[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 77 (Wednesday, June 6, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1021]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   THE VIEQUES FOUR: THE AMERICAN WAY

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                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 6, 2001

  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, the Reverend Al Sharpton has been sitting in 
jail now for over two weeks alongside his activist colleagues Roberto 
Ramirez, Assemblyman Jose Rivera, and Councilman Adolfo Carrion Jr. For 
committing the uniquely American crime of peacefully protesting the 
United States military's training activity on Vieques. One of the great 
joys of being an American is knowing that it is your right to express 
your opinion regardless of whether or not your government agrees with 
it. In this instance we have a situation in which the ``Vieques 
Four''--as they have come to be known--were arrested simply because 
they happened to be standing on Navy property.
  The basic issue here is that the United States should stop military 
training on the island of Vieques and leave the island to the citizens 
of Puerto Rico. While I support the United States military, I do not 
believe that military readiness will suffer in any way if training 
activities are moved to another location where local residents do not 
have to live in fear of misguided ordnance, noise from training 
activities or the environmental and health problems which have occurred 
as a result of the training activities. I urge the administration to 
take very seriously the concerns of those who oppose the U.S. military 
training activities on Vieques. While the previous administration tried 
very hard to achieve a balanced compromise which might ultimately 
result in the U.S. military leaving Vieques, that solution was not an 
answer. The only answer is for the U.S. military to leave the island of 
Vieques and pay for a comprehensive clean up of the site the military 
has used for training exercises for over the past sixty years.
  Hundreds of protesters, who have previously been arrested, were 
simply punished with a summons and a fine. This would seem to be a 
reasonable approach. However, the one difference between previous 
punishments and this one is that the administration has changed hands. 
The current administration has decided that peaceful protesters, 
especially those with political notoriety, should be singled out and 
used as examples of what will happen if one dares to oppose the 
government's policies. This is an outrageous abuse of prosecutorial 
powers. I have joined several of my colleagues, led by my good friend 
and colleague Congressman Anibal Acevedo-Vila, in pressing the U.S. 
Attorney General to review these unduly harsh sentences being given by 
federal judges in San Juan and to request that prosecutors in Puerto 
Rico seek appropriate sentences for similar offenses in the future. 
Although we have not yet received a response, the administration has 
actively opposed the appeal filed by these defendants in federal court 
illustrating their apparent decision to ``stay the course''. Why is 
this case being pursued with such vigor? Should a non-violent activist 
really receive a 90-day jail sentence when his or her actions can only 
be reasonably characterized as minor. The sentencing of the ``Vieques 
Four'' is not reasonable, not fair, and should not stand.

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