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Para ver esta página en español, oprima aquí. Police Refuse U.S. Marshals A Plane To Transport Prisoner Accused In Anti-Navy ProtestsRivera Schatz Says Education Money Never Reached The NPPCalderon: Denies Pesquera’s Accusation; Won’t Testify Against Party’s LeadersPesquera: Government Is Spying On NPPParalitici: Governor Helpless Before NavyProtesters Ready As Calderon Rue’s Resumption Of Vieques Exercises
Puerto Rican Police Refuse To Lend U.S. Marshals A Plane To Transport Prisoner Accused In Anti-Navy Protests By FRANK GRIFFITHS August 22, 2002 SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) - Police refused to lend federal agents a plane to transport a prisoner accused in an anti-Navy protest, U.S. Marshals said Thursday, as tensions mounted over the Navy's announcement to begin another round of war exercises on Vieques. Marshals arrested Cacimar Zenon Encarnacion Wednesday on Vieques for trespassing in April during the last Navy exercises on the outlying Puerto Rican island, but police wouldn't allow them to use their plane to transport the prisoner, U.S. Marshal Herman J. Wirshing said. The marshals and prisoner spent the night at Camp Garcia on Vieques and had to use a Navy boat to return to Puerto Rico on Thursday. A U.S. Customs helicopter was originally to be used but the aircraft was being repaired, said Wirshing, who accused Puerto Rican police of obstructing justice by refusing use of the plane. Police Superintendent Miguel Pereira said his agency is under no obligation to help federal authorities. "As far as I'm concerned the police have nothing to do with (the operation)," he said. "We don't have an agreement with them."
Rivera Schatz Says Education Money Never Reached The NPP August 22, 2002 SAN JUAN (AP) — New Progressive Party (NPP) Electoral Commissioner Thomas Rivera Schatz said the party never received a single cent from the moneys that former Education Secretary Victor Fajardo misappropriated at the department. Fajardo pleaded guilty to engaging in a corruption scheme at the agency from which he stole $4.3 million–$1 million of which allegedly ended up in the NPP’s coffers. "Victor Fajardo was the collector of Victor Fajardo. The NPP had nothing to do with that. Through the [NPP] president we will open our books 10 years back and we will take responsibility for what we have to," said Rivera Schatz. He added that the leadership of his party won’t allow those who failed them and betrayed their trust to cast themselves as the victims of the situation. Rivera Schatz said he would eventually reveal the results of an audit performed by an independent firm on the finances of the NPP. "We are anxious for the truth to be known," he said. Also, Rivera Schatz urged Justice Secretary Anabelle Rodriguez to announce within the next 10 days the course that the investigations regarding the cases referred by the State Elections Commission have taken.
Governor Denies Pesquera’s Accusation August 22, 2002 SAN JUAN (AP) - Gov. Sila Calderon denied the allegations made by New Progressive Party (NPP) President Carlos Pesquera, who had accused her administration of intercepting the calls at the party headquarters as part of a persecution scheme against leaders of the past administration. "That is a crazy accusation. What he points out is illegal and completely different from the interception carried out by the U.S. District Attorney’s Office and the Justice Department to uncover the many acts of corruption acts that have been perpetrated," the governor said. Chief of Staff Cesar Miranda and Popular Democratic Party (PDP) Secretary General Fernando Torres Ramirez had also denied Pesquera’s allegations in published reports. Torres Ramirez said Pesquera’s statements were those of a sick mind and urged him to file a complaint if he had any proof that interceptions of calls were in fact taking place. Miranda, on the other hand, said La Fortaleza had better things to do than to tape the telephone conversations of the NPP. On Wednesday, Pesquera noted that he has been informed that his conversations at the party headquarters have been discussed at La Fortaleza, which leads him to believe that the party’s telephone calls have been intercepted. He refused to reveal his source or if he believed that Calderon has given orders to intercept calls, but said that he knew La Fortaleza followed their conversations. "I know it is difficult to accept, because it is unbelievable, but that is the reality," he added. Pesquera made his statements on Wednesday while reacting to the words of former Gov. Pedro Rossello, who called the NPP leadership timid. The NPP leader defended his performance as well as that of his party members in their effort to counteract Calderon’s alleged scheme to destroy the NPP’s reputation and the work done by the Rossello administration. "Pedro Rossello has not been the only victim of this persecution. The leadership of this party has to assume that their phone calls have been intercepted, that when they talk to someone, that person has been wired. That is the environment that exists in Puerto Rico," Pesquera said.
Prosecution Opposed To Calderon’s Testimony In Case Against NPP Leaders August 22, 2002 SAN JUAN (AP) — On Wednesday local authorities opposed on Wednesday the summons for Gov. Sila Calderon and Secretary of State Ferdinand Mercado to appear before the court in the case against New Progressive Party (NPP) leaders on charges for inciting a riot. "In this case, the witnesses, who were not at the scene at the time of the incident, have no personal knowledge of the events," reads a motion filed on Wednesday. The prosecution also alleges that there is no exculpatory evidence that can be handed to the NPP leaders, Carlos Pesquera, Thomas Rivera Schatz, Edwin Mundo and Leo Diaz defense attorneys. The alleged event took place on June 20, when a group of statehood supporters put up a U.S. flag in the Women’s Advocate Office lobby.
Pesquera: Calderon Government Is Spying On Us By Melissa B. Gonzalez Valentin August 21, 2002 Carlos Pesquera, president of the New Progressive Party, (NPP) accused Gov. Sila Calderon’s administration of spying on the party’s leadership as part of a persecution scheme against leaders of the past administration. Pesquera noted that he has been informed that his conversations at the party have been discussed at La Fortaleza, which leads him to believe that the party’s telephone calls have been intercepted. "When the people learns about what Gov. Sila Calderon is capable of doing, they will understand my words," Pesquera said. He refused to reveal his source or if he believed that Calderon has given orders to intercept calls, but that he knew La Fortaleza followed their conversations. "I know it is difficult to accept, because it is unbelievable, but that is the reality," he added. Pesquera made his statements on Wednesday while reacting to the words of former Gov. Pedro Rossello, who called the NPP leadership timid. The NPP leader defended his performance as well as that of his party members in their effort to counteract Calderon’s alleged scheme to destroy the NPP’s reputation and the work done by the Rossello administration. "Pedro Rossello has not been the only victim of this persecution. The leadership of this party has to assume that their phone calls have been intercepted, that when they talk to someone, that person has been wired. That is the environment that exists in Puerto Rico," Pesquera said. "The leadership of this party must be ready to be called thieves in the streets or to have someone refuse to shake your hand. Just like Rossello, I can assure you that I haven’t done anything to deserve this. But that is the reality," he added. Pesquera said he acknowledged that some NPP leaders failed him and the people of Puerto Rico, and that he has had to answer for what others did. However, he insisted that he has done nothing wrong and that the persecution being carried out against his party is unjustifiable. "My commitment to Puerto Rico is to free the people from the persecution that Gov. Sila Calderon and her government symbolize," Pesquera said. He also rejected the suggestion that he should apologize for what others in the party have done, as they are responsible for their actions. Instead, he said Calderon should apologize for carrying out an illegal campaign and for allegedly trying to interfere with the investigation of the case.
Paralitici: Helpless Calderon Before The Navy August 21, 2002 SAN JUAN (AP) — Anti U.S. Navy group ‘Coordinadora Todo Puerto Rico con Vieques’ demanded that Gov. Sila M. Calderon explain whether her administration had surrendered the fight for Vieques. Jose (Che) Paralitici, spokesman for the group reminded the governor that her government would do anything in its power to oust the Navy from Vieques before the May 2003 date, agreed to the former Gov. Pedro Rossello and former President Bill Clinton, that afterwards received the verbal support of President Bush. "The government cannot sit down to wait for May 2003 date, and I think the governor has to explain her Tuesday statements," Paralitici told The Associated Press. "I didn’t know if I was hearing correctly. But I understood that she was declaring herself impotent before the situation and that is not acceptable," said the university professor.
Protesters Ready For Renewed Maneuvers On Vieques August 20, 2002 San Juan, Aug 20 (EFE) - The U.S. Navy will resume military training exercises on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques early next month, a prospect that has prompted calls for fresh protests set for Saturday. U.S. Navy spokesman G.H. Cooper announced that military maneuvers would resume on the island on Sep. 3, and could last as long as 23 days. Anti-military groups in Vieques immediately criticized the announcement. Organizers are putting final touches on the 19-kilometer (12-mile) march from Punta Arenas to the so-called Justice and Peace encampment at the entrance to Camp Garcia. The march is scheduled for noon Saturday and will end with the placing of a torch that will remain lit until May 2003, the date set by President George W. Bush for the definitive U.S. military withdrawal from Vieques . The Navy has already tightened security in restricted areas, both on land and at sea, in an effort to curb the protests and acts of civil disobedience that accompany the military exercises. Puerto Rican police and U.S. Coast Guard personnel on the island will once again be asked to guard naval firing ranges, which demonstrators seeking an end to the exercises often invade.
Calderon Rues Resumption Of Military Maneuvers August 20, 2002 SAN JUAN (AP) — Gov. Sila Calderon said on Tuesday that she is eagerly awaiting May 2003, when the U.S. Navy is supposed to leave Vieques as President George W. Bush promised, albeit not in writing. The date for the Navy’s withdrawal was achieved through an agreement between the administrations of former Gov. Pedro Rossello and former U.S. President Bill J. Clinton, that was criticized by Calderon. The governor said she was saddened by the Navy’s announced on Monday, that beginning on Sept. 3, it will conduct 23 days of bombing maneuvers. Capt. G.H. Cooper notified the Secretary of State Ferdinand Mercado that inert bombs will be deployed from air to shore and from sea to shore in the target zone. He failed to say which troops on how many soldiers would be participating in the exercises. Mercado for his part, confirmed in a press release that he received the Navy’s notice as established in the Memorandum of Understanding on Vieques of 1983. She acknowledged however, that the Puerto Rican government cannot do anything to prevent the exercise. "I’m very sad. Those exercises will unfortunately take place, and what we want is to get to the month of May soon, so this can end forever," Calderon said in a press conference in the Corea sector of Rio Piedras. Calderon said she asked the U.S. president to make a written commitment to the Navy’s May 2003 withdrawal, but she has not received an answer. "It is not that we haven’t received an answer, it is that a written statement has not been presented yet," Calderon said. The governor rejected that the Navy might stay in Vieques after May 2003 by using as a pretext the conflict between the U.S. and the Iraqi government and its President Saddam Hussein. Calderon said that she has unofficial information that indicates the Navy has selected an alternate site for its exercises. "Our position is a firm one. The date is established. The Navy has ended its studies, and I know unofficially that it has chosen locations, it has not been communicated officially, but the work is already done," Calderon said. A bomb that was accidentally dropped on a target zone in Vieques killed a civilian guard in 1999, since then, several protests have taken place against the military maneuvers. The U.S. Navy rejects the allegations that the exercises have caused environmental damage to Vieques and asserts the island is the best place for the maneuvers. Vieques Commissioner Juan R. Fernandez, who also confirmed the resumption of the exercises, said he is trying to schedule an orientation meeting on the maneuvers next week. Fernandez said that, as usual, it would not be until the meeting at the Roosevelt Roads base that the Navy will say what types of exercises it will be carrying out in Vieques. "But it is definitive, there will be maneuvers," Fernandez said.
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