PUERTO RICO HERALD: Bush Postpones Discussions

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Misla Aldarondo Prevails, Pesquera Quits

By Proviana Colon Diaz

December 21, 2000
Copyright © 2000 PuertoRicoWOW News Service. All Rights Reserved.

SAN JUAN — In the predictable conclusion to a months-long stand off, outgoing House Speaker Edison Misla Aldarondo was elected Thursday as House Minority Leader in the new Legislature that takes office next month, despite opposition by New Progressive Party (NPP) President Carlos Pesquera. That victory led Pesquera to resign his post immediately, leaving Sen.-elect Norma Burgos as Interim President.

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Defense Department Regular News Briefing Speaker: Kenneth H. Bacon, Defense Department Spokesman

December 20, 2000
Copyright © 2000 M2 Communications, Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

QUESTION: Ken, it appears that the agreement between the administration and the government of Puerto Rico for the use of the range in Vieques has now broken down.

QUESTION: Will Secretary Cohen be making any kind of recommendation to the new administration as to how it should proceed, whether the Navy should resume training down there without an agreement or if they should throw up their hands and walk away? Does he have any thoughts about what the future should be as far as Vieques ?

BACON: First of all, Secretary Cohen strongly believes that we need a naval gunfire and aviation training range in this hemisphere for the Atlantic Fleet. It's one of the reasons [he’s] worked so hard to come to an agreement that would give the Navy the opportunity to continue using Vieques .

So yes, this will be an issue that I'm sure he'll discuss with his successor, whoever that is. It's something that is being worked now by the secretary of the Navy. But after January 20 that will be decisions for the new administration to make.

SAN JUAN (AP) - President-elect George W. Bush will not participate in the debate over the U.S. Navy's exit from Vieques until after he assumes the presidency on Jan. 20, said Scott McCellan, transition committee spokesman.

According to published reports, McCellan said Bush considers it very important that the Navy work closely with the local government to try and resolve this problem in a manner respectful of the people's will.

Meanwhile, Gary Hoitsma, spokesman for Sen. James Inhofe, said there is little desire in Congress to return to the Vieques issue.

SAN JUAN (AP) - Three lawsuits were filed Monday against three of Gov. Pedro Rossello's last minute appointments, according to published reports.

One of the lawsuits were filed by Popular Democratic Party (PDP) legislators to challenge the appointment of former Public Service Commission President Nydia Rodriguez as Minors Advocate.

For his part, Cabo Rojo Superior Court Judge Magraner Lizardi filed a legal recourse against the appointment of ousted Sen. Luis F. Navas to fill his position. Although his term concluded in October, Lizardi is still holding the position.

The appointment of Judge Lydia Couvertier to substitute Bayamon Judge Carmen Rivera de Saldaña has also been challenged.

SAN JUAN (AP) - Republican James Hansen, who will chair the House Resources Committee, will visit Puerto Rico soon to discuss Vieques with island leaders, according to published reports.

Hansen, of Utah, will replace Don Young as chairman of the committee that has jurisdiction over the U.S. territories. Hansen also is a member of the Armed Forces Committee and an advocate of live-fire practices in Vieques.

"We need to establish communication with the elected governor. There is much to do. We know the world of politics and a lot of things are said to be elected. We will give her the benefit of the doubt about the things said and done before Nov. 7, but it's important to know what are her true intentions about Vieques," said spokesman Bill Johnson.

SAN JUAN (AP) - Gov.-elect Sila Calderon on Monday appointed former Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) Rep. David Noriega as president of her "blue ribbon" committee to evaluate the sale and privatization of government assets under the Rossello administration.

The panel is comprised by four members also designated Monday by Calderon. They include former Commonwealth Comptroller Ileana Colon Carlo, former Superior Court Judge Carmen Rita Velez Borras, former Puerto Rico Telephone Co. President Pedro Galarza and lawyer Pedro Lopez Oliver.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- In Puerto Rico, which constantly struggles with its political status, language is political.

And we`re set for a replay of that discussion as soon as a new administration takes office.

One of the first things Sen. Antonio Fas Alzamora said he would do when he takes control of the new Popular Democratic Party-dominated Senate in January is to propose making Spanish the island`s official language, knocking English back to second-place status.

He wants to get rid of pro-statehood Gov. Pedro Rossello`s 1993 law that made both languages official here. He also shuns the 1991 law approved by the previous PDP administration making Spanish the sole official language.

He is now shooting for something in between. Spanish would be the official language and English "could be official, but secondary." English would be the official language in transactions that couldn`t be done in Spanish, he said, but it would be "unreal" to put it on the same level as Spanish.

"They didn`t want to talk about this issue during the campaign and now we`re seeing what this government is going to be like," said Rep. Melinda Romero Donnelly. "It`s going to be a government of total rejection of the U.S."

Gov.-elect Sila Calderon on Friday restated her position that she will fight for the immediate cease of military practices in Vieques and for the removal of the police riot squad from Camp Garcia in that island municipality.

Still, she said it was Gov. Pedro Rossello's duty to defend, until the end of his administration, the presidential accord that he entered into and ensure that the transfer of 8,000 acres of land to the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Vieques municipality is complied with by Dec. 31 as stipulated in the law signed by the U.S. Congress. The law is based on directives issued by President Bill Clinton and agreed to by Rossello.

"He has said he will carry out his functions to implement the directives and we have to hope that he will do so. That's what he's scheduled to do until the last day he is in office," Calderon said.

Misla Aldarondo Prevails, Pesquera Quits

Vieques Decisions For New Administration

Bush Postpones Discussions

Appointments Challenged

Resources' Hansen To Visit

Noriega To Assess Privatizations

Lawmakers Might Make Spanish Only Official Language

Calderón: Rosselló Has Duty To Make Good On Vieques