By Christina Pino-Marina
washingtonpost.com 
Friday, September 22, 2000; 4:49 PM

WASHINGTON -  

Seventy-five demonstrators protesting U.S. Navy presence on the Caribbean island of Vieques were arrested by U.S. Park Police in front of the White House Friday afternoon as hundreds of supporters in nearby Lafayette Park chanted anti-Navy slogans in Spanish.

The scheduled rally called for the Navy to suspend target practice and withdraw completely from Vieques, which lies 13 miles east of Puerto Rico. Many Puerto Ricans say they are enraged by an April 1999 incident in which a Marine Corps jet dropped two 500-pound bombs off target, killing a civilian security guard named David Sanes Rodriguez.

Chanting "Vieques, Si! Navy, No!" and "Hey, Ho! U.S. Navy’s Gotta Go," a group of men and women women lined up on the sidewalk in front of the White House, their black and white shirts spelling out "Para Vieques" (For Vieques). Enid Gonzalez Aleman, a private attorney for the demonstrators, said 44 men and 31 women were arrested Friday.

About 25 U.S. Park police officers led protesters away in plastic handcuffs and loaded them onto two buses. Police Lt. John Pierce said the demonstrators were arrested for breaking a federal regulation code that prohibits stationary demonstrations in front of the White House. The protesters face misdemeanor charges and fines of up to $50, he said.

A crowd of supporters danced, sang and chanted across from the White House in Lafayette Park as a group of five men sang and beat drums and hollow gourds.

"People are in danger in Vieques," said 22-year-old Cristina Miranda, a Puerto Rican who lives in Washington. "The United States thinks it owns Puerto Rico, and it does not. It is not safe for the Navy to use any type of bombs, even if they are not explosive bombs."

Protest organizers said today's rally will be followed by demonstrations across Puerto Rico next week.

After months of negotiations with Gov. Pedro Rosselló, President Clinton agreed to order the Navy out by May 2003 if the 9,400 residents of Puerto Rico – a U.S. commonwealth – vote in a referendum to expel it. Clinton gave the Navy permission to continue training without explosives, and the Navy started using inert "dummy" bombs in May of this year.

Vieques was annexed to Puerto Rico in 1854, but about 70 percent of the island has been under the jurisdiction of the Navy since 1941. Navy officials have said Vieques is crucial for simultaneous air, land and sea operations with live munitions.

Navy officials could not be reached for comment late Thursday.