When picking classes to complete my senior year at Columbia College I was surprised to see an Environmental Psychology course offered. I was even more surprised when I found the course description included a trip to Puerto Rico. Little did I know when I enrolled I would end up in the midst of some very passionate and serious protests, led by individuals like Carlos Zenon.

Carlos proudly recalled the demonstration he and fellow fisherman staged in 1978, blocking U.S. Navy ships from carrying out bombing exercises on their homeland, the Puerto Rican island of Vieques. The island residents have persevered for decades to halt the naval operations. In February, the residents learned their resistance-- capped by the establishment last year of an encampment on the bombing range-- appears to have paid off. Pentagon planners have relocated spring bombing exercises away from Puerto Rico..

These protests have a long history in Puerto Rico, dating at least back to 1941 and the development on the main island of one of the world's largest military training centers called Roosevelt Roads. Soon after, the Navy established bombing ranges on the two smaller Puerto Rican islands of Vieques and Culebra. The U.S. government may have granted Puerto Rico residents citizenship, through the Jones Act in 1917, but Pentagon planners seriously considered no citizen input for their plans. These two islands became sites for war preparation, where so-called U.S. "national security" is more important than human rights. The two places have also, however, become known in the past few decades for their residents' resistance to Pentagon plans.

For more than 40 years the U.S. Navy has used Vieques Puerto Rico as the site for military exercises and bombing practices. Vieques is a small island located seven miles east of the main island of Puerto Rico and is home to some 9,000 people.

Throughout the last forty years local residents have pro-tested against the presence of the Navy. Now residents are demanding the removal of the Navy from Vieques, especially after an errant bomb killed David Sanes, a local resident who was working as a guard on the bombing range. After the death of Sanes, protesters acted out in civil disobedience by moving into the bombing range and setting up camp for over a year. However, on 4 May this year, under FBI supervision, the protesters were removed from the range and told not to return. On 1 June, a group of Viequense women were accompanied by Puerto Rican journal-sits and other activists on a re-turn trip to the bombing range. All involved were arrested and one protester was sent to Federal Prison with the charge of resisting arrest.

The protesters call for an immediate halt to Navy bombing and are frustrated over a clear lack of control over the fate of their home and the health of their families. The people of Vieques will continue acts of civil disobedience as they de-nounce the alternatives given to them by the U.S. and Puerto Rican governments.

President Clinton announced in February a proposal that was ultimately agreed upon by the government of Puerto Rico. The agreement states that a referendum will be held on Vieques within 270 days prior to or after 1 May. The exact date will be determined by the Navy. The referendum will give the voters two choices: either have the U.S. Navy leave the island or let them continue their military training on Vieques. Both alternatives are subject to certain parameters and define the responsibilities of the U.S. Navy, the U.S. government and the people of Puerto Rico. Al-though supported by the Puerto Rican government many people of Puerto Rico believe the U.S. should not be allowed to put human rights up to a vote and oppose the referendum. In the words of Bob Marley, They got so much things to say right now, they got so much things to say. To hear the things people of Vieques have to say, log on to ViequesLibre

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Vieques islanders look to their neighbors in Culebra like an inspiring big brother. In 1975, the Navy finally did move bombing operations off the island in 1975 after years of organized protests by Culebra residents. The Navy then merely relocated all bombing activity to Vieques. Likewise, Vieques residents have staged rounds of protests throughout the years but have not been successful in putting an end to the bombing.

The latest round of protests began immediately after the death of David Sanes, a local resident hired by the Navy to work as a guard. On April 19, 1999 the Navy misfired and bombed their own guard post, killing Sanes. Soon after his death, protesters arrived at the bombing range, using their own bodies as human shields. They have succeeded to date in halting the bombing for about ten months.

On January 31, 2000 Congress gave the military permission to resume bombing in the spring. Perhaps because the resistance did not evaporate, the Navy announced in February, spring bombing exercises would be relocated to an undisclosed site. It will be interesting to see how the military will cope with continued resistance should the Navy persist in it plans to resume bombing on the island.

In 1983 Puerto Rican Governor Romero Barcelo and Acting Navy Secretary James Goodrich both signed the Fortin Accord, a "memorandum of understanding" which recognized the negative effects on the social and economic development of the island. The Navy agreed it should be their responsibility to both create jobs for Vieques, which has been plagued by a 50 to 60 percent unemployment rate and to improve the island's infrastructure so it would be able to attract prospective employers. Today, Vieques continues to be mired by similarly high unemployment and its resulting social problems.

The Navy is also responsible for ecological and health problems on the island. Vieques is only 20 miles long and four miles wide. The Navy's bombing range covers the eastern tip; a 12 mile zone separates the range from the island's 9200 residents. Unfortunately, a westward wind commonly blew harmful particles from the bombing to the inhabited areas. Some residents contend Vieques residents suffer from a 27% higher cancer rate than Puerto Ricans living on the main ilsand. They blame in part, the Navy's routine use of shells made with depleted uranium, a substance prized by warmakers for its ability to penetrate tank armor but also remaining dangerously radioactive with a half life of billions of years. The residents of Vieques continue to stand firm in their call for the removal of U.S military forces. In the meantime, folks like Carlos Zenon will continue the struggle. He recalled how the military had restricted their fishing area for over a month severely limiting their economic base income Still today, nothing has changed for Carlos and the other residents of Vieques. They still face the same issues and stand on firm ground, calling for peace and an end both to the bombing upon one of the most beautiful places in the world.

For more information/ updates on the struggles of the Vieques residents check out the following web sites: www.viequeslibre.org and www.puertorico-herald.org.