VIEQUES, PUERTO RICO: USA's MILITARY TRAINING CAMP

national | miscellaneous | news report

Friday August 09, 2002 13:49

by sally - Latin America Solidarity Centre (LASC)

lasc at iol dot ie

5 Merrion Row, Dublin 2

(01) 676 04 35

FRIDAY NIGHT TALK - BY VIEQUES ACTIVISTS

PLACE: LASC's office, 5, Merrion Row, Dublin 2 DATE: Friday 9th August TIME: 7.30pm In Vieques, a Puerto Rican island, the USA army have established a base where they train with live ammunition. This has an negative impact on the population's health, the environment, the local economy, etc.

The speakers on Friday night are activists who are part of the local campaign against these USA military manoeuvres. They are Dr. Luis Nieves Falcon, head of the Puerto Rican Political Prisoners Committee, Carlos Zenon - the leader of the Vieques fisherman Association who just served a 6 month sentence for stopping the US Navy bombing of the Vieques firing range with his boat - and two others activists. They form the Puerto Rican delegation to the War Resisters International Triennial Conference being held in Dublin at the moment. They will be showing part of a video about USA's military training in Vieques and they will also talk about the campaign and their own experiences.

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The Latin America Solidarity Centre (LASC) is an initiative for Development Education, Cultural Promotion and Campaigning Solidarity, linking Ireland and Latin America

5 Merrion Row, Dublin 2, Ireland

Phone +353 1 676 0435
Fax +353 1 662 1784
Email lasc@iol.ie
Website www.iol.ie/~lasc
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Comments (1 of 1)

Vieques Success

by Kommy

Fri Aug 09, 2002 15:22

A measure of the success of the campaigners at Vieques can be found in the following paragraphs. How unfortunate that Vieques's gain is Fallon's (Nevada) loss. At least it is in their own country.

'The radiation may in part come from depleted uranium expended by bombs and missiles at the Fallon bombing ranges. Navy statistics show that more than 7 million pounds of ordinance is dropped on the Fallon bombing ranges, including the notoriously cratered B-20 site, every year.

Now the Navy wants to move some of its Vieques bombing training missions to Fallon. It recently renewed its 20-year lease on the B-20 bombing range and acquired another 50,000 acres of BLM lands for target practice. "The Cold War is over," says Kalynda Tilges of the Reno-based Citizen Alert. "The Navy is ignoring the consequences of its pollution, and the nation continues to throw money into a big, black hole."'

Check the following link for the full story (about cancer clusters in Fallon)