Puerto Rican protestors charged as terrorists

From the Duluth News Tribune:

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Puerto Ricans who have long protested the use of Vieques as a practice bombing range for the Navy were outraged to hear last week that demonstrators had been labeled as terrorists.

"This wasn't terrorism. It was an act of heroism," said Manuel Rodriguez Orellana, former minority leader of the Puerto Rican Senate.

The Vieques protest occurred as the Navy conducted its final live-ammunition practice in January.

"The terrorism was the bombing by the Navy for 60 years," said Rodriguez Orellana, a leader in the commonwealth's Independence Party. "The terrorism was disregard for the people of Vieques that the Marines and Navy always displayed."

The eight Vieques protesters pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges and were given sentences ranging from one to four months in jail.

Prosecutor Sonia Torres-Pabon, who handled the eight cases, said she was unclear why they were classified as terrorism. More than 200 people have been arrested in Vieques protests since 1999, but earlier cases were not listed as terrorism.

"I don't see them as any different than the other Vieques cases," she said.

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This is utter bullshit. These people have been subjected to contamination, an increased cancer rate, and year-round live fire bombing for over half a century. This is selective butt-fucking at its best.

Only 8 (the last 8 charged, mind you) out of over 200 protestors are charged as terrorists? That's consistency for you. I think we've crossed the line between security and paranoia.

This PR situation seems to be getting more and more like the problems France has with the island of Corsica. Interesting...

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Originally posted by Melf
I think we've crossed the line between security and paranoia.

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You think?

I don't see why Puerto Rico can't just vote for independance already and boot the fucking U.S. military off the damn island. I know that living on the tit of American welfare has it's advantages and all but it's not worth this.

BTW I know that likely came across a little differently than I had intended, but PR needs to stand up on their own two feet and push for independance so they wouldn;t have to put up with stuff like this. Until then however, the U.S. is just going to use the island as their own personal cum rag.

The Navy's off Vieques, now, isn't it? I thought it left in January.

And, I don't know the whole story, but a lot of this stuff is exaggerated. There are live-fire training sites, in continental America, that are closer to larger populations than the one in Vieques. Aren't there less than 10,000 people in Vieques, anyways?

I remember reading that the ranges in Vieques were only used for about 2/3rds of the year, also, which aren't a particularly high rate. The stuff about increased cancer rates/contamination is concerning, although you have to be kind of wary about the stats used to make those claims. Weren't they saying that depleted uranium had something to do with those problems?

Anyways, it's a shame that we lost that training site - I don't know what we have lined up to replace it. Good that the political issue is gone.

Way to miss the point Stone.

Supposedly, the navy hasn't really needed that site in decades. The contamination, including the uranium, comes from the exercises. They used all kinds of weapons, including chaff (which has been found as far west as Mayaguez, the other side of PR). The navy squeezed the population into the center of the island and used both ends for military use.

Vieques has a higher rate of cancer, premature births, and birth defects than the main island. I think the cancer rate alone is something like 30% higher.

Good to see the U.S.'s anti-terrorism stuff dip into self-parody yet again.