U.S.

162 Arrests At Vieques

June 27, 2000 / 4:45 PM EDT / AP

Guards detained at least 162 protesters who invaded the bombing range at Vieques island Tuesday in an effort to disrupt the largest bombing exercises since a fatal accident sparked a frenzy of protest last year. Within a couple of hours, the Navy resumed shelling from warships.
It was the largest protest of the disputed range since Navy ships and warplanes from the USS George Washington Battle Group began shelling and bombing with non-explosive "dummy" rounds on Sunday. The protesters were cited for trespassing, Navy spokesman Robert Nelson said.

Opposition to the Navy's activities on the 21-mile-long island has unified islanders as never before and Puerto Rican leaders said they would raise the issue at a meeting Wednesday with President Clinton in Washington.

Puerto Rico Independence Party spokesman Tomas Vargas said 106 party members entered a 900-acre target zone by land and 25 people led by party Vice President Fernando Martin entered by boat. He said he did not know if a dozen fishermen in five boats had succeeded in their attempt to penetrate the bombing zone, which is 9 miles inside the Navy range on the eastern tip of Vieques.

Before 9 a.m. Tuesday, the sound of shells could be heard being fired from ships to the target range.

Guards arrested one protester inside the target area on Monday and five others on horseback outside it, Nelson said. The protester inside the range was not hurt, and it was not known if he was there while non-explosive shelling and bombing were occurring, Nelson said.

The Navy insists that the opposition is coming from only a small minority of Puerto Ricans. On Vieques itself, initial reaction to the start of bombing Sunday was surprisingly muted—perhaps reflecting the wear and tear of a yearlong battle to oust the Navy from its Atlantic Fleet training ground.

The exercises could run through July 2. Navy warnings to fishermen were posted and broadcast Saturday night, outlining restricted "danger zones" in waters around the bombing range from 8 a.m. to midnight on Monday and Tuesday.

Last year, a civilian Puerto Rican guard was killed on the range by two bombs—the first fatality in six decades of bombing.

Dozens of protesters invaded the range and took turns camping there for a year before federal agents dislodged them in May, peacefully removing 224 protesters.

Islanders say years of live bombing—including the use of napalm—have destroyed wildlife and fishing grounds, contaminated water supplies, impeded tourism and created what they say is a high cancer rate.

The Navy disagrees and says Vieques is the only place its Atlantic fleet can hold simultaneous land, air and sea exercises with live fire before deploying abroad. This week's exercises will certify the George Washington Battle Group's combat readiness before a six-month tour of the Mediterranean and Persian Gulf.

After negotiations with Puerto Rico's government and the Navy, Clinton ordered he Navy to resume limited training using non-explosive bombs and shells. The Navy must abandon Vieques by May 2003 if Vieques residents vote to expel it in a referendum expected next year. If the Navy wins, it gets to use live munitions again.

Puerto Rican lawmaker Lourdes Ramos warned on Monday that the protests could jeopardize the referendum.

The San Juan Star on Tuesday quoted Jeffrey Farrow, Clinton's adviser on Puerto Rico, as saying he did not see how the latest demonstrations could affect the accord.