|
 |
|
Para ver esta página en español, oprima aquí. De Castro Challenges PDP To Expel HimVibroacoustic Study QuestionedNPP’s Public FeudsGovernor Defends Vieques As Human Rights IssueNavy Denies Entry To BaseReturned Lands Contain Toxic WasteCalderon Won’t March***** De Castro Challenges PDP To Start Expulsion Process Against Him By Proviana Colon Diaz May 22, 2001 Popular Democratic Party (PDP) Rep. Jorge De Castro Font challenged House Vice President Ferdinand Perez to initiate an expulsion process against him, not only from the delegation, but from the party as well. "I will not leave the PDP. I won't make orphans out of the American sector of the PDP," De Castro Font said. De Castro Font reacted to Perez's published expressions in which he stated that the time has come for the fellow legislator be expelled from the party for violating its rules and regulations and for assuming positions that are contrary to those of the House majority delegation. According to De Castro Font, the relationship between the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the United States has been one of cooperation, mutual support, and collaboration from the start, and not one of confrontation and exhortation to violations to the law, as in the case of Vieques. Ever since the current legislative session began, De Castro has characterized himself by taking positions contrary to those of the party. ***** Vibroacoustic Study Questioned May 21, 2001 SAN JUAN (AP) - The vibroacoustic study on which Gov. Sila Calderon's administration based the noise regulation legislation, as well as the arguments for a petition before the federal court to halt U.S. Navy maneuvers on Vieques, used a unreliable methodology, according to the documents submitted by the U.S. Health and Justice departments before the judge. In the documents, the deputy administrator for the Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, Edwin Kilbourne, stated that his agency finished a preliminary study on the cardiovascular study performed by the Ponce School of Medicine that compares 53 Vieques fishermen with 42 fishermen in Ponce. Kilbourne said to the judge who's handling the case, Gladys Kessler, that his agency needs more time to prepare a complete revision on the study because they are still waiting for more documentation from the Ponce school. Among the deficiencies and limitations of the new study conducted by the Ponce investigators, Kilbourne cited the way in which the echocardiograms were being done, since it is an essential factor for interpreting the results. ***** Public Feuds Put Holes In NPP Facade By Iván Román May 20, 2001 SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- The New Progressive Party leaders, plagued by severe rifts and petty bickering, just can't seem to catch a break. They've spent months butting heads with maverick Sen. Norma Burgos, who broke from the party's position on the Vieques conflict and went onto the target range to disrupt the Navy's bombing exercises there. Now they seem to be at odds with right-wing, pro-Navy Sen. Miriam Ramirez de Ferrer. She burst into a press conference being held by several NPP senators Tuesday as they were explaining five bills to improve the quality of life of Vieques' 9,400 residents. She claimed she wasn't invited and, before the press and her stone-faced colleagues, questioned the bills' origins. Almost as soon as the spat was over, she left and the press's attention turned to the rift in the NPP's Senate delegation. Ramirez de Ferrer acknowledged she has differences with the NPP delegation in the Senate, but did not appreciate being left out. ***** Calderon Defends Vieques As Human Rights Issue May 20, 2001 Boston - Puerto Rican Gov. Sila Maria Caldron defended the proposed end to the military maneuvers on the island of Vieques as a human rights issue during her commencement address at the Boston University (BU) on Sunday. Calderon received an honorary doctorate in law from BU on Sunday after she gave a speech in which she urged students to defend U.S. principles and fight against injustice. As a proud U.S. citizen who holds the principles of democracy and justice close to her heart, Calderon said she is fighting for what she believes is right for Vieques . She once again asked the federal government to listen to her people and sit down to find a rapid solution to what she called a human rights problem. ***** Navy Denies Congressmen's Entry To Vieques Base May 19, 2001 San Juan - The U.S. Navy denied entry into Camp Garcia, the U.S. naval base on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques, to Rep. Luis Gutierrez (Dem.-IL) and Rep. Rod Blagojevich (Dem.-IL), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, and Resident Commissioner Anibal Acevedo Vila, the commissioner reported Saturday. "Unfortunately, the Navy did not allow us to enter and visit the military installations accompanied by the media," Acevedo said. Instead, the Navy -saying it feared security problems -offered to fly the congressmen from a Navy facility on Puerto Rico into the Navy's Camp Garcia on Vieques . "It wasn't that we denied them entry but we have to assess the security situation," said Lt. Cmdr. Katherine Goode, a Navy spokeswoman. "Entering through the gate at Camp Garcia was ruled out." ***** Vieques Lands U.S. Navy Returned Contain 17 Toxic Waste Dumps May 19, 2001 San Juan, May 18 (EFE).- The 35,400 square meters (8.74 acres) in western Vieques that the U.S. Navy returned to Puerto Rican authorities on May 1, in compensation for the bombing exercises it conducted on the island for 60 years, contain 17 toxic waste sites, according to the San Juan daily El Nuevo Dia. Vieques Commissioner Juan R. Fernandez said that 13 of the 17 toxic dumps are located in the 17,700 square meters (4.37 acres), which the United States turned over to the municipality of Vieques , the daily reported. The other 17,700 square meters (4.37 acres), where the other four toxic waste sites are located, were turned over to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The municipality of Vieques plans to establish eco-tourism routes and "low-density" residences on some of the recently returned land, he added. Fernandez said that the U.S. Navy has already initiated the clean-up process and has closed-off the toxic waste sites to prevent people from entering the dumps. ***** Calderon Will Not Attend March Supporting Jailed Vieques Activists By Proviana Colon Diaz May 19, 2001 Gov. Sila Calderon said Friday that she will not attend the march organized by the Ecumenical Coalition for Vieques, which is scheduled for Monday, May 28, to express support for the civil disobedience activists imprisoned for trespassing federal land during the recent U.S. Navy military practices. "It's a determination I have made," said Calderon when asked what were her reasons for not attending the march. The march, to be held on Memorial Day, will begin on Roosevelt Avenue in front of the Puerto Rico Telephone Co. (PRTC) headquarters and will continue through the Buchanan sector until it reaches the Federal Detention Center, where many are in jail, including Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) President Ruben Berrios, who is serving his four month prison sentence.
|