> Committee for the Rescue and Development of Vieques
>
> P.O. Box 1424 Vieques, Puerto Rico 00765
>
> Tel. 787 741-0716 Fax. 741-0358 Email: bieke at coqui.net
>
> 7 December, 2000
>
> Press Release
>
> Viequense Civil Disobedients Reject Offer to Drop
> Cases
>
> Dozens of civil disobedientes from Vieques meeting at
> the Peace and Justice Camp, rejected an offer from
> Federal Attorneys in Puerto Rico to drop their cases.
> Lawyers for the Viequenses arrested for protest
> actions in the US Navy`s restricted zone on Vieques,
> told their clients of an offer to file the cases of
> the Viequenses arrested, while the civil disobedientes
> from the Main Island of Puerto Rico and from other
> countries would have to pass through judicial
> processes and pay fines.
>
> "The Federal Court and the Navy want to separate the
> Viequenses from the rest of the Puerto Ricans. We will
> no allow that. We will not accept any special
> treatment that divides us from the Puerto Ricans on
> the Main Island. Vieques is Puerto Rico and Puerto
> Rico is Vieques." That was the declaration of Ismael
> Guadalupe, spokesman for the Committee for the Rescue
> and Development of Vieques, the prinicipal community
> organization in the struggle for demilitarization.
>
> Unanimously, the Viequenses reaffirmed their strong
> sense of solidarity with the civil disobedients from
> the Main Island that have made great sacrifices in
> defense of the Vieques cause. Without exception, the
> Viequenses arrested rejected the offer to have their
> cases dropped without the same treatment applied to
> those from the Main Island.
>
> "When we entered the restricted zone on the 7th of
> August with the compañeras from the Main Island, we
> entered together. When we get out of this, we`ll all
> leave through the same door. We will not negotiate
> with the Federal Court or with the Navy. If they want
> to file the cases, let it be the cases of all the
> Puerto Ricans - those who live on the Main Island and
> the Puerto Ricans who live on Vieques," expressed
> Norma Torres, a Viequense woman who coordinated the
> August entrance of 31 women from Vieques and the Main
> Island.
>
> Contact: Robert Rabin, CRDV 787 741-0716