Developments Regarding Vieques

February 21, 2000:  March - Religious leaders in Puerto Rico, among them Bishop Juan A. Vera of the Methodist Church, have called for a march on February 21 in support of the people of Vieques in their struggle to stop the Navy and the Marine Corps from resuming training in Vieques.  The march is scheduled to begin at 10:00am.  The group will march through Las Americas Expressway in San Juan.  The marchers will gather close to the penitentiary and then walk to an area close to Plaza Las Americas.  Representatives of different religious groups are organizing this march with the support of the Puerto Rico Evangelical Council, the Roman Catholic Church and different labor entities.

February 16 Vieques events in Washington, DC:
Except for the 1:30PM meeting with Congressman Gutierrez, the media is invited and encouraged to attend all events.

10:00AM Press Conference, at the United Methodist Building, 100 Maryland Avenue, N.E., across from the U.S. Supreme Court.  Representatives from the civil disobedience camps in Vieques, and others, will address President Clinton's decision and its rejection by the people of Vieques and Puerto Rico, will provide updates on the civil disobedience movement and will be available for questions and interviews.
1:30PM-2:00PM Meeting with The Honorable Luis Gutierrez, Congressman from Illinois, on Capitol Hill (Room 2220 Rayburn House Office Building). For more info., call (202) 225-8203.
2:00PM-3:00PM Congressional Briefing on Vieques on Capitol Hill (Room 2220 Rayburn House Office Building).  The Delegation from Puerto Rico, and others, will brief Members of Congress and Congressional staffers on President Clinton's decision on Vieques and its rejection by the people of Vieques and Puerto Rico. For more info., call (202) 225-8203.
4:00PM Demonstration in front of the White House, on Lafayette Park and the White House sidewalk.
   source:   http:// www.viequeslibre.org

February 4, 2000:  There has been an agreement among the church and other activist organizations present in the restricted area on Vieques protesting U.S. bombing practices on Vieques. The groups have decided to stay, waiting to be arrested. These groups are not in agreement with the Clinton agreement with Puerto Rican government.

February 3, 2000:  The Roman Catholic Church dioceses of Caguas announced that they will build a civil disobedience camp within the area restricted by the Navy in Vieques.  The Catholic Bishop of Caguas, Alvaro Corrada del Rio, was part of the delegation that went to Vieques to support the cry for peace in Vieques.

Articles that have appeared on this site: (The contents of these earlier articles may not have the latest information, but were accurate at the time of publication.)

• Method ists participate in huge march for Vieques, by Paul Jeffrey for UMNS, February 22, 2000
• Massive church-sponsored march demands peace for Puerto Rican island,GBGM, Report by Paul Jeffrey from Vieques, February 22, 2000
• Methodist women mix prayer and protest on Puerto Rican island,GBGM, Report by Paul Jeffrey from Vieques, February 17, 2000
• Church-sponsored march may determine future of anti-Navy campaign in Puerto Rico,GBGM, Report by Paul Jeffrey from Vieques, February 16, 2000
• Methodists risk arrest to drive U.S. Navy off Caribbean island, GBGM, Report by Paul Jeffrey from Vieques, February 15, 2000
• Vieques protesters bring cause to nation's capital, UMNS, February 17, 2000
• Churches plan anti-bombing march in San Juan, UMNS, February 17, 2000
• Pu erto Rican women join small island's struggle for peace, GBGM, Report by Paul Jeffrey from Vieques
  (see Photo Gallery II for photos of this event.), February 15, 2000
• Text of January 31 Presidential Directive
• Bishop Vera Rejects New Pentagon Proposal Concerning Vieques by Chris Herlinger, January 25, 2000
• Vieques: Struggle and Hope by Germán Acevedo-Delgado, December 23, 1999
• First Mission Agency Delegation Visits Vieques, UMNS, December 21, 1999
• Report from Vieques by Don Reasoner and Anne Leo Ellis, December 17, 1999