Navy Resumes Vieques Shelling, but Protests May Cut It Short

Navy ships and fighter jets blasted a firing range with inert ammunition despite protests on Monday, the same day the Navy gave up more than a third of its land on this Puerto Rican island.

The transfer of the 8,100 acres was part of an agreement reached last year between the White House and Puerto Rico as a compromise to quell rising tensions over the Navy’s use of Vieques.

“It represents a great opportunity for the Navy to demonstrate we are great neighbors on Vieques,” said Lt. Jeff Gordon, a Navy spokesman.

Protesters, meanwhile, continued their demonstrations against the Navy, calling for a permanent end to the exercises that resumed Friday. They were the first such maneuvers on Vieques since December.

“What the Navy has been doing to us is abusive,” said Luis Gonzalez, a 17-year-old high school student who skipped class to protest. “For more than 60 years they have destroyed our land, and that hurts.”

Gordon said because of ongoing demonstrations and fierce government opposition, the current exercises could end as early as today.

Opposition to the Navy’s use of the training ground grew after an April 1999 accident in which two off-target bombs killed a civilian guard at the range on the eastern tip of Vieques. Since May 2000, the Navy has used only inert ammunition but says the training is critical for the national defense.

Monday’s maneuvers began after 1 p.m., hours after they were scheduled, because Navy officials heard that protesters had buried themselves on the 900-acre firing range loaded with unexploded bombs and shells.

Although protest organizers said between 40 and 60 people invaded the range Monday morning, only 10 were arrested, including Puerto Rican Independence Party leader Ruben Berrios.

No protesters were found buried in the range, but several were arrested for entering a restricted area close to the range.