VIEQUESFAST

Dear friends of Vieques,

The fast by Andrés about which you may have heard ended in December. I leave this Page set up for historical and research purposes. I had set it up as a link, so there is little information here. I had hoped to transcribe the E-mail messages I had received from Andrés so that you could get an idea of the action, but my computer is crashing on me whenever I try to access those messages, so if you are interested, I suggest you contact him directly. I did manage to get the last one he sent, which you may read lower on this page. There remains a Web site link, as well.

                                                                       –Daniel


Founded August 8, 2000

 Welcome to the Fast for Justice & Peace in Vieques, Puerto Rico: An Appeal to the Conscience of President Clinton to Meet with Religious & Peace Movement Leaders of Vieques.

Versión en español, favor escribir a:
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Spanish version send a message to:
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To subscribe in English:
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Andrés Thomas Conteris, Washington, DC member of the Fellowship of Reconciliation Task Force on Latin America and the Caribbean and lay missioner with the United Methodist Church, began a water-only, open-ended fast on August 14, 2000 as a plea to President Clinton to meet personally with religious and peace leaders of Vieques who seek a permanent cessation to the bombing of the island.

A rotating fast began in Vieques and Washington, DC on July 25 with over 50 participants from the United Methodist Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Alliance of Vieques Women, the Committee for the Rescue and Development of Vieques, and others. This fast continues with a vigil at the entrance to the bombing range at the Peace and Justice Camp outside of Camp Garcia.

Also on July 25, over a dozen people began a rotating fast with the same goal around the U.S. Andrés Thomas Conteris began a round-the-clock juice fast at that time and after 20 days on juices started the water-only fast on Aug 14, the day that massive bombing of Vieques recommenced.

Clinton has met numerous times with U.S. Navy officials who advocate bombing Vieques. He refuses to meet with people of faith and conscience pleading for an end to the bombing.

This list will update the progress of the fast and provide information about the September 22, 2000 nonviolent protest action in front of the White House. We hope to build momentum for a massive turnout of people who support Demilitarization of Vieques, Decontamination of all military toxics, Devolution of land forcibly expropriated and Development of Vieques' economy.

Visit:   www.viequesvive.com

To all who support the effort to rid Vieques of the Navy,

At year's end, I want to once again extend my deep thanks to all who took action this year on behalf of the critical situation in Vieques. I am especially grateful for the support extended to all who fasted. The 50 days I spent on water-only ended on Oct. 2. I continued for a short time on liquids-only which helped me gain a full recovery.

The charges against the 75 of us arrested at the September 22 protest at the White House were dropped. The U.S. House of Representatives sent a strong dear colleague letter to President Clinton urging him to change his policy, and the response to the Oct. 2 International Call to Prayer and Fasting for Peace in Vieques was outstanding.

The bombing on Vieques, however, continues unabated. It's not too late to call the White House at 202-456-1111, ext 0, to urge President Clinton to issue an executive order ending the navy bombing.

We are encouraged by the new political leadership at all levels in Puerto Rico supporting an end to the bombing, but the new administration in Washington will pose a serious challenge. The Navy apparently plans another round on January 22, two days after George W. becomes president. There will be a contingent in Washington, DC protesting the Navy bombing at the inauguration. Please join us.

The civil disobedience movement on the island continues and they need our support. Please subscribe to a free news bulletin from the Peace and Justice Camp by writing to bieke@coqui.net to keep updated on their efforts.

If you want to join a solidarity delegation, the Fellowship of Reconciliation, which has led several in recent years and publishes a Vieques Update newsletter, is sponsoring at least one in the coming months. For info contact: forlatam@igc.org. The Christian Peacemaker Teams (cpt3@igc.org) also sends groups.

Although this email list with 650 subscriptions will no longer continue, there are excellent web pages, email lists, and newletters on Vieques to help us stay informed. If you want help with this write me at aconteri@capaccess.org.

May the new millenium find us faithful to the struggle to make this a more peaceful world. Thanks again for your ongoing commitment for justice in Vieques.

Paz,

                                                     –andrés

¡Viva Borinquen y Vieques Libre!