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Para ver esta página en español, oprima aquí. Pentagon Trusts P.R. To Comply With AgreementNoise-Related Heart Condition PresentKey PIP Leaders Won't ParticipateJohns Hopkins Can't Establish CausePDP Legislators In Civil Disobedience In ViequesPataki Vows Postcard CampaignNavy Posts Public Notices About Exercise Renewal***** Pentagon Trusts P.R. Government Will Comply With Agreement April 23, 2001 SAN JUAN (AP) - The top official of the Armed Forces, Gen. Henry Shelton said he's confident the government of Puerto Rico will maintain the "agreement" regarding the military training on Vieques. The general's expressions coincide with the ones made by several Pentagon's spokespersons who have said they're confident Gov. Sila Calderon will support the directives presented by the former president and accepted by the island's former governor. Shelton sustained that the commitment reached on January 2000 between the White House and La Fortaleza allowed for the resumption of the military exercises with non-live ammunition and included surveillance and support by the local Police around Camp Garcia's surroundings to make sure there are "no interference" with the military maneuvers. ***** Doctor Says Noise-Related Heart Condition Is Present Near Navy Range April 22, 2001 SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) - A Portuguese doctor who has studied a little-known heart problem linked to noisy environments said Sunday he believes the disease is present among residents of Vieques island, the site of a prized U.S. Navy bombing range. Dr. Nuno Castelo Branco has tracked heart and lung abnormalities in Portuguese aircraft workers who were in high-noise environments and also helped Puerto Rican researchers prepare their report. "What I saw in Vieques - believe me, that was vibroacoustic disease," Branco told Puerto Rico 's legislature during a public hearing on a bill that would regulate noise levels in the country's waters. Castelo Branco said he believes the noise levels of the Navy bombing are enough to cause vibroacoustic disease. ***** Key PIP Leaders Won't Participate In Civil Disobedience Acts April 22, 2001 SAN JUAN (AP) - Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) legislators won't join party President Ruben Berrios Martinez in anti-U.S. Navy demonstrations on Vieques. PIP Rep. Victor Garcia San Inocencio, Sen. Fernando Martin, and PIP General Secretary Vance Thomas said they won't take part of any of the acts scheduled for this week to protest the resumption of the Navy's military practices on Vieques. Martin announced that the party's leadership has determined that, for the moment, neither of them will challenge the federal authorities to stop the bombings scheduled to begin Friday. For his part, Garcia San Inocencio added that Martin and him believe they occupy a strategic position in the Legislature and, therefore prefer not to engage in any disobedience acts for the time being. ***** Johns Hopkins: Can't Establish Cause In Vieques Children Health April 22, 2001 SAN JUAN (AP) - A team of cardiologists from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine confirmed that the children from Vieques who participated in the cardiology study show signs of abnormalities in the carotid arteries, but reiterated that it is not possible to establish a direct relationship of this condition to the U.S. Navy's military practices in Vieques. The cardiology team, led by Dr. James Weiss, examined the readings of heart sounds of the 48 Viequense children from tests carried out by doctors in Puerto Rico, which confirmed that this group had wider carotid arteries than the Ponce children who also participated in the study, according to published reports. "However, we cannot infer from the study a direct cause and effect relationship between the military exercises and these health problems," said Kate O'Rourke, spokeswoman for the university. Gov. Sila Calderon announced this week the partial results of the cardiology study carried out in Viequense children and will send the study to the U.S. Defense Department as an effort to stop the military practices scheduled to start Friday. ***** PDP Legislators To Participate In Civil Disobedience In Vieques April 22, 2001 SAN JUAN (AP) - More than 20 Popular Democratic Party (PDP) legislators will participate in civil disobedience acts in the Vieques military area if the U.S. Navy renews military exercises, Rep. Luis Raul Torres warned Saturday. "The majority of the PDP representatives are committed to go to Navy lands in acts of civil disobedience," Torres said. Torres said he would like to know if the federal authorities will paralyze the Legislature by arresting more than 20 representatives. "That would be extremely interesting to see if they will arrest the whole Legislative Assembly," Torres said. ***** Pataki Vows Postcard Campaign To White House On Vieques By JOEL STASHENKO April 21, 2001 ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - Gov. George Pataki vowed Saturday to have 1 million postcards sent to President Bush urging him to end U.S. Navy live-ammunition practice bombing on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques . Democrats charge that Pataki's interest in Vieques is really designed to win him votes among New York's 1 million-plus Puerto Ricans in the 2002 election. But Pataki told a cheering crowd at a seminar on Vieques sponsored by Hispanic state legislators he will keep pushing the Republican Bush administration because, "My pledge to you is I am not going to stop until they stop." ***** Navy Posts Public Notices About Exercise Renewal April 20, 2001 VIEQUES (AP) - The U.S. Navy posted public notices that informs Vieques residents that they will be initiating their military practices on Vieques on April 27. The notice reports that the naval forces will use the impact area, land and sea included, on the east side of the island municipality for four days starting April 27. But the bulletin fails to specify the exact hours in which the operation will begin, and it only states that they will be notified 48 hours prior to the exercises.
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