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Para ver esta página en español, oprima aquí. Inhofe: Vieques Has Affected U.S.Partial Withdrawal Of Anti-Riot PoliceRodriguez Blames Calderon For ShutdownsVieques Secession SoughtDiaz New NPP PresidentCalderon To Lobby For Tax IncentivesUPR: No Funds For Cancer Study***** Inhofe: Vieques Conflict Has Affected U.S. Government February 12, 2001 SAN JUAN (AP) - U.S. Sen. James Inhofe said the antagonistic rhetoric of Gov. Sila Calderon is having negative repercussions in the government. In published reports, Inhofe did not dismiss the possibility that the U.S. Congress could take action to eliminate "the special treatment given to Puerto Rico now." "Washington has done a lot of things in the past to help Puerto Rico. If the island is going to declare war on us, that's not going to occur in a vacuum. That will have serious consequences," said the Republican senator. ***** Vivoni Orders Partial Withdrawal Of Agents In Vieques February 11, 2001 San Juan - Puerto Rican Police Chief Pierre Vivoni ordered the partial withdrawal of anti-riot police guarding the entrance to the U.S. Navy's Camp Garcia on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques . Vivoni said he ordered the withdrawal of half of the 60 Tactical Operations Unit (UOT) officers stationed at the camp's entrance, which in the past had been blocked by activists protesting U.S. military maneuvers on the island. U.S. Navy officers are opposed to the withdrawal, saying it leaves the installation more vulnerable to demonstrators. UOT agents were sent to the camp last May to help remove hundreds of demonstrators who had formed "human shields" to protest the U.S. Navy's training exercises on the island. Demonstrators later blocked access to the camp. Because of the protests, dozens of agents were posted at the entrance. ***** Former Senate President Blames Calderon For Shutdown Factories February 11, 2001 SAN JUAN (AP) - Former Senate President Charlie Rodriguez said Gov. Sila Calderon and her "secessionist pronouncements" were accountable for the shutdown of several factories in Puerto Rico. Rodriguez said even if Calderon holds on to "the old excuse that the elimination of Section 936 of the Internal Revenue Code is to blame.the truth is that companies fear a governor who exudes a secessionist sentiment against the U.S. every time she speaks." "Even the companies fear this government to the point that we are noticing the instability Puerto Rico and its industries are suffering as a result," said Rodriguez. Rodriguez criticized Calderon for talking only about the Vieques issue ever since she came into office. ***** Vieques Secession Sought February 11, 2001 SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- While pressure to force the U.S. Navy off the island of Vieques continues to mount in Puerto Rico , a group backing the Navy presence has launched a petition drive calling for the separation of the island from Puerto Rico . Viequesians Pro-Navy has gathered the signatures of "many people," said Navy civilian employee and group leader Luis E. Sanchez, who would not give a specific number. The petition calls on Congress to grant Vieques its own government and to allow it to receive direct federal funding, including subsidized health care and free prescriptions. ***** Leo Diaz Urbina Becomes New NPP President February 11, 2001 SAN JUAN (AP) - Just as expected, former legislator Leo Diaz Urbina became the new president for the New Progressive Party (NPP) Sunday. Diaz Urbina was proclaimed as the new NPP leader without a vote count, after renowned singer Rafi Escudero withdrew his candidacy for the post during the assembly in which the party delegates were to vote for their new president. In his message to those present, Escudero said he withdrew his candidacy for the sake of statehood. After his announcement, the assembly agreed to annul the voting and proclaim Diaz Urbina as the person in charge of reorganizing the NPP after its defeat during the last electoral event in November. ***** Calderon To Travel To Washington To Lobby For Tax Incentives February 10, 2001 SAN JUAN (AP) - Gov. Sila Calderon will travel to Washington sometime in the next two weeks to personally lobby in the U.S. Congress and the White House in search of new tax incentives for companies that do business here, officials announced. "Either at the end of next week or the beginning of the week after, I will go personally to Washington D.C. to begin efforts, to see if we have the complete package ready to promote it," Calderon said in published reports. Meanwhile, the governor ordered Treasury Secretary Juan Flores Galarza and Economic Development and Commerce Secretary Ramon Cantero Frau to meet with Government Development Bank Director Juan Agosto Alicea to evaluate all possibilities in expanding the tax incentives allowed under the fiscal autonomy of the Commonwealth. A report on this analysis is expected in 10 days, officials said. ***** UPR School Of Public Health: No Funds For Vieques Cancer Study February 9, 2001 SAN JUAN (AP) - The University of Puerto Rico (UPR) Graduate School of Public Health does not have the necessary resources to complete a cancer incidence study in Vieques in a year because their information base is incomplete. At a public hearing of the House Finance Committee, Dr. Cruz Maria Nazario said epidemiological studies on cancer have changed dramatically. The panel is evaluating two allocations totaling $1.1 million to the school for the cancer incidence study. "Now we know that it's extremely difficult to complete an epidemiological study on cancer, as proposed in the resolution, in a year and even less in six months with the available funds," Nazario said. She said there is no good data in Puerto Rico about cancer cases, especially those in Vieques. She said the school can't commit to perform a pre-determined study that will show the U.S. Navy is the culprit behind Vieques' high cancer rates.
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