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"FBI frames 12 Vieques activists In Puerto Rico

BY MARTÍN KOPPEL
A defense committee based in Puerto Rico has launched a campaign to
demand the U.S. government drop frame-up charges against 12 people
active in the movement that forced the U.S. Navy to stop its bombing
practice on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques. The 12, arrested by FBI
agents June 25, face up to 20 years in prison on charges of conspiracy
to destroy federal property.
The U.S. government accuses them of acts of vandalism during a victory
celebration by residents of Vieques on May 1, the day the Navy ended
its military operations there.

Among those arrested are Nilda Medina, a well-known leader of the
Committee for the Rescue and Development of Vieques (CPRDV), and Jesús
Delgado, president of the Federation of Teachers of Puerto Rico.

They were indicted by a federal grand jury, supposedly on the basis of
videos and photos taken by the Puerto Rican police. The U.S. government
has a long history of using grand juries to railroad Puerto Rican
independence activists and unionists.

"This is a frame-up," said Medina after she was released on bond. "The
federal government wants to criminalize the movement."

For six decades the residents of Vieques, with broad support among the
Puerto Rican people, waged a fight against the U.S. Navy, which had
evicted them from their lands and used the small island for bombing
practice and war maneuvers.

The death of local resident David Sanes by an "errant" Navy bomb in
1999 set off a renewed wave of protests. This mass movement, with
demonstrations, picket lines, mass civil disobedience actions, and
international protests, finally led the U.S. government to cut its
political losses and agree to withdraw the Navy by May 1 of this year.
The Navy turned over the land to the U.S. Department of Interior-over
the protests of Vieques residents, who demand that control of the land
be returned to them.

The Navy pulled up stakes April 30. That night residents celebrated
outside the entrance of the abandoned Camp García base. At midnight
they pushed down the perimeter fence and poured through the gate.

The big-business media and U.S. officials, however, violence-baited the
demonstrators, trying to smear the Vieques movement to undercut the
political impact of its victory.

Since then FBI agents have harassed community members on the island
they claim were involved in "destruction of federal property." U.S.
cops have been snooping and taking notes from parked cars in front of
private homes, according to CPRDV leaders .

On the night of June 20, FBI agents raided the committee's organizing
center in front of Camp García. The cops left a search warrant on the
floor signed by U.S. judge Aida Delgado. Along with the search warrant
was a receipt telling the judge that the FBI was looking for
"concealed" items such as "a Vieques map, documents such as photos,
pictures, address and phone books, and any other property that
constitutes evidence of the commission of a criminal offense."

In a predawn raid on June 25, five FBI agents along with Tactical
Operations Unit cops showed up at Medina's home. "We were asleep and
heard the pounding on the door and shouts of 'FBI! FBI!' When we went
outside they took Nilda away," said Deborah Santana, speaking to the
press.

As word of the arrests spread, a crowd of supporters gathered outside
the U.S. court in San Juan, where some of the detainees were released
on $5,000 to $10,000 bond. Four were denied bail.

U.S. prosecutors have accused the 12 of "conspiracy" to destroy a guard
post and setting fire to a Navy boat and a Humvee. If convicted, they
face between five and 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, said U.S.
prosecutor Humberto García.

The CPRVD has continued to "organize and mobilize the community to
pressure government agencies-Puerto Rican and federal-to carry out a
complete environmental cleanup, the return of all the land to the
people, and sustainable development in the hands of the Vieques
community," said the group in a statement.

"That is why the FBI has unleashed this repression against our
organization."

A committee to defend those arrested June 25 has been formed. Protests
demanding all the charges be dropped have taken place both in Puerto
Rico and New York.

Leila Stone" <oukoriwdi@yybamzqui.org