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Editorials
Friday, May 5, 2000Vieques dispute is
similar to KahoolaweTHE standoff on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques should rekindle memories here of the battle to end the military bombing of Kahoolawe. The islands were used for the same purpose: as targets for naval and aerial bombardment in training exercises.The issue: The federal government is removing protesters from a bombing range on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques.
In both cases there were protests against continued bombing and illegal occupations by protesters. In the case of Kahoolawe, the bombing ended a decade ago and the federal government committed itself to clear unexploded ordnance to make the island safe for use.
No training has been conducted on Vieques since April 1999, when bombs dropped by a Marine Corps fighter plane accidentally killed a civilian security guard.
Protesters immediately occupied the bombing range and the Navy was forced to cancel training exercises. With the arrests of the protesters -- fortunately without violence -- and their removal from the range, the Navy intends to resume exercises within two weeks. Dummy bombs will be used, not real explosives.
But the Navy may not get to use the bombing range, located on the eastern side of the island, for long. Unlike Kahoolawe, which was uninhabited, Vieques has a resident population of 9,000. The people will vote in a referendum on continued military use sometime this year or in 2001.
Navy Secretary Richard Danzig, who called the removal of the protesters "a very successful and peaceful operation," declared that Vieques is "an irreplaceable and a unique place for doing training." But he repeated the Navy's pledge to abandon Vieques if its residents vote against continued bombing in the referendum.
Under an agreement reached in January with Puerto Rican Gov. Pedro Rossello, President Clinton is committed to asking Congress for an extra $50 million in aid for housing and infrastructure improvements for Vieques if the residents approve continued full-scale training. In addition, the residents are to receive $40 million in aid for a boat pier and other improvements when the current impasse ends.
The referendum is certainly a preferable way to proceed compared with letting a few hundred protesters continue to occupy the bombing range and make it unusable. Despite the promise of additional aid, it seems unlikely that the Vieques residents will vote for continued Navy use. And that is understandable. No one wants a bombing range in his back yard.
However, by complying with the expected referendum result, the Navy would lose an important resource for training -- as it did with the loss of Kahoolawe.
This is a serious matter. Arduous, realistic training is essential to military readiness. The loss of Kahoolawe has affected training exercises in Hawaii and made the islands less attractive to the Pentagon. The Atlantic Fleet would face similar problems with the loss of Vieques.
Every effort should be made to satisfy local community concerns, but at some point national security must take precedence.
Purchase of Palmyra
ensures preservationTHE purchase agreement for Palmyra Atoll, some 1,000 miles south of Honolulu, will be welcomed by everyone concerned with preserving its pristine environment and protecting its rich assortment of plant and animal life, some considered endangered. The list includes various seabirds, monk seals, green sea turtles and a wet atoll forest tree.
One problem: the islands are overrun with rats, which threaten ground-nesting seabirds and should be removed.
The Fullard-Leo family of Honolulu has agreed to sell Palmyra to the Nature Conservancy, a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. The Nature Conservancy called Palmyra the most important unprotected marine wilderness left in the U.S. tropics. Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt called Palmyra "a jewel of America's Pacific coral reefs."
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is expected to purchase part of the atoll and establish a joint-operations relationship with the Conservancy. The plan is for the service to manage two-thirds of the atoll as a wildlife refuge.
Over the years the Fullard-Leos have rejected proposals to use the atoll to store spent nuclear fuel or develop it into a resort or casino. To their credit, they have found a way to preserve the atoll from development for the benefit of generations to come.
Palmyra was declared a possession of Hawaii in 1862 by King Kamehameha IV and was included in the annexation of Hawaii by the United States in 1898. It was used by the military during World War II. There are still structures left over from that period. The atoll was not included in the boundaries of the state of Hawaii. It has the status of an unincorporated territory under U.S. jurisdiction.
Although the atoll will be protected from development, the Nature Conservancy and the Fish and Wildlife Service plan to allow limited numbers of visitors to help cover their management expenses. So the more adventurous among us will have opportunities to see what the efforts to protect Palmyra have achieved.
Published by Liberty Newspapers Limited PartnershipRupert E. Phillips, CEO
John M. Flanagan, Editor & Publisher
David Shapiro, Managing Editor
Diane Yukihiro Chang, Senior Editor & Editorial Page Editor
Frank Bridgewater & Michael Rovner, Assistant Managing Editors
A.A. Smyser, Contributing Editor
