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Vieques topic
for discussion
By Jamie Rogers
On-line Forty-Niner
In his first visit
to the West Coast of the United States, Ismael Guadalupe will
visit Cal State Long Beach today to discuss activists' campaign
to end U.S. bombing of the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico.
More than 60 years ago, the U.S. Navy seized two-thirds of
the land on Vieques island and began decades of bombing exercises.
Vieques residents were forced to move to the remaining third
of the island, where they have been plagued by high levels
of cancer and rare diseases, which area doctors blame on the
military activities.
In 1999, David Sanes Rodriguez, an observation site security
guard, was killed and three others were injured when a Navy
plane dropped a 500-pound bomb on an observation post.
In July, Vieques residents made it clear they wanted the bombing
to stop. The 9,000 U.S. citizens on the island voted for a
referendum to immediately halt the bombing.
The vote had no legal standing but an agreement was struck
between former Vieques Gov. Pedro Rossello and former President
Bill Clinton, stating that in November, the Vieques residents
could visit the polls again and decided whether to end the
bombing by 2003.
In September, the House introduced a defense bill that included
a provision that would allow the Navy to continue using the
site. Shortly after, the Bush administration postponed the
November vote until late January.
Guadalupe, a Vieques resident who has been active in the movement
since the early 1960s, will discuss the ongoing struggle of
the island's people at 5 p.m. in Lecture Hall 151.
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