Thousands March in Support of Citizenship

Tens of thousands of people marched in Puerto Rico’s capital Sunday to celebrate their U.S. citizenship in an attempt to counter a recent outpouring of nationalism on the Caribbean island.

The march was organized by the New Progressive Party, which favors statehood for Puerto Rico, a U.S. commonwealth. NPP officials fear that recent demonstrations against the U.S. Navy over the Vieques bombing range sent the message that Puerto Ricans did not want to remain part of the United States.

“Some politicians say ‘here we dance merengue, here we dance to salsa,’ ” said NPP Sen. Jorge Santini, the party’s candidate for mayor of San Juan in upcoming elections. “But here we dance to rock and roll also.”

The marched clogged roads leading into colonial Old San Juan, a 16th-century walled city. A sea of U.S. flags and pounding music filled the air.

The festivities began Friday with a camp-out by Puerto Rico Sen. Orlando Parga and a group of pro-statehood university students on at the oceanside El Escambron park just steps from the Capitol.

Officials had no immediate estimate of the number of marchers but reporters put it in the tens of thousands.

“I’m here because I’m very proud to be American,” said Jose German, 52, a Vietnam veteran and resident of the south coast city of Ponce.

Statehood supporters are concerned that recent outpourings of nationalism in Puerto Rico would send the message that Puerto Ricans are anti-United States.

The 3.8 million people of Puerto Rico, which was annexed by the United States after the 1898 Spanish-American War, are U.S. citizens but cannot vote in presidential elections and do not pay federal taxes.

Statehood supporters were concerned last year by the heady reception given 11 Puerto Rican nationalists who were freed by President Clinton after serving prison time for weapons, sedition and conspiracy.

The 11 belonged to the Armed Forces of National Liberation (FALN) guerrilla group which supports Puerto Rican independence and was blamed for a string of bombings in the 1970s and 1980s.

Upon arrival in Puerto Rico, the nationalists were greeted by small but enthusiastic crowds. One former prisoner was offered a municipal job by the mayor of the south coast town of Lajas.

Puerto Rico’s relationship with the United States suffered another blow with the battle with the U.S. Navy over bombing exercises on the small island of Vieques.

Last April a Puerto Rican civilian security guard working for the Navy on Vieques was killed accidentally when a bomb was dropped off target. The accident pulled all three island political parties into a coalition that demanded the Navy leave Vieques.

In January, Clinton and Puerto Rican Gov. Pedro Rossello reached an accord that will allow the Navy to resume bombing exercises, albeit with dummy bombs. The Navy will hold a referendum next year to allow Vieques residents to choose between requiring the Navy to leave or allowing it to stay in exchange for millions in development aid.

Yet the accord angered some Puerto Rico residents who demand the Navy leave immediately. A protest march last month against the accord drew an estimated 80,000 to 120,000 demonstrators.

Politics on the island are dominated by the NPP and the Popular Democratic Party, which favors commonwealth status. Independence backers comprise about 4 percent of the electorate. Statehood backers point out that combining the PDP and NPP supporters means that 96 percent or more of Puerto Ricans want to maintain a close relationship with the United States.

“Puerto Rican women will defend citizenship tooth and nail,” said Puerto Rico Sen. Lucy Arce. “This is the great gift we will leave for our children.”