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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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