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Article: Environmental tragedy in Vieques.(Puerto Rico)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- Earth Island Journal
- Article date:
- September 22, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 Earth Island Institute. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The civil disobedience campaign against the United States military's presence in the island-town of Vieques, Puerto Rico continues in full
force after almost two months. The US Navy has occupied most of Vieques since 1941 and has been using it for target practice ever since.
The current protest campaign, which follows a local decades-long tradition of anti-Navy activism, was triggered by a tragic event on April 19. That evening, a civilian, David Sanes, was killed in Vieques by bombs dropped from an American fighter plane. Sanes was working as a civilian security guard in an observation tower in Navy territory.
Since late April, several groups ...