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Journey of Peace for Vieques in Amsterdam Jan Reniers - 19.04.2002 15:50
The Vrede Voor Vieques Committee in the Netherlands (Comité de Paz para Vieques en Holanda -Paises Bajos), the Transnational Institute (TNI) and X-Y Solidarity Fund invite you to the Journey towards Peace in Vieques in the "Cavia Filhuis" at Van Hallstraat 52-1, Amsterdam this Saturday, April 20 at 19 hour (7pm). PRESS RELEASE (The Netherlands) Please Foward The Vrede Voor Vieques Committee in the Netherlands (Comité de Paz para Vieques en Holanda -Paises Bajos), the Transnational Institute (TNI) and X-Y Solidarity Fund invite you to the Journey towards Peace in Vieques in the "Cavia Filhuis" at Van Hallstraat 52-1, Amsterdam this Saturday, April 20 at 19 hour (7pm). We will be featuring 2 documentaries about the Puerto Rican island of Vieques and illustrate through medium all the environmental destruction caused by US and NATO military practices including the Dutch-Belgium Fleet. The Documentaries are "Vieques un Largometraje" by Coqui Santaliz and Lic. Juan Nazario and Vieques "Än island Forging futures" by Johanna Bermudez. Ms. Moraima Rivera, a peace and agricultural-cooperative activist from Puerto Rico is going to update the audience with the latests news from Vieques and answer questions from the public. Eng.Henk Van der Keur, a nuclear expert and engineer from the Laka Foundation will be talking about the presence of cancer causing depleted uranium deposits on Vieques. Krista Van Velzen, peace activist and Socialist Party candidate for the Dutch parliament in the upcoming elections, will talk about the Dutch participation in the excercises conducted on Vieques. Antonio Carmona Baez, TNI Communications Officer will be introducing the Vieques situation and the political condition of Puerto Rico. Jan Reniers, Vrede voor Vieques coordinator will be the moderator of the evenning. Several Parliamentarians are invited to be present, as are different leaders of Dutch civil society organizations. There will be a call to the audience and the organizations to join in on the solidarity activities for the Vieques Peace Movement. Vieques is a municipality island from Puerto Rico, in the Caribbean area(same size as Sint Maarten) that is used for military practices over 60 years. The 10,000 residents that live there are exposed to cancer and sickness related with the bombing. Lots of viequenses dies of cancer and other sicknesses. Vieques has a 27% higher cancer-rate than the main island of Puerto Rico. The US Government expropiated 75 % of Vieques which resulted in a block on the economical development of the population. Thousands of peace activists are being in jail trying to force the USA Navy to leave the island and let them leave in peace. First Clinton and later Bush have promised that they are going to leave the island. But the USA Navy refuses to do it and they also refuse to clean all the military waste in the zone. The Navy is using mora and more violence against the protesters. Those arrested, including its elected mayor Damaso Serrano, are condemned to sentences up to one year for a simple trespassing. In this moment Vieques is bombarded again by the US Navy and already 24 protesters are in federal prisons. Vieques is a example of a slow genocide where the democracy, the votes and the human rights are violated. Vieques needs the solidarity of all the peace-loving people from the world. E-Mail: j.reniers@chello.nl |
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