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Para ver esta página en español, oprima aquí. National Guard ActivatedReserve Unit Returns From Kosovo'United For New York' Collects $1.5MCalderon Reiterates Support For U.S. Fight Against TerrorismJustice To Appeal Referendum RulingGovernor: Navy Supporters Are "Traitors To P.R."Vieques Prepares Protests For Next Exercises
National Guard Activated For Security In Military Installations October 8, 2001 SAN JUAN (AP) - The National Guard activated Sunday approximately 150 soldiers who would redouble the security in the military installations in Puerto Rico after receiving orders hours after the U.S. attacks on Afghanistan. The notification was received Sunday at 3:30 p.m. and at 5:30 p.m. the security increase was already in place at the Base Muñiz in Isla Verde, Camp Santiago in Salinas, Fort Allen in Juana Diaz, the central offices of the National Guard in Puerta de Tierra, and the organization's armories, mainly located in Hato Rey, according to Asst. Gen. Francisco Marquez. According to the high official, orders had still not been received Sunday from the Defense Department to activate Puerto Rican troops to support the military conflict. However, he said the probabilities that local units will be activated "are high." The Puerto Rico National Guard has 10,500 soldiers.
Puerto Rican Reserve Unit Returns Home From Kosovo October 8, 2001 SAN JUAN (AP) - The 22 Puerto Rican reserve members who were sent to Kosovo in March returned home Sunday, where relatives and family received them with music and posters that read "Welcome Home." The 407 U.S. Army Medical Unit was posted in Kosovo as part of the Falcon Task international peace mission, in which over 46,000 soldiers from 39 countries participated. The unit successfully completed the mission it had been assigned to, providing medical emergency and first aid services and transportation to the wounded in the Balkan region, where the United States maintains a peace mission. According to the law, the group should be deactivated for the next 60 days, although members of the unit said they were ready to follow President George W. Bush's orders.
`United For New York' Collects Approximately $1.5 Million October 8, 2001 SAN JUAN (AP) - Puerto Ricans contributed between $1.5 million and $1.7 million in the telethon "United for New York," organized by Gov. Sila Calderon to aid the families of the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Calderon said she was thankful for the contributions, and she expected to deliver the money personally to New York Gov. George Pataki and Mayor Rudolph Giuliani on Friday when she will travel to the Big Apple. Most of the contributions came from public employees, who collected $1 million.
Calderon Reiterates Support For U.S. Fight Against Terrorism October 8, 2001 SAN JUAN (AP) - Gov. Sila Calderon made a call for "peace and restraint" on Sunday, hours after the United States and its allies started a military attack against Afghanistan. Calderon expressed that the military action is not against the Afghan civilian population but against military targets. The governor said the use of military power was regrettable, but she reiterated her support for the U.S. government in its fight against terrorism. At the same time, she asked all Puerto Ricans to avoid ethnic or religious hate against the Muslim and Arab communities in Puerto Rico.
Justice Department To Appeal Vieques Federal Referendum Ruling October 7, 2001 PONCE (AP) - Justice Secretary Anabelle Rodriguez said Saturday that she was confident the Puerto Rico government would win the case in which 12 Viequenses challenged the constitutionality of the Nov. 6 federal referendum. But if the case turned out against the government, the Justice Department will appeal it in the Circuit Court of Appeals, Rodriguez said. Rodriguez was reacting to the most recent decision of San Juan Superior Court Judge Sonia Velez Colon, who handed down a temporary injunction late Friday afternoon in the suit brought by the group of Vieques residents. Velez Colon issued her ruling late Friday afternoon as a "provisional measure," which prohibits the use of public funds, State Elections Commission (SEC) equipment, and SEC personnel to implement the law that makes the referendum feasible.
Governor: Navy Supporters Are "Traitors To P.R." October 6, 2001 Gov. Sila Calderon said that her policy regarding Vieques has not changed. "The public policy of my government is what it has always been, which is that contained in column two that won the local referendum: the immediate halt of military practices in Vieques and the cleaning of the land," Calderon said. Calderon said she strongly believes the federal referendum will not be held as her lobbyers have told her there is no "atmosphere" in Washington D.C. for it. She said it should be substituted by Bush's proposal that the Navy should leave Vieques no later than May 2003 "My administration will be working to overrule the referendum and substitute it for a language that establishes 2003 as the last date for their departure," Calderon said. The governor had harsh words for Puerto Ricans who. she said, have been lobbying Congress for the continued presence of the Navy in Vieques. "The Puerto Ricans who are there lobbying and who are allying themselves with (Sen.)Inhofe and (Rep)Hansen (supporters of the Navy’s indefinite stay in Vieques) are traitors to Puerto Rico", said a very angry Calderon. After making the strong accusation, Calderon declined to identify them. "I won't reveal that information at this moment...It was an expression that came from my soul and I won't say anything else," Calderon said.
Vieques Prepares Protests For Next Round Of Navy Exercises By Proviana Colon Diaz October 4, 2001 Congreso Nacional Hostosiano (CNH) Co-Presidents Hector Pesquera and Alejandro Torres condemned Thursday the latest round of U.S. Navy practices in Vieques, which are scheduled to continue until next week, and announced that civil disobedience will be reinstated during the next round of exercises which will begin Nov. 28. Torres said the people of Vieques are getting ready to face the next round with multiple exercises of civil disobedience to interrupt and prevent the practices. Pesquera described the next round of military practices, scheduled to take place Nov. 28 until Dec. 17, as very complex and harmful since they combine ship-to-shore bombing by land, sea, and air.
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