Empowerment to protect the environment

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Chipko Movement: a non-violent philosophy of harmonious existence

Introduction

Mahatma Gandhi's concept of Gram Swarajya aimed to create an egalitarian society. To achieve it, a committed group of people established Dasholi Gram Swarajya Mandal (DGSM) at Gopeshwar in 1964. Since the objective was to develop a self sustaining non-violent society, training was imparted in village industries, agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, harvesting forest produce, utilizing mineral resources, employment in various construction activities, educating and awakening people for forest protection, husbanding of natural resources etc. Gradually, DGSM become a symbol of village self-reliance. However, everything changed in 1970 when a massive flood hit the Alaknanda basin devastating the normal life and destroying the property. The flood was unprecedented in the history of the region was described by the government as a natural calamity. But the relief workers of DGSM refused to accept this viewpoint as they have seen the plight of forests between 1950-1970 in the watersheds from where the flood was originated. Thus with while undertaking the relief operation in the flood effected watersheds, DGSM volunteers concluded that the flood was more man mad than claimed otherwise. There was time when wooden sleepers floating in the Alaknanda river, men with withered cheeks and grimed faced women looking quite old in their prime age was the common sight.

While this was happening in the region, Simon sports, a sports goods company in Allahabad was allotted Ash trees (used for sport goods) from the Mandal forest near Gopeshwar in 1973. The local people in the region were customarily using this tree for making Yoke- a traditional agricultural implement. Hence such auction stuck at the very core of our living. Claiming these trees as our birthright, we decided to protect them from the commercial exploitation and need to respect the traditional rights on forest. This all happened during a time when the memory of 1970's flood was fresh in our mind. A question we all were asking that shall we allow the incident like 1970 flood to reoccur or prevent this terrain from any future tragedy. The option was singular; that if we want to save the people and the terrain, the only way left is to prevent any further genocide of our forest. Simon Company auction was a triggering point; this set the ball rolling. A meeting was called by the DGSM in which members of different political parties attended. Suggestions were put forth, and finally, the suggestion made by DGSM based on its very premise of non-violence was accepted and acted upon. According to the suggestion of DGSM, it was decided that people will cling to the trees (Chipko), ear marked for felling and asks the lumberer to axe us first before axing the trees. With this philosophy of peaceful resistance, the very first direct action was launched in Mandal forest near Gopeshwar during 1973.

Chronology

Mandal forest was the starting point of peoples' non-violent resistance towards commercial exploitation of the forests in the region. In practice the local people with their traditional musical instruments marched to the felling site soliciting protection of the trees. This was unprecedented in the history of the region, which caught the Simon company's contractor unaware. Seeing the massive participation of the people, contractor was forced to retreat. Subsequently, the contract was given in the Mandakini valley where again the contractor had to face the people's resistance. After Mandal Chipko movement, DGSM volunteers fan out in all potential forest felling locations in order to educate and warn the people about the possible threat and also narrating the success story of Mandal Chipko movement. The turning point was in 1974, when Rani forest was auctioned. Chipko workers, local peoples and students, in large number got involved in the movement. They were demonstrating against the arrival of lumberer in the sensitive catchment of Rishi Ganga near Reni village. This protest finally resulted in a climatic victory. In fact, the menfolk of the area were absent that day as they had gone to Chamoli to collect the money owed to them as compensation for their lands. Even the Chipko representatives were not there as they had also been called to Gopeshwar for consultation by the forest department. Only the women remained in the village- 27 frail bodies against a lot of professional axe-man. Not caring for the odds against them, they rushed to the felling site and cling to the marked trees while angry lumberer threatened them with their glistening axes. They remained whole day in the forest battering the odds. Next day, their number increased as the men and women of about one dozen villages around Joshimath reached the site to join them. The agitation continued non-violently for a month when messages were spread through beating of drums and singing of Chipko songs. This was a decisive blow to the contractors, who could now started realizing that their motive is not going to be achieved as the women who otherwise remained confined to house hold work have taken the lead. This was solely because of the fact that it was women of the region who were the worst hit of steady decline of the forests. This had significantly added to their misery in terms of collecting fuel and fodder for their domestic needs. The Chipko vigil continued until finally in 1977 the Reni Chipko committee (appointed by the U. P. Government in May 1974) recommended a total ban on logging in this area. Later the movement spread into Bhyundar valley (lower part of the celebrated Valley of flowers). Despite heavy snowfall, the local women saved the trees. In 1980, another village called Dungri-Pantuli in Chamoli district took to the Chipko task. The government in association with the menfolk of the village was planning to fell trees in the vicinity of the village to make nursery for orchard. This would have deprived the women from the easily available fuel and fodder. The motivated women disobeyed their menfolk and flayed the government order. They put up a brave and determined resistance against the felling and questioned the government officials that why they have not been consulted prior to felling. This is important because it is their responsibility to fetch the fuel and fodder from the forests. Hence any decision pertaining to the forests should have the consent of the women. This was a major victory of the Chipko movement in terms of capacity building of hill women.

Non-violence

The movement methodology was evolved through series of deliberation with the people hailing from various walks of life and political background. There were divergent views, as to how one should prevent the forest felling. Opinion varied from obstructing the trucks heading towards the forest compartment, a priori cutting the marked trees etc. However, the DGSM ideology was finally accepted which suggested that we would not opt for any means, which has a component of violence. An idea was put forth, in which it was suggested that we would cling to the trees and ask the lumbers that they have to cut us first before cutting the trees. This appeared quite exotic at that time many people thought that it is a kind of passive resistance, which may not work at all. However, those who were not very sure about the non-violent way of protest could not anticipate the traditional mind set of the hill people. Basically, the hill people are peace loving community, with strong determination, which is the result of their daily struggle for their survival in these rugged terrain.

Means

During the course of the movement, official or other lobbying channels were kept at bay. However, as the movement gained momentum, it gained sympathy from various people both from the region and outside. Institute like Gandhi Peace foundation and other national dailies also gave significant coverage in national and international press. The reporting made by various news papers and magazine created enormous support for the movement as also it enhanced the moral of the activists. The reporting was mainly focused on the demands of the Chipko movement, its approach and the role of the local people.

Organization

The movement did not agree on a formal structure. It was basically an informal conglomeration of the local people and DGSM volunteers. The idea was to create local leadership so that the it can have a self sustaining character. Nevertheless, DGSM, which was spreading the movement, was present in all the scene of action, but it was always kept in mind that local leadership should take the front seat. Especially after 1974 Chipko movement, there was overwhelming participation of the women folk. Since it was an entirely new activity for them, DGSM though always remained present during the direct action, however, where ever possible, enough opportunity was given to the women to express their potential and guide the direct action. Movement did not have any funding from any source. DGSM had small saving from its Khadi and Village Industry Commission (KVIC), this resource was utilized as and when required especially when travel expenditure was required. Rest every thing was supported by the local people. Hence it did not required any significant financial support.

Goals and Outcomes

The goal was to prevent commercial felling of forest crops and safeguarding the traditional rights on the forests in the river basin. This was because of the very fact that DGSM realized after 1970's Alaknanda flood that in order to prevent the terrain and people from future calamity, it is very important to save the forests which acts as green defense belt. Since DGSM was clear in her mind that the task is monumental and a small organization like DGSM can not do it alone. IT is therefore; essential that local people especially, the women who are the worst hit should be made partner to this action. This was achieved through persistent meeting, deliberation and demonstrations.

The objective has been largely achieved. Government of Uttar Pradesh has put a complete ban on commercial forest felling. This definitely gives us a sense of accomplishment. However, according to us the accomplishment is partial in the sense that, Himalaya need continuos nurturing. The terrain has been mercilessly denuded for last one century. The wounds are sever. Therefore, during the course of the movement, it was decided that the popular awakening should be pooled towards rejuvenating the denuded slopes. In this regard for past 30 years, we have been conducting eco-development and environmental conservation camps in the Upper Alaknanda basin. This is a second phase of the Chipko movement from protection to conservation and rejuvenation of the degraded forest cover. This was a difficult task to begin with. In the beginning, it looked quite exotic to talk about regreening the barren community land. The initial phase was witnessed with some inertia. But the time and persistency of the DGSM volunteers, who originally trained in Gram Dan and Chipko movement, paid off. Villages were selected on the basis of their felt need and assessing the threat perception caused by the depleted forest resources. Gradually the eco-development camps become the platforms to develop a closer rapport, exchange views and ideas and evolve strategies for redressing various developmental issues. Today these camps have become symbol of holistic development. In many watersheds the denuded forest cover has been reclaimed, biomass production has gone up and lost prosperity is gradually being reclaimed. Viewing these development, the movement of eco-development camps have increased and spread over many parts of the region witnessing overwhelming participation of the local people especially the women.

However, we feel that this is going to become an endless task considering the terrain dynamics and mounting population pressure. It is therefore, felt that such camps should be continued with spontaneity whether DGSM is there or not. This is the unfinished task towards which DGSM is currently pooling its energy and resources besides keeping close watch on the forests of the region.

Empowerment

Movement, which begins with saving the forest from commercial exploitation, becomes a symbol of fight against social injustice, improper developmental planning, faulty environmental policies. Rural hill folk who were mere spectator of the government policies have become a voice to reckon with. They could question the developmental planning, if found is not tune to the environmental condition of the terrain. In every village there is now a village organization formed by youth and women. These organization have realized their collective potential in shaping the destiny of their villages. Currently, there are innumerable village level women organization called Mahila Mangal Dals. These collective force of the hill women is an out come of the Chipko movement which allowed and encouraged them to realize their hidden strength and immense potential. Viewing the current demographic profile of the hills, majority of the menfolk is away in the mega cities to support the family back in the hills. It is therefore, pertinent that the major responsibility of running the village house hold lies with the women. Since they had to directly suffer the forest genocide in the past, they could very well realized the significance of the Chipko movement spearheaded by DGSM. More over, DGSM in tern could sense that unless this large available and directly affected population of women force is organized, least is expected to be achieved. Thus the subsequent and on going eco-development activity of DGSM could motivate the women to address and redress the natural resource and village rejuvenation program. In fact, contrary to the existing government program where people's participation is sought after the program is finalized. DGSM believed in making people's program where initiator and implementers are the rural people especially women of the region. In the process, DGSM and other agencies act as support organizations. Women of the region have now been empowered so much so that in many villages they are managing the village and Panchayat forests, including taking part in various village developmental programs. After 30 years of hard work the result is in front of the people. They could see their growth in terms of economy like increase in fodder and fuel yield, thus could save lot of time for other house hold work. They could keep high milk yield cows, which not only supply them nutrition but also fetch them hard cash. The camps also helped in evolving interactive developmental issues such as school, roads, basic health etc. Today the situation is such that many times participants healing from distance villages in the eco-development camps, initiate the similar program in their respective villages and DGSM knows about it only it receive the invitation for the same. This is the level of awakening and self sustaincy of the program initiated 30 years ago.

Nevertheless, in such people's program there are always some drawbacks especially by the vested interest groups, with in the village ands out side. Such hurdles are tackled though at times difficult by open debate on the merit of any new program. For instant, when decisions are made about a direct action, DGSM takes people into confidence as also their consent as to how one should go about it. It is the collective approach and become feasible due to informal structure of the Chipko movement. There is no hiarchial set up. Though the initiators are the collective workforces of DGSM, however, finally the decision is finalized in open assembly during the village level meeting and off late in the Eco-development camps.

Chipko movement demands and Achievements

There are six major demands of the Chipko movement many of them successfully achieved. The demands are as under

1. All tree felling in the sensitive watersheds must be banned and there should be large scale plantation. The trees must not be cut for construction purposes unless it is ascertained that this does not affect the eco-system adversely. In such areas, the forest conservation system ought to aim at protecting the forest land and the water resources, as well as in balancing the climatic features.
2. The contract system should be immediately stopped and rural organizations and labor co-operatives should be established to replace them. The local hill people must be actively involved and consulted in any work related with the forests. Such organization and individuals should be provided with relevant training and guidelines.
3. The daily needs of the forest dwellers in the region should be duly evaluated and they should accordingly be given reasonable rights over the forest resources, Forests must be surveyed properly in order to know their exact condition as well as to evaluate the rights of the natives.
4. Rural industrial ventures, based on the forest resources of the region should be executed by involving the local available work force. Towards this assistance must be provided to enable them to obtain the sufficient raw material, finance and technical know how.
5. The denuded hills must be regreened through afforestation drive on a war footing. Again, the local must be involved and encouraged to take up forest-farming (agro-forestry). Efforts should be made to foster love and affection among the local people towards the trees and plants.
6. A detailed geological, ecological and botanical survey of the hills should be carried out before any heavy construction or execution of forest department working plan.
7. These demands are not hollow; they have achieved results like the following:
   1. Commercial forest felling is completely banned not only in the Alaknanda basin from where the Chipko movement was started but in the whole Central Himalaya. This ban is continue till today.
   2. A recent satellite remote sensing study conducted by the Space Applications Center, Ahmedabad show that the forest cover which was lost due to commercial felling between 1959-1969 has nearly been regained in the sensitive catchment of the Upper Alaknanda river. This could have been achieved due to the motivation and participation of the local people.
   3. In February 1980, the Uttar Pradesh forest department sent directives to revise its working plans with a view to harmonizes them with the notion of the "sensitivity" of these areas. Though their definition of sensitivity is at variance with ours, but atleast they have started realizing this vary crucial fact concerning the Himalaya.
   4. In 1975, the Alaknanda Soil Conservation Division of the U.P. forest department came into existence in Chamoli in order to undertake the Himalayan task of rejuvenating the barren slopes. The next five years witnessed functioning the Civil Soyam Forest Division in the entire Central Himalaya. In order to intensify such steps in Chamoli, the Upper Ganga catchment has been established with the objective of evolving planning for the security and safety of the small rivers and rivulets against soil erosion and landslides as also in afforestation drive.

Thus, a movement which started from the sheer need of survival, become the mouth peace of the local people who could now think, plan and execute programmes as per their felt-need along with pooling their collective energy to save the terrain from any further calamity.

Translated from original Hindi

Military Contamination on the Island of Vieques, Puerto Rico and the People's Response

Good Evening. I thank the organizers of this event for the opportunity to share with you the experience of struggle on the Island of Vieques, Puerto Rico, beseiged by US Naval activities during the past six decades. I thank the people of Puerto Rico and, in particular, the people of the Island Municipality of Vieques, for allowing me to live and work with the community during these past twenty years and to participate in such an important struggle for peace and justice in such a special place.

I am here in representation of the Committee for the Rescue and Development of Vieques, a grass roots community organization on Vieques that defends the basic demands of the people of this small Caribbean Island, demands known as the four D´s: demilitarization, decontamination, devolution (or return of the lands) and development.

I will share with you tonight some history of the US military presence and activities on Vieques, the environmental, health and socio/economico consequences of that presence and the historic and heroic struggle of a small community against the mightiest naval force in the history of the world.

Around 7:00 PM (EST) on April 19, 1999, a U.S. Navy pilot launched two five hundred pound live bombs from his FA-18 jet that missed their target at the bombing range in Vieques, Puerto Rico, destroying the Navy's observation post, killing David Sanes, a civilian security guard and injuring several others.

David Sanes' killing was the chronicle of a death foretold. For decades Viequenses have been clamoring for an end to the bombings and shelling on the Island and for an end to the military presence. This was not the first time that the Navy missed its target. Fishermen generally complain about the great number of unexploded bombs in the coastal waters of Vieques and the destruction caused to coral reefs and other elements of the marine environment from the bombing. In October of 1993, another FA-18 fighter jet missed its target by about ten miles, dropping five 500 hundred pound live bombs about a mile from the main town of Vieques. Luckily, no one was killed in that incident. In November of 1994, during a two week exercise, a Navy air wing dropped 20thousand pounds of live explosives, including Napalm, on Vieques. In 1998, during maneuvers involving Navy and Puerto Rican National Guard troops, bullets broke windows in the Public School Buses parked at the Public Works area of the Municipal Government in the Santa María sector. Several government employees in the area at the time had to take cover until the shooting stopped.

Vieques is an island municipality of Puerto Rico, six miles southeast of the main island. 72% of its population of approximately 9,000 live below the poverty level. The Municipal Government reports over 50% unemployment. Studies by the University of Puerto Rico School of Public Health indicate that Vieques suffers a 27% higher cancer case rate than the rest of Puerto Rico. The mortality rate for cancer on Vieques is 34% higher than in all of Puerto Rico.

The Puerto Rico Legislature ordered an epidemiological study to determine the causes of the higher cancer rate. People on Vieques, environmental and health experts throughout Puerto Rico, relate the abnormally high cancer rate to the environmental degradation caused by U.S. Navy and NATO bombing (the Navy "rents" Vieques to NATO and other countries for bombing practice) on this Island.

Since the 1940's, the U.S. Navy controls ¾ of Vieques' 33,000 acres. The western end is used as an ammunition depot while the eastern third is a bombing and maneuver area. Military expropriations in the 40's caused a social and economic crisis that lasts to this day. The Navy controls the shortest connecting point between Vieques and the main island (the Puerto Rico Ports Authority must use an 18 nautical mile route instead of the six-mile route controlled by the military). The Navy controls the highest points on the island, the best aquifers and most fertile lands, extensive white sand beaches, and hundreds of archaeological sites.

Large-scale ecological destruction is the result of over half a century of bombing and experimentation with new weapons systems. In his study titled "Vieques: The Ecology of an Island Under Siege", Professor José Seguinot Barbosa, Director of the Geography Department of the University of Puerto Rico in Río Piedras, explains that "the eastern tip of the island constitutes a region with more craters per kilometer than the moon." Professor Seguinot Barbosa adds "the destruction of the natural and human resources of Vieques violates the basic norms of international law and human rights. At the state and federal level the laws pertaining to the coastal zone, water and noise quality, underwater resources, archaeological resources and land use, among others, are violated."

Chemical engineer Rafael Cruz Pérez, in an article titled "Contamination Produced by Explosives and Residuals of Explosives in Vieques, Puerto Rico" (published in Dimensión,

Magazine of the Association of Engineers and Surveyors of Puerto Rico, Year 2, Vol. 8, Jan. 1988) points out that " . . .chemicals from the bombing (TNT, NO3, NO2, RDX and Tetryl) are transported by diverse mechanisms toward the civilian area. . .We find that the effective concentration of particles of contaminants over the civilian area of Vieques exceeds 197 micrograms per cubic meter and therefore exceeds the legal federal criteria for clean air." Studies done recently in the bombing area by leading Puerto Rican environmental scientists Dr. Neftalí García and Jorge Fernández, indicate dangerously high levels of heavy metals and other toxic chemical components related to military activities in the soil and water. The EPA and the Puerto Rico Environmental Quality Board previously announced their intent to deny the Navy permission to continue bombing activity that results in discharges into bodies of water. However, with the signing of the Presidential Directives, these agencies have abandoned their responsabilities to the environment and the people of Vieques to allow the Navy to continue with its destructive activities here.

The Navy stated in May of 1999 - after a Freedom of Information Act Request by the Military Toxics Project helped obtain the information - that 263 Depleted Uranium projectiles were "accidently" fired from a Harrier Jet into the impact area at Vieques during training for the war in Yugoslavia in February of that year. Documents from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission indicate that only 56 DU rounds were retrieved and because of the danger of unexploded conventional ordnance in the area, the search for the rest of the DU was postponed until August of 1999. The Navy has still not publicly stated the status of their "cleanup". Depleted Uranium poses a serious threat to the health of the people of Vieques who suffer an already alarmingly high cancer case rate. We believe the Navy has been using Vieques for practice and experimentation with DU weapons possibly for decades.

Scientific studies carried out over the past two years identified high concentrations of arsenic, barium, cadmium, zinc, cobalt, copper, tin, mercury and silver and lead. Aluminum, chromium, iron, manganese, nickel, and vanadium concentrations were found in some areas. High concentrations of nitrates, nitrites, ammonia, hydrocarbons typical of diesel fuel, and phosphates, that are formed from bomb explosions or are present in other war artifacts, were also found. The metals found in high concentrations are present in explosives, propellants, paints, conventional and uranium bullets, napalm, chaff, flares and other paraphernalia used by the Navy in Vieques.

Metals have been found in plants, violinist crabs, fish, mussels, Thalassia and sea grass beds, and humans in Vieques, which confirm the expected processes of biomagnification. High concnetrations of mercury and lead have been found in hair samples of civilians in Vieques subcontracted by US companies like Raytheon and General Electric to work in the impact areas.

High contentrations of aluminum, antimony, arsenic, bismuth and lead have been found in hair samples of a large number of civilians in Vieques that do not work in impact areas. Other metals found in above normal levels are boron, cadmium, tin, manganese, mercury, silver and vanadium. Uranium in above normal concentrations has been found in stool samples of civilians.

Fishermen have for decades struggled to get the Navy to stop bombing and leave the island. Giant military ships destroy fish traps and bombing and other maneuvers impose severe restrictions on fishermen's entry into some of the best fishing areas around the island. On numerous occasions fishing boats have been damaged by naval gunfire and fishermen have been severely hurt by bombs exploding close to their fishing activities.

After the April 19th killing of David Sanes, groups of Viequenses and supporters from the main island of Puerto Rico occupied several areas inside the bombing zone to block the possibility of renewed bombing and-or maneuvers. Close to the site where Sanes was killed, a giant cross was placed by members of the Committee for the Rescue and Development of Vieques (CPRDV), fishermen and others on 22 April. Until the arrests of May 4, 2000,, a group of young Viequense men and women together with university students from Puerto Rico, maintained a permanent vigil at the site of the cross. The area has been renamed Moount David.

The Puerto Rico Independence Party (PIP) set up a protest camp about a mile from Mt. David, also in the bombing range on the 8th of May. On the North coast of Vieques (both Mt. David and the PIP camp were on the South coast of the island) a group of fishermen and other residents of Vieques occupied the Yayi Key while a group of Vieques teachers, with support from the CPRDV and the Congreso Nacional Hostosiano (a coalition of PR Independence groups) held a position directly across from the Yayi Key. All of the protest camps were within Navy restricted zone. Labor groups, the Catholic Church and Protestant denominations, and university students set up other camps.

In front of the entrance to the bombing range at Camp García, another camp was set up on December 3rd, to block all military vehicles and personnel from entering or leaving the base. This was a project of a coordinating committee made up of church groups, political organizations, the Vieques Womens Alliance, a youth group and the Committee for the Rescue and Development of Vieques.

On 25 June, 1999, a Special Commission on Vieques appointed by the Governor with members from the three major political parties, the churches, Vieques fisherman and the Mayor of Vieques submitted its report in which it supported the position of the community - total demilitarization, decontamination, devolution (return of all lands to the people) and development. The Governor of Puerto Rico established Public Policy demanding the immediate and permanent cessation of all military activity on Vieques.

Representatives of the CPRDV successfully lobbied to have a clear statement on Vieques included in the final resolution of the UN Committee on Decolonization in July. On behalf of the Vieques committee, a protest was formally introduced to the High Commissioner for Human Rights of the UN at Geneva and a complaint filed with the Organization of American States, citing Navy abuses and violations. On the main island, a national coordinating committee - "Todo Puerto Rico con Vieques" (All Puerto Rico with Vieques), rallied fifty thousand people for a demonstration at the entrance to Roosevelt Roads Naval Station in the town of Ceiba on the 4th of July of 1999.

A Presidential Panel - two of the three members from the Department of Defense - appointed to investigate the military presence on Vieques recommended the continuation of bombing for a five year period while the Navy searches for alternatives. This recommendation was universally rejected by all sectors of Puerto Rican society.

In January of this year (2000), the Governor of Puerto Rico made an abrupt turn and signed an agreement with President Clinton authorizing the continuation of bombing for at least three more years. The Presidential Directives, signed by Clinton and Puerto Rican Governor Pedro Roselló on January 31, without the slightest participation of the people of Vieques, gave the green light to the Navy to remove protesters from the civil disobedience camps inside the bombing area and reinitiate bombing shortly thereafter.

The Directives suggested the clean up and return of the eight thousand acres on the Western end of the island and the fifteen thousand acres on the East to the people of Vieques. However, Congress recently passed the Military Appropriations Bill that stipulates only 4 thousand of the 23thousand acres controlled by the Navy will be returned to the people of Vieques. Without community participation in the process, the Navy and the Puerto Rican government work to return lands before carrying out environmental cleanup. The agreement between the Governnor of Puerto Rico and President Clinton was recently changed and approved by Congress, openning the door for renewed use of live weapons, and does not include language about the cleanup of the impact area nor does it discuss the return to the people of Vieques of any of the land on the Eastern third of the Island. It also leaves the Navy´s giant ROTHR Radar functioning with its electromagnetic contamination and the Navy in control of the hightest point on Vieques, Monte Pirata, where it will continue to operate an observation post and communications center.

In Febrary of this year, over one hundred and fifty thousand people marched in San Juan against the Presidential Directives. The march - considered by many to have been the largest ever - was convoked by Puerto Rico´s most influential religious leaders in support of the position of our community: not one more bomb, not one more minute.

On 4 May of this year, over a thousand Marines and hundreds of federal officials - FBI, customs officials, US Marshalls, among others - arrested over two hundred people in the bombing area, including priests, nuns, pastors and ministers, fishermen, housewives, students, workers, union leaders, grandmothers and great grandmothers. Shortly afterwards, the Navy resumed bombing, with non-explosive projectiles, they say, and only for 90 days a year, according to the Presidential Directives.

Since the May 4 arrests, close to a thousand people have been arrested during a series of civil disobedience actions inside the bombing area and in other parts of the Navy´s restricted zones on Vieques. In small, medium and large groups, by water in fishing boats and by land through the Navy´s perimiter fence, hundreds of Viequenses and Puerto Ricans from the main island have entered the restricted zone to protest and disrupt the continuation of bombing and press for demilitarization.

On 13 May, 54 people entered the restricted area of Camp García and were arrested. A group of Viequense women directed a team of fifteen people who got through Navy security, made it out to the bombing area on the 1st of June and before being arrested, carried out a ceremony in memory of women who have died from cancer on Vieques. Other groups of women, Viequense university students, labor and religious leaders, a group of Puerto Rican physicians and a group called Artists for Peace on Vieques are among the hundreds who have been arrested over the past six months for participating in civil disobedience actions here.

In June of this year, the Puerto Rican Independence party organized its members for a large scale civil disobedience action aimed at disrupting Navy maneuvers. The President of the Party, Puerto Rican Senator Rubén Berríos, other legislators, mayoral candidates and assemblymen and women from all parts of Puerto Rico participated in the actions led by the PIP. Over one hundred members of the PIP were arrested and many spent over a month in the Federal Prision in San Juan.

During that same period, Vieques fishermen outmaneuverd Navy patrol boats and after leaving several civil disobedients in the bombing area, led the high speed, high tech Navy vessels through shallow waters where they stayed caught up on the coral reefs. The fishermen returned safely to the civilian area.

On the first of October, a coalition of organizations in Vieques and on the main island of Puerto Rico, carried out a march in support of civil disobedience. While approximately five thousand people marched in the Esperanza sector, 70 people entered the restricted area on the Western end of Vieques. Hundreds of people travelled to Vieques that day in private yaughts and fishing boats to participate in the demonstration.

The following Sunday, hundreds of Viequenses blocked the entrance to the Navy´s Camp García with their cars during a two hour demonstration. On the 22nd of October, hundreds of people from our community tore down large sections of the Navy´s perimeter fence close to the entrance to the bombing area. When Navy security forces approached the protesters from inside the base, they were "attacked" with paint filled balloons and lots of whistle blowing.

This past October 17th, nine people from Vieques entered the bombing zone during large scale NATO maneuvers. Although the Navy was informed of the presence of the group, they nevertheless continued to bomb from ships and jets. Three Viequense veterans, part of the civil disobedience team, were caught in the firing when they tried to get to the observation post after the oldest member of the group - 70 year old Korean war veteran, Angel Navarro - suffered a diabetic shock. Bombs fell within feet of the group as they tried to get Navarro medical attention.

At the same time and close by in the bombing zone, six other Viequenses - including the Deacon of the Catholic Church, Justino López; the ex Mayor of Vieques, Radamés Tirado;

retired Viequense teacher and veteran Angel Guadalupe; José Silva, whose wife died of cancer shortly before the killing of David Sanes; Cedric Morales, leading member of the Vieques Chamber of Commerce; and myself - waited out the bombing from 8:00AM until 11:00 PM, moving from one place to another to stay clear of Naval gunfire. After crossing the entire bombing zone on the second day between 4:00 and 6:00 AM, we were arrested close to the observation post

Every Saturday night for the past year and a half, the Committee for the Rescue and Development of Vieques holds a vigil at the Peace and Justice Camp in front of the entrance to the bombing zone. Last Saturday around 200 people participated and around thirty people spent the night to provide security due to rumors of a possible FBI/PR police intervention against the Camp.

There have been protests and civil disobedience actions for Vieques throughout the US, and in Vieques we are greatly appreciative of all the solidarity activity organized by the Puerto Rican communities and others here. This past Sunday, activitists from Puerto Rico and New York placed a Vieques flag, a Puerto Rican flag and sign for peace in Vieques on the Statue of Liberty, before being arrested.

Members of the Committee for the Rescue and Development of Vieques have travelled recently to Korea, Okinawa, England, Mexico and the US to help raise consciousness about the US Navy presence on the island and to learn from other communities that face environmental degradation and repression at the hands of the US military. We maintain contacts with people struggling in Hawaii, the Phillipines and Panamá and have received activits in Vieques from many of these countries during this past year of intense struggle.

From 16 to 20 November, we will celebrate in Vieques an International Tribunal on Human Rights Violations in Puerto Rico and Vieques, with the participation of judges and observers from across the globe.

We now prepare for our - and their - next maneuvers.

A short note about the development of a Free Vieques.

The CPRDV, together with the Vieques Women´s Alliance, the Vieques Conservation Trust and other community leaders, has begun to articulate a vision for future social and economic development of a Vieques freed from the Navy. For several years the CPRDV worked on the development issue with the UN based Economist Allied for Arms Reduction and Columbia University´s Urban Technical Assistance Program. In July of 1999, a group of highly respected Puerto Rican professionals organized, at the request of the CPRDV, a Multidisciplinary Technical Team in Support of Vieques.

The local grassroots organizations recommend the creation of a community land trust to keep and maintain the lands rescued from the Navy in the hands of the people of Vieques. We also recommend the establishment of a continuing education and training program in order to adequately empower the community of Vieques to fully participate in the development process.

The decontamination of Vieques is crucial to ensure the healthy social and economic development of the island. Our community will continue to struggle for an end to militarization, for the environmental restoration and devolution of the lands that belong, by natural right, to the people of Vieques.

The people of Vieques need your support in this historic moment. We ask organizations and individuals to show solidarity by bringing up the issue of Vieques at the workplace, in schools, at community and religious meetings. The struggle for peace in Vieques, is a struggle for people everywhere who believe that life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is worth fighting for, even against the most powerful military forces of our times.

Thank you.