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A Shout For Peace

By VVAW

[From a Committee for the Rescue and Development of Vieques mailing, September 23, 2001]

The presence and activities of the U.S. Navy in Vieques were immoral before the 11th of September, and they continue to be immoral today. Our community in struggle has declared a moratorium on civil disobedience actions based upon our commitment to peace and as a show of solidarity with the victims and families affected by the tragic events of 11 September as well as concerns for the security of our people.

However, we emphasize that our solidarity is directed toward innocent victims of the terrorist attacks and not toward the militaristic actions of the U.S. government. The pain brought on by these violent acts for thousands of families in the United States, in Puerto Rico and around the world, is also our pain. And our struggle for peace is also the struggle for peace for the United States, for Puerto Rico and all the peoples of the world.

We energetically reject terrorism, war and any type of violence as a means to resolve conflicts in our world. In Vieques, the U.S. armed forces have dropped more bombs that in all combined wars. We have been victims of every U.S. military action since the second World War - Korea, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf, Yugoslavia and the many U.S. military interventions in the Americas. We do not want to be used for preparing wars in the 21st century.

Our people live the effects of war - military contamination and its serious health effects; restrictions on movement in our own land; forced immigration and the breaking up of the family; the dangers and tension from the daily possibility of a horrible military accident and the psychological impact of this situation for our people. We struggle to demilitarize Vieques. Our people are the first to suffer the effects of invasions and bombings of attacks launched by the U.S. government against other countries. We do not want more war for Vieques. We do not want any more war for anybody in this world. We join the growing peace movement that throughout the world - including the United States - is revitalizing itself before the imminent attack by the United States against Afghanistan.

We will continue to struggle for demilitarization, decontamination, the return of our lands and sustainable community development in a future Vieques freed from the Navy. We are preparing now for the next civil disobedience actions during the next maneuvers. We are recruiting in the neighborhoods in preparation for a massive entrance of Viequenses and Puerto Ricans from all parts of the archipelago.

We have declared a moratorium on civil disobedience because we value life - ours and the lives of everyone. All of the Vieques organizations related to the struggle against the military presence approved the moratorium because ours is a people of peace. But we wish to make very clear that our solidarity is directed toward the innocent victims of terrorism. We could never support or applaud the terrorism of aircraft carriers launching missiles against hospitals, schools, against populated cities, in the name of vengeance and of a democracy that in Vieques is stepped upon by the U.S. Navy.

We struggle for peace in Vieques, peace in New York, peace in Washington, in Afghanistan and in the entire world.

SAY NO TO WAR! YES TO PEACE!