Demonstration in front of the Jakob Javits Federal Building in New York, NY

José A. Laguarta


Saturday, April 28, 2001

The Puerto Rican community of New York City took to the streets in protest once more, a day after the reinitiating the bombing practices on the US Navy's target range in Vieques. As many as 600 Boricuas gathered between 12:00 and 3:00 pm in front of the Jakob Javits Federal Building in downtown Manhattan, waving flags and banners to the rhythm of bomba y plena, to denounce the ongoing 60-year-old military occupation of Vieques. The event aimed to reenact a massive spontaneous demonstration that took place in front of the Armed Forces Recruiting Station in Times Square on May 5, 2000, following the arrest of over 200 civil disobedients who had camped out inside the target range for over a year.

Meanwhile, in Vieques, over 60 activists were being held in custody, while up to 40 others remained at-large inside the target range, including Mayor Dámaso Serrano, PIP President Rubén Berríos, CPRDV leader Ismael Guadalupe, and Senator Norma Burgos. Navy officials, however, insisted that all protesters had been removed. This was the largest single human shield initiative since the May 4, 2000 arrests. Some concern was evident among the demonstrators in Manhattan over the fate of their counterparts in Vieques, especially renowned activist Alberto "Tito Kayak" de Jesús, whose verdict for the federal charge of "trespassing" at the Statue of Liberty will be read on Monday, April 30. Tito was reportedly arrested, but immediately released, and will make it to court on Monday.

The Manhattan event, organized by the Vieques Support Campaign, consisted mainly of a picket line and a speakers' podium. No acts of civil disobedience were scheduled, and no major confrontations with police occurred. Speakers included Congresswoman Nilda Velázquez and City Council members Margarita López and José Rivera, as well as representatives of Cuba's Casa de las Americas, the New Black Panther Party, and Local 1199. Late in the event, demonstrators were joined by a contingent from another act in defense of WBAI Pacifica Radio. As usual, a strong sense of international solidarity could be felt among the crowd, which contained a number of Dominican, Palestinian, African American, North American, Mexican, and other Latin-American compañeras and compañeros.

The slogan of the hour, in the words of Vieques Support Campaign leader Frank Velgara, is "Fuera la Marina de Vieques!" The acts in Vieques, New York, and elsewhere demonstrate a growing awareness that it's just not enough to "stop the bombing." The Navy itself, through a display of arrogance, intransigence, and hypocrisy that is surprising even for agents of US imperialism, is increasingly convincing people that the only way out for Vieques is the immediate and total withdrawal of Navy presence. And any "strategy" that genuinely seeks to accomplish this goal must be sustained by the continued pressure of popular demonstrations and direct action.