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Para ver esta página en español, oprima aquí. Hansen: Vieques Tops StatusSenate Confirms AppointmentsCalderon To Lobby BushA Challenge For Fleet ReadinessCollazo Defends ActionsCalderon: Constituent Assembly Good AlternativePIP Demands Collazo Withdrawal***** U.S. Congress Would Postpone Status To Deal With Vieques February 21, 2001 SAN JUAN (AP) - U.S. Rep. James Hansen, (R-Utah), said in published reports that Vieques has priority over the status issue for the House Resources Committee. "There won't be any action on Puerto Rico's status until the Vieques issue is resolved. Vieques comes first," said Hansen's spokesman Bill Johnson. Johnson added that Gov. Sila Calderon and the White House "could begin their own status committee. People can talk all they want about status, they've been doing it for over a century, but we won't do a thing." ***** Senate Unanimously Confirms Three Calderon Appointments By Proviana Colon Diaz February 22, 2001 The Senate unanimously confirmed three key appointments of Gov. Sila Calderon to their posts on Thursday afternoon. With the approval of all those present, the Senate confirmed Cesar Rey as Education Department secretary, Roberto Sanchez Ramos as solicitor general, and Juan Flores Galarza as Treasury secretary. With the opposition of six New Progressive Party (NPP) senators and the abstention of Sen. Sergio Peña Clos, the Senate also confirmed the appointments of Elsa Tio and Luis Agrait as members of the Public Broadcasting Corp. Board of Directors. In a heated debate that had little to do with Tio and Agrait's qualifications, both minority and majority senators used their speaking turns on the floor to attack the way in which the two members were appointed. The NPP senators criticized Calderon's "authoritarian" style in firing Board Chairman Arturo Guzman and her order to halt all contracts within the corporation. ***** Calderon To Attend White House Dinner By Proviana Colon Diaz February 21, 2001 Gov. Sila Calderon will attend an official dinner at the White House on Sunday night, where she will try and talk about her Vieques agenda and the creation of new economic incentives to U.S. President George W. Bush. The dinner is part of the National Governors Association winter meeting which she will alkso be attending. Calderon will also meet on Friday with Health Secretary Tommy Thompson, with whom she expects to discuss the final studies related to the vibroacoustic-related heart disease found among Vieques residents in a medical study ordered by her administration. ***** A Challenge For Atlantic Fleet Readiness Defense Watch February 20, 2001 Aim Lower. In the absence of integrated live-fire training at Vieques , Puerto Rico , the Navy is now routinely training its aircraft and ship crews to maintain a readiness level of C2, the next step down from C1, before they deploy, says Adm. Robert Natter, commander-in-chief of the Navy's Atlantic Fleet. In 1999, the Navy was forced to curtail the level of live-fire training it performed on Vieques after the Puerto Ricans protested. Now, Natter says, the government of Puerto Rico has walked away from agreements with the United States to resume training on Vieques , creating a significant challenge for Atlantic Fleet readiness. "This [Bush] administration is going to have to deal with that," he says. ***** Collazo Defends His Participation In The Persecution Of Pro-Independence Supporters By Proviana Colon Diaz February 20, 2001 Calling himself "the best option" for the Anti-Drug Czar post Col Jorge Collazo defended his participation in the institutionally sanctioned persecution of pro-independence supporters arguing that if "he knew then, what he knows now" he would have not done so. He acknowledged that while he was the chief of police in 1984 he ordered an investigation on the work being done by the Intelligence Division, in charge of keeping the dossiers, because he believed some "illegal activities" were being performed. He did not denounce the acts of keeping the dossiers or attempt to closed down the division because there was not enough time to finish the investigation. Collazo did apologize on Tuesday for his participation in keeping the dossiers based solely in the political beliefs of the people, the colonel begged that he be given another opportunity to work in the public service. If in order for the Anti-Drug Zar project to be approved, he has to quit his nomination he would do so. But for now he believes he is more than qualified for the post. ***** Calderon: Constituent Assembly Good Alternative February 19, 2001 SAN JUAN (AP) - Gov. Sila Calderon said Monday that the Constituent Assembly is "a very good alternative" that has to be considered along with other possibilities to resolve the Puerto Rico status problem. Calderon made the statement to the press as she left the activity commemorating the 103rd birth of the late Gov. Luis Muñoz Marin in Barranquitas. Muñoz Marin was the founder of the Popular Democratic Party and architect of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Calderon said the Constituent Assembly is something that should be considered by a commission made up by the three political parties. Calderon's statements echoed those of House Speaker Carlos Vizcarrondo and Senate President Antonio Fas Alzamora. Vizcarrondo has said he sees the Constituent Assembly as a mechanism to solve the status problem, and Fas Alzamora has said he believes a Constituent Assembly could maintain a continuous and permanent negotiation with the U.S. until the status issue is resolved. ***** PIP Officials Demand Withdrawal Of Collazo Nomination By Proviana Colon Diaz February 19, 2001 The Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) on Monday describe Gov. Sila Calderon's decision to support the nomination of Col. Jorge Collazo "a cruel act of cynicism," and demanded that his designation as the island's Drug Czar be withdrawn immediately. Collazo reportedly participated in the institutionally sanctioned persecution of pro-independence supporters, which was found to be unconstitutional in 1987. PIP Vice President Maria de Lourdes Santiago said Calderon's action will reward a "recognized violator of civil rights," which shows that her administration believes that persecuting pro-independence advocates "is a sin which can easily be forgotten."
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