Word: rican
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...Friday, President Clinton disappointed the Puerto Rican nation when he refused to order the withdrawal of all U.S. military forces from the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico. It is no wonder that the people of Puerto Rico rejected Clinton's decision to continue bombing in Vieques for at least five more years. Clinton's refusal to permanently stop Navy bombardment let down the thousands of people who have been waiting for decades to reclaim the land they lived on before they were forcibly moved out by the U.S. Navy...
...margins of a letter written to the president by Puerto Rican Senator Ruben Berrios demanding the withdrawal of U.S. military personnel from Vieques, President Clinton wrote "This is wrong." In view of the president's agreement with the unanimous position of all political groups in Puerto Rico, his decision to permit bombing in Vieques to continue for the next five years is tantamount to a judge who tells a wife-beater: "Beating your wife is wrong, it is detrimental to your marriage and to her health, I recommend that you stop beating her by the year...
...following U.S. President can disregard, because following presidents will not be bound by Friday's decision. The end of this five-year time period will coincide with the next presidential election. Conservative Americans who fervently defend U.S. military interests will be able to exert much more pressure than Puerto Ricans, since we are not a part of the U.S. electoral process. Indeed, the will of the Puerto Rican people, supported by a past Congress, has been ignored for the past 18 years. In 1981, Congress gave the Navy five years to find reasonable alternatives to Vieques for its military training...
Thus, it is perfectly understandable that the people of Vieques and all Puerto Rican politicians (without a single exception) called President Clinton's decision "unacceptable." Puerto Ricans don't trust a Navy who is not bound to President Clinton's recommendation since they fear the Navy will convince the following president to heed their will to stay in Vieques...
...Professor Coatsworth said yesterday that the protestors' action would someday yield a result that meets the demands of the Puerto Rican people...