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<div class="info"> <a rel="author"
href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/natasha-lycia-ora-bannan/"><span
class="name fn">Natasha Lycia Ora Bannan</span></a> <span
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<h1 class="title">Vieques 12 Years Later: Justice Delayed Is
Justice Denied</h1>
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<div class="times"> <span class="posted"> Posted: <time
datetime="2015-05-06T11:56:15-04:00"> 05/06/2015 11:56 <br>
<b><small><small><small><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/natasha-lycia-ora-bannan/vieques-12-years-later-justice-delayed-is-justice-denied_b_7183564.html">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/natasha-lycia-ora-bannan/vieques-12-years-later-justice-delayed-is-justice-denied_b_7183564.html</a></small></small></small></b><br>
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datetime="2015-05-06T11:59:02-04:00"></time> </span>
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<p>Twelve years ago if you happened to be standing at the top
of Monte Carmelo in Vieques, Puerto Rico, you would notice
something different. Perhaps you would notice the collective
sigh of relief, of hope, of victory. Or that the wave of
visitors being arrested and detained in masse had eased
after the United States finally decided to close its
military base that had been used for bombing practice.
However, standing there today you may still see bombs
exploding as the result of detonation, or hear that local
lands remain in federal hands or notice that the ferries
from Vieques to mainland Puerto Rico are full of Viequenses
seeking health services, many for complicated and serious
illnesses. Over 70 years after the arrival of the Navy in
Vieques, some have called the compounded and continuous
human rights violations on the island a <a
href="http://vieques.elnuevodia.com" target="_hplink">crime
against humanity</a>. </p>
<p>On May 1, 2003, the United States Navy finally closed its
naval base, the Atlantic Fleet Weapons Training Area in
Vieques after 60 years of using the island to carry out
military practices that included live target practice
involving bombing and the use of biochemical agents such as
Agent Orange, depleted uranium, napalm and white phosphorus.
The Navy's arrival in 1941 lead to mass displacement and the
expropriation of about 75 percent of the island. For
decades, Viequenses were exposed to toxic chemicals,
including heavy metals, that have contaminated their bodies,
land and water. The killing of David Sanes, a civilian guard
on duty in the Naval base, by a 500 pound errant bomb set
off a wave of protests, civil disobedience and arrests by
thousands of Puerto Ricans and visitors from across the
world who said "basta ya!" to the military legacy and
toxicity of the Navy's presence and activities. After
several years of consistent protests and visits by prominent
figures, the U.S. government finally succumbed to
international pressure and closed the base.</p>
<p>While many remember that victorious moment, the modern-day
realities facing Viequenses are less known. The people of
Vieques continue to suffer from disproportionately high
rates of grave illnesses, including cancer, hypertension,
kidney failure, asthma and other respiratory illnesses. The
level of health services in Vieques remains what it was
twelve years ago. A small percent of the lands controlled by
the federal government have been returned to local control,
while the overwhelming majority were merely transferred from
one federal agency to another. </p>
<p>As a result of the extreme health and environmental damage
caused by the Navy's practices, Vieques was declared a <a
href="http://www.navfac.navy.mil/content/dam/navfac/Environmental/PDFs/env_restoration/vieques/SMP_FY2015.pdf"
target="_hplink">Superfund</a> site by the Environmental
Protection Agency in 2005, meaning the site requires a
special protocol for cleanup and decontamination procedures
because of its level of toxicity. Despite such protocols,
the Navy and its contractor, CH2MHill, engage in the use of
open-air bombing as a means of detonating found munitions.
They also engage in the questionable practice of <a
href="http://www.primerahora.com/noticias/policia-tribunales/nota/explosionenviequessesienteenculebra-1080208/"
target="_hplink">open-air burning</a> of vegetation as an
economical means of finding munitions, both of which have
been criticized as exacerbating existing environmental and
health damage. There exists no adequate civilian oversight
mechanism for a community of dominant Spanish speakers who
have been isolated and disengaged from participating in the
cleanup process and understanding its ramifications. </p>
<p>The United States has consistently maintained a position of
non-liability for its actions in Vieques. The Agency for
Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, part of the Center
for Disease Control, has been heavily critiqued by
scientists and <a
href="http://www.theinvestigativefund.org/files/managed/ATSDR%20Staff%20Report%2003%2010%2009.pdf"
target="_hplink">Congress</a> alike for it's "finding" of
no ''credible scientific evidence'' to support a
relationship between decades of military toxic use and
civilian health consequences and environmental damage. The
Navy continues to insist that open-air detonation of bombs
does not contribute to air pollution since the chemicals
released are already naturally occurring; however they are
quick to caution residents and visitors not to approach or
touch such munitions. They have been suspected of engaging
in open-air burning of vegetation to quickly locate
munitions at a fraction of the cost, an act that <a
href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/maritza-stanchich-phd/ten-years-after-ousting-u_b_3243449.html"
target="_hplink">the EPA has</a> said would be unlawful
under local law (the Navy has admitted that even <a
href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/05/vieques-cleanup-bomb-site_n_1942107.html"
target="_hplink">tearing up the dense vegetation</a> to
clear the remainder of the debris would hurt the nature
reserve, much less burning it). In the many lawsuits filed
against the United States, including one by LatinoJustice
years ago, the government has consistently asserted the
antiquated defense of sovereign immunity, insisting their
actions are justified by national security reasons and
therefore not subject to judicial scrutiny. There are no
longer domestic forums available for Viequenses to seek
justice, which is why <a
href="http://www.nlg.org/petition-alleging-violations-human-rights-residents-vieques-puerto-rico-united-states"
target="_hplink">we have asked</a> the Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights, an autonomous organism and
quasi-judicial human rights body of the Organization of
American States, to look into the situation. </p>
<p>After almost 75 years of exploitation, the people of
Vieques have been very clear in their demands: return of all
federally controlled lands to the people and municipality of
Vieques; adequate and thorough decontamination of all land
and water; demilitarization of their land; and locally
controlled development. None of those demands have yet been
met in full. Just this month, a group of independent
scientists met in Puerto Rico to discuss their ongoing
concern regarding the state of health and environmental
damage in Vieques. And their concern is well-founded - the
Navy estimated that they have so far removed 90,000
munitions items; 40,000 of which have been destroyed through
demolition. However it has been estimated that the cleanup
could take another <a
href="http://www.epa.gov/region02/vieques/may2013viequesupdate_.pdf"
target="_hplink">14 years</a>, and even then the Navy
presumes that not all munitions will be found, "regardless
of the level of cleanup." Instead, the Navy has proposed
posting warning signs or fencing off areas from the public,
which would limit any potential use of the land and relieves
them of any responsibility for possible ecological damage
that may surface in a toxic site left contaminated and
unattended.</p>
<p>Concretely, the United States must be held accountable for
its actions that have intentionally violated the most
fundamental human rights of the people of Vieques and have
led to loss of life and compromised health. The United
Nations Special Committee on Decolonization has <a
href="http://www.un.org/press/en/2014/gacol3269.doc.htm"
target="_hplink">consistently called for</a> an adequate
decontamination effort in Vieques and return of the lands to
local control. This past week, <a
href="http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-2015-04-22/pdf/CREC-2015-04-22-pt1-PgE554-2.pdf#page=1"
target="_hplink">several members</a> of Congress called
for the U.S. to reexamine its efforts and commitment to the
people of Vieques. There have been renewed calls by the <a
href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/daniel-coloramos/letter-to-president-barack-obama-about-vieques_b_7100090.html"
target="_hplink">scientific community</a> to ensure that
the U.S. adequately funds a full and complete
decontamination effort in Vieques, not just a cleanup (the
Navy has consistently stated that for ten years it has spent
close to $20 million per year in Vieques, yet "cleanup" has
not necessarily meant "decontamination"). And the people of
Vieques have consistently demanded that their own government
of Puerto Rico address and remedy the lack of adequate
health services in Vieques, which forces residents to spend
hours and sometimes days traveling to the main island to
seek healthcare. Despite a <a
href="http://www.camaraderepresentantes.org/imedida.asp?r=RKC0039"
target="_hplink">resolution</a> from the Puerto Rican
House of Representatives reaffirming their commitment to
justice in Vieques, residents have yet to see concrete
actions taken on their behalf. </p>
<p>The United States, which was one of only four countries
that recently opposed the United Nations General Assembly's
fifth <a
href="http://www.bandepleteduranium.org/en/new-un-depleted-uranium-resolution-calls-for-clean"
target="_hplink">resolution on depleted uranium</a>, has
yet to put forward or implement a comprehensive plan that
would adequately address the health, environmental, land use
and economic concerns residents of Vieques have that stem
from decades of military use and abuse. In 2013, Congress <a
href="http://pierluisi.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/house-approves-2014-defense-bill-that-benefits-vieques-and-culebra"
target="_hplink">approved legislation</a> that asked the
Navy to make public and easily accessible historical records
on the use, type and frequency of munitions used in Vieques,
a request that has still not been satisfied. </p>
<p>In 2008 when then Senator Obama was campaigning, he <a
href="http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Barack_Obama%27s_Letter_to_An%C3%ADbal_Acevedo_Vil%C3%A1"
target="_hplink">pledged</a> to "closely monitor the
health of the people of Vieques and promote appropriate
remedies to health conditions caused by military activities
conducted by the U.S. Navy on Vieques." Today, seven years
after that promise and 74 years after the invasion of the
Navy in Vieques, justice remains delayed and denied. The
"appropriate remedies" mentioned by Obama must mean
economic, environmental and health justice with the full
input and participation of the people of Vieques. And not in
several years when yet another generation will struggle with
high rates of asthma, respiratory illnesses and
developmental and learning disabilities (known side effects
of exposure to mercury), as young Viequenses currently do.
The United States and the government of Puerto Rico must
look beyond the bare minimum required to "cleanup" Vieques,
and instead must adequately fund, support and facilitate a
full decontamination and health effort. Anything less is
ineffective and unjust. After decades of battling the
residual toxicity left behind, residents demand a true "paz
para Vieques", which is only possible through justice.</p>
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