He began the vigil July 25 and continued it each weekday evening.

"My own conscience led me into this appeal to the conscience of President Clinton," said Conteris. He hoped that the president has been touched by concern for the people of Vieques, he said.

Conteris has said that contamination from more than 50 years of bombing is responsible for Vieques having a higher cancer rate than the rest of Puerto Rico.

On Sept. 22, Conteris was among those arrested during a civil disobedience action in front of the White House while calling for an end to the U.S. Navy presence on Vieques. Also arrested were the Rev. Eddie Lopez and Franklin Guerrero, United Methodist Board of Global Ministries staff members, and several others.

The three were acting on their own, according to a Board of Global Ministries statement, but their participation reflects the position of the United Methodist Church regarding Vieques.

Likewise, speaking as individuals, United Methodist Board of Church and Society executives James Winkler and the Rev. Eliezer Valentin-Castanon added their voices to those of peace group and church representatives at the press conference, who called for an end to the bombing in Vieques.

Conteris said he expects to break his fast Oct. 2 after he consults with religious and other leaders in Puerto Rico, some of whom are also fasting. He said he plans to fly to Puerto Rico Sept 29 for the Oct. 1 rally being planned there.

Puerto Rican leaders have decided that requesting a meeting is no longer where they should focus their energy, Conteris said.

Although the president has not held the long-requested meeting with religious and community leaders, Conteris said, the issue is getting attention in Congress as part of a sign-on letter to the president dealing with the bombing issue. The hunger striker also said that he had an hour-long phone call from Jeffrey Farrow, the president’s aide on Vieques.

Conteris noted that his fast has been debilitating to his health but added that he has been surprised it has not taken a greater toll. He said that he uses a wheelchair for comfort rather than necessity, and that his strength came from the support of so many communities.

During the press conference, Conteris also spoke in support of an international call to prayer, fasting and action for peace that is scheduled for Oct. 2.

More than 50 people have endorsed the call. United Methodists who have signed the call include the Rev. Robert Edgar, chief executive of the National Council of Churches in Christ in the USA; Bishop Sharon Zimmerman Rader of Sun Prairie, Wis.; the Rev. Joe Eldridge, chaplain at American University; the Rev. Thom White Wolf Fassett, top executive of the Board of Church and Society; the Rev. German Acevedo-Delgado of the Board of Global Ministries; Donald Reasoner, a United Methodist missionary on special assignment to Latin America and the Caribbean; and several pastors.

Bishop Juan A. Vera of the Methodist Church of Puerto Rico and the Rev. Lucy Rosario, pastor of a Methodist church on Vieques, also signed the call. Bishop Isaias Gutierrez, chairman of the Latin American and Caribbean Council of Methodist Churches, and the Rev. Eunice Santana, a former president of the World Council of Churches, are supporting the call, along with representatives of several other churches and organizations that work with peace or Puerto Rican issues.