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ELCA Leaders Work to Halt U.S. Military Operations on Vieques


From News News <NEWS@ELCA.ORG>
Date 10 Dec 1999 22:26:15

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

December 8, 1999

ELCA LEADERS WORK TO HALT U.S. MILITARY OPERATIONS ON VIEQUES
99-310-JB

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- President Clinton announced Dec. 3 he plans to
halt U.S. military training within five years at Vieques, unless the
island's residents choose otherwise.  Vieques is an island that is part
of Puerto Rico, located east of its main island.  It has been the focus
of demonstrations against U.S. military "live-fire" training there,
including a demonstration Nov. 30 to Dec. 3 that foiled a planned
exercise involving U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps personnel.
      Next spring, the U.S. Navy plans to conduct limited military
exercises at the island but not with live ammunition, the president also
announced.
     Several groups camped out on the island Nov. 30 to Dec. 3.  Among
those present were the Rev. Francisco L. Sosa, bishop of the Caribbean
Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), San Juan,
P.R.; three ELCA pastors, the Rev. Julio Cruz, Iglesia Luterana Principe
de Paz, Caguas, P.R.; the Rev. Francisco J. Goitia-Padilla, Iglesia
Luterana Getsemani, Dorado, P.R.; the Rev. Ivette Salgado, Iglesia
Luterana Betel, Dorado, P.R.; and Sosa's brother, Angel.
     Sosa said the ELCA group was there for pastoral purposes and to
encourage demonstrators to protest in a non-violent way.
     "Our goal was to accompany the people who've been there," Sosa
said.
     The ELCA clergy are part of a group of several clergy from other
denominations that visit camps on a rotating basis in the military
exercise area of Vieques, he said.  Camps will remain there for the
foreseeable future, including Christmas and New Year's Day, Sosa added.
     Sosa said the clergy do not advocate for acts of civil
disobedience.  "We are calling for obedience to the Gospel of Jesus
Christ.  That's a different matter completely," Sosa said.
     Bringing a halt to live-fire exercises and the resulting
environmental damage on Vieques  "is a matter of peace and justice for
the 9,300 people who live on Vieques," Sosa added.
     The U.S. Navy has used much of the island for military exercises
for more than 50 years.  In that time, island residents say the fishing
industry has been disrupted, the island has become dotted with
ammunition craters and homes have been damaged.  On April 19, stray U.S.
bombs killed a man and injured four others, raising tensions between
Vieques residents and the U.S. military.
     The Rev. H. George Anderson, presiding bishop of ELCA, appealed in
a Dec. 2 letter to President Clinton to halt U.S. military operations on
Vieques. Anderson also asked Clinton to direct the U.S. Navy to leave
the island as soon as possible.
     Anderson urged Clinton to "respect the wishes of the people of
Puerto Rico who have overwhelmingly" expressed their desire for the Navy
to stop its operations on Vieques.
     "The U.S. Navy presence on the island of Vieques has adversely
affected the lives of its residents for over 50 years," Anderson said in
his letter to Clinton. "It is time the United States respect the views
of the inhabitants of Puerto Rico on this issue and return the land to
the government of Puerto Rico."
     Anderson also urged Clinton to begin an "aggressive" program to
clean up the island and undo environmental damage caused by the U.S.
Navy.
     The ELCA, at its 1999 Churchwide Assembly, adopted a resolution
that called on the U.S. government "to seek reasonable solutions" that
will end all U.S. military operations on Vieques.  The assembly
resolution also asked that the land be returned to the people of the
island "while not compromising our nation's security."  It asked the
ELCA Division for Church in Society, through the Lutheran Office for
Governmental Affairs (LOGA), to work with federal officials in seeking
these solutions.
     In response to the assembly resolution, the Rev. Mark B. Brown,
LOGA assistant director for international affairs and human rights,
Washington, D.C., along with representatives of several related
organizations, wrote to Clinton Oct. 12.  The representatives requested
the United States cease all military operations on Vieques and that the
U.S. Navy leave the island as soon as possible.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html


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