Federal Judge Rejects Puerto Rico Bid to Keep Military Exercises off Island

By Bill Miller and Edward Walsh
Washington Post Staff Writers

The Navy was set to begin bombing exercises today on the island of Vieques after a federal judge rejected an emergency request from the Puerto Rican government
to prevent the training maneuvers involving thousands of military personnel.

U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler said yesterday that lawyers for Puerto Rico had failed to show that the island's 9,300 residents would be "irreparably harmed" by
the bombing, which is conducted with inert, or "dummy," ordnance. The exercises have generated long-standing resentment from Puerto Ricans, who contend that
sonic booms from the shelling may be causing health problems for island residents.

But Kessler also criticized the way the Navy has handled the matter, urging U.S. officials to wait for results of ongoing medical studies before conducting any future
exercises.

The decision was a setback for Puerto Rico Gov. Sila Maria Calderon (D), who took office this year after pledging to end the Navy's use of Vieques, a
52-square-mile island of lush hillsides and beaches that is home to the bombing range for the Navy's Atlantic Fleet. The issue has unified Puerto Rico's disparate
political, religious and community factions toward the goal of expelling the Navy.

As the court fight took place, several prominent figures sneaked onto the 12,000 acres of restricted Navy land in Vieques and vowed to remain until arrested.

"I am offering my sacrifice as a gesture of solidarity with my Vieques brothers," said Sen. Norma Burgos. She was accompanied by Mirta Sanes, the sister of David
Sanes Rodriguez, the civilian security guard whose April 1999 death in a botched Navy bombing run prompted the drive to force the Navy to quit its training ground.

Vieques Mayor Damaso Serrano also entered the range yesterday after sending a letter to Navy officials saying they "lack all moral authority to stop our struggle."

Demonstrations sponsored by religious and community organizations took place yesterday in San Juan, and more protests were planned for today. Hundreds of
people planned to join a caravan from San Juan to the east coast city of Fajardo and then take a ferry to Vieques.

Four or five days of military exercises are planned, Navy sources said. Ships, stationed at least three miles from shore, will fire up to 300 rounds daily at targets on
the range, and roughly 600 nonexplosive bombs will be dropped on the target area during the training.

Some ships and aircraft in the area are to begin practice today, but the bulk of the action will get underway Saturday, when the USS Enterprise battle group begins
training with its 12 ships and about 15,000 sailors and Marines, Navy sources said.

The Puerto Rican legislature tried to block the Navy by passing an anti-noise law Monday that became the catalyst for a lawsuit filed here Tuesday against Defense
Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and Navy officials.

Angeline Purdy, a Justice Department lawyer, contended that the United States is not legally bound to follow the Puerto Rico law because it has sovereign immunity.
Kessler did not address the merit of that argument in her ruling.

After hearing arguments yesterday, Kessler said she saw no overriding reason to take emergency action. However, she said she would more fully explore legal issues
later and could ultimately bar future training.

"I cannot find that this particular, discrete four-to-five-day period of shelling . . . will cause irreparable harm to the people of Vieques," she declared.

The Navy conducted exercises in June, August, October and December last year. More than 500 people were detained on charges stemming from protests of those
maneuvers, and sources said the military has arranged for a "robust security presence" today.

Although the suit didn't achieve its immediate objective, Calderon predicted that Puerto Rico eventually would win. "There's no doubt we will prevail," she said.

The activities on the Caribbean bombing range have taken place for nearly 60 years, with the Navy and Marines practicing invasions and other maneuvers. In court
papers, the Justice Department said the exercises "have been, and continue to be, critical to the United States' military readiness." The Navy and Marine personnel
who will train on the island are scheduled to be deployed to the Persian Gulf soon to relieve forces there.

After the death of Sanes Rodriguez, protesters occupied the Navy's bombing range for a year. But the exercises eventually resumed -- using dummy ordnance for the
first time -- under terms of an agreement reached in January 2000 between the Puerto Rican government and the Clinton administration that guaranteed $40 million in
federal aid to the island territory. Under the pact, Puerto Rican voters will decide the future of the Navy's presence on Vieques in a November referendum.

Calderon, sworn in as governor in January, has pressured the Bush administration ever since, and won a temporary reprieve when Rumsfeld agreed to cancel
exercises planned for March. But when the Navy announced plans April 11 for the new round of exercises, Calderon and legislators moved to pass the anti-noise
measure.

Special correspondent John Marino in San Juan contributed to this report.

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