Churches plan anti-bombing march in San Juan

VIEQUES, Puerto Rico(UMNS) -- Puerto Ricans of all political stripes will take to the streets of their country's capital Feb. 21 to demand the permanent cessation of bombing on the island of Vieques.

The protest may prove decisive in the struggle to end the use of Vieques as a bombing range by the U.S. Navy, which seized two-thirds of the island 60 years ago.

The march, during which participants will walk through San Juan in silence while carrying white flags, is sponsored by a coalition of Catholic and Protestant church leaders, and has won endorsements in recent days from a wide spectrum of political and civic leaders here.

According to one of the march's sponsors, Bishop Juan Vera of the Methodist Church of Puerto Rico, the wide variety of participants will reflect how the struggle over Vieques has changed.

"It's a totally new movement," Vera said.  "I've supported the struggle of the people of Vieques since the '70s, part of a larger nonviolent struggle against militarism in Puerto Rico.  In the past, these were causes that were championed mostly by a few environmentalists and political parties on the left.  But today, it's the entire people of Puerto Rico, people of all political parties, of all the churches, of all ideologies, who have come together in a grand consensus."

The idea for the march arose after Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Rossello made a deal with the Clinton administration that would allow the Navy to resume bombing Vieques.  Rossello had promised last year that "not one more bomb" would fall on Vieques, but since then changed his position.

Angered by what many considered to be a sellout by Rossello, church leaders planned the march to make it clear they want peace on the 21-mile-long island.

"The last word on Vieques has not yet been spoken," said Hector Soto, a Methodist pastor in San Juan, who has helped coordinate the involvement of church people in civil disobedience inside the Navy's bombing range on Vieques.

Feliciano Rodriguez, a priest in the diocese of Caguas who coordinates Catholic civil disobedience inside the bombing range, believes the U.S. government will be closely watching how many people turn out for the march.

"If it's a big turnout, then I think the Navy will start looking for alternatives and we'll see the resumption of negotiations about the future of Vieques," Rodriguez said.  "If not many people show up, then we may see the people in the resistance camps get arrested very soon."

Whatever the turnout, the march highlights how Puerto Rican churches have become the most important component in the campaign to rid Vieques of the Navy.

"The participation of the churches in this struggle is fundamental, and makes clear that this is not just a political issue, but rather a violation of human rights, an abuse of the people and environment of Vieques by the Navy," said Robert Rabin, a member of the Committee for the Rescue and Development of Vieques.

The two church-sponsored resistance camps "are right now the most important weapon that the people of Vieques have against the military plans to resume bombing," Rabin said.  "If it had not been for those two camps being set up, the Navy might have already come in and arrested the small number of other people."

*  Jeffrey is a United Methodist missionary based in Honduras.