UNESCO CHAIR ON PEACE EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF PUERTO RICO
STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF PEACE FOR VIEQUES
MAY 2001
The UNESCO Chair on Peace Education at the University of
Puerto Rico, issues this statement in support of peace for
Vieques.
- The UNESCO Chair on Peace Education is a
multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary education project
that promotes reflection and action for a culture of
peace and human rights at the University of Puerto Rico.
- The United Nations declared the year 2000, as
the International Year for a Culture of Peace, paving the
way for the International Decade for a Culture of Peace
and Nonviolence for the Children of the World
(2001-2010).
- Based on these initiatives, the UNESCO Chair
on Peace Education has produced a Puerto Rican Agenda for
a Culture of Peace. This agenda includes participating in
the wide social movement in favor of peace for the island
of Vieques, Puerto Rico.
- In February 2000, the UNESCO Chair on Peace
Education distinguished the people of Vieques for their
exemplary struggle in favor of peace and human rights, in
the Third Annual UNESCO Peace Education Conference.
- Vieques is an island municipality of Puerto
Rico. It is located to the south east of the main island,
with a territorial extension of 18 x 3.5 miles (29 x 5.6
kilometers). Since 1938, the United States Navy has used
the island of Vieques for military practice, occupying
two thirds of the land, forcing its residents to migrate
or live in the central strip of the island. Vieques has a
population of approximately 9,400 inhabitants.
- Sixty years of military presence in Vieques
have resulted in economic stagnation, impoverishment for
the majority of people of Vieques, widespread ecological
destruction and contamination. Military practices have
contaminated the soil, water, air, and vegetation with
heavy metals and toxics such as: copper, lead, mercury,
cadmium, and arsenic. Napalm and reduced uranium have
been tested in Vieques. The people of Vieques suffer from
high levels of cancer (27% higher than in the rest of
Puerto Rico). The infant mortality rate has increased
dramatically over the past 20 years, and the overall
mortality rate is much higher than in Puerto Rico. Recent
studies demonstrate that the heart and cardiac systems of
fishermen and children in Vieques have been affected by
sound waves associated with military bombing.
- The United States Navy advertises and leases
the island of Vieques for the training of military
personnel from other countries, promoting the
proliferation of arms and armamentism world-wide.
- In April 1999, David Sanes, a civilian
working for the US Navy in Vieques, was killed when a
bomb was accidentally dropped by his observation post.
Even though resistance and opposition to the presence of
the US Navy in Vieques has been present for decades, this
incident sparked unprecedented investigations and public
outcry for the cessation of all military activity in
Vieques. The vast majority of the people of Puerto Rico,
including elected officials of the three political
parties, religious and civic leaders are supporting the
widespread movement of peace for Vieques. The United
Nations Special Committee on Decolonization, members of
the United States Congress, the United States National
Council of Churches, Nobel Peace Prize winners Rigoberta
Menchú, Oscar Arias and the Dalai Lama, and world
renowned artists and athletes, among many others have
expressed their solidarity with peace for Vieques.
- Since 1999, over one thousand persons have
participated in peaceful civil disobedience, trespassing
the US Navy controlled land in Vieques, in support of no
more bombing. The composition of this group is
representative of the diverse nature of the population
supporting this movement, including: elected officials,
teachers, university students and professors, priests
ministers and nuns, housewives, artists, workers,
doctors, among many others. United States citizens known
for their trajectory in the promotion of civil rights
have also participated, including Rev. Alan Sharpton,
actor Edward James Olmos, and environmental lawyer Robert
Kennedy. The US Navy has used unnecessary restraint and
force, and has engaged in brutal and dehumanizing
treatment while arresting and processing those involved
in civil disobedience. In addition, some have been
incarcerated for weeks pending trial. Several have been
sentenced to severe unwarranted penalties of months in
prison, after being found guilty of the petty offense of
trespassing. These actions by the United States Federal
Court in Puerto Rico violate fundamental principles of
due legal process and equal protection under the law
contained in the United States Constitution and the
Constitution of Puerto Rico.
THE UNESCO CHAIR ON PEACE EDUCATION:
- SUPPORTS THE IMMEDIATE AND PERMANENT CEASE OF
MILITARY PRACTICE IN VIEQUES, THE DEMILITARIZATION OF
VIEQUES, THE DEVOLUTION OF ITS LAND, THE DECONTAMINATION
OF ITS TERRITORY FOR SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SO
THAT THE PEOPLE OF VIEQUES CAN LIVE IN DIGNITY AND IN
RESPECT OF THEIR HUMAN AND CIVIL RIGHTS.
- REITERATES THAT THE CHILDREN AND YOUTH OF
VIEQUES, LIKE ALL CHILDREN AND YOUTH OF THE WORLD, HAVE A
RIGHT TO LIVE, GROW, AND BE EDUCATED IN AN ENVIRONMENT
THAT PRIVILEGES AND PROMOTES THEIR HEALTH,
HISTORICAL-CULTURAL HERITAGE, AND INTERGENERATIONAL
HARMONY.
- ACKNOWLEDGES THE LEGITIMATE RIGHT OF PEOPLE,
IN PUERTO RICO AND ELSEWHERE, TO DEFEND AND PROMOTE HUMAN
RIGHTS. EXPRESSES SOLIDARITY WITH THOSE WHO HAVE PROVIDED
AN EXAMPLE, TO PUERTO RICO AND THE WORLD, OF THE
POSSIBILITIES FOR CREATING A CULTURE OF PEACE BASED ON
PEACEFUL YET FIRM ACTIONS IN FAVOR OF JUSTICE, DIGNITY,
AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN VIEQUES.
- CLAIMS FAIR AND JUST TREATMENT, FOLLOWING DUE
LEGAL PROCESS, FOR THOSE PARTICIPATING IN CIVIL
DISOBEDIENCE; RESPECTING THE DIGNITY AND INTEGRITY OF
THOSE, WHO OBEYING THEIR CONSCIENCE, STRUGGLE TO OVERCOME
THE VIOLENCE OF ARMS IN VIEQUES.
Further information on Vieques and groups working in favor of
peace in Vieques may be found in the world wide web at 
http://www.viequeslibre.org
Cátedra UNESCO de Educación para la Paz
Decanato de Asuntos Académicos
Universidad de Puerto Rico
Apartado 23344
San Juan, Puerto Rico 00931-3444