Follow-up: Vieques Resolution

Nashville 2001 delegate action

We as Mennonite Church USA committed ourselves to:

Send a letter of support and encouragement to the Mennonite Church in Puerto Rico,
Puerto Rico Mennonite Conference, Calle Jose C. Vazquez 106, PO Box 2016, Aibonito PR 00705, convenpr@yahoo.com;
Send a letter (better than a postcard or e-mail) to the U.S. government making our perspective known (below), and expressing our desire to stand with our Puerto Rican brothers and sisters:
President George W. Bush, The White House, Washington, DC 20500.

As delegates, we committed ourselves to:

Pray for Puerto Rican Mennonites that God will show them how to minister to all the people of Vieques, work with the military personnel on the naval bases on the Puerto Rican mainland, and develop peace work with the children and youth of Puerto Rico;
Use the bit of fence you were given, or your own, to remind you of the people of Vieques. The wire symbolizes the exclusion of the people of Vieques from their land, and their being ensnared by a military definition of well-being for their people.
Write notes of encouragement to our sisters and brothers in Puerto Rico; (above)
Support the work of Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) as they witness on Vieques;
CPT, PO Box 6508, Chicago IL 60680-6508; phone/fax 312-455-1199; cpt@igc.apc.org
Write as individuals and official leaders to our government representatives; (above) and
Acknowledge that we are part of the military complex abusing the people of Vieques because we pay taxes that support the military.
National Campaign for a Peace Tax Fund (NCPTF),
      2121 Decatur Place NW, Washington DC 20008;
      phone 202-483-3751; www.peacetax.com
National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee,
      PO Box 6512, Ithaca NY 14851; phone 800-269-7464; www.nctrcc.org/nwtrcc
War Resisters League,
      339 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10012; 212-228-0450; www.warresisters.org

We ask our U.S. government leaders to:

Immediately stop military exercises on Vieques;
Clean up contaminated land so children can play safely, farmers can grow healthy crops, and fishermen can fish in unpolluted water;
Without delay remove the Navy from the island,
Financially and strategically support the reconstruction work of the Committee for the Rescue and Development of Vieques.

May God grant peace and justice to the people of Vieques, and may God grant us the courage to speak and act when we are called to be God's hands in the world.

Prepared by Mennonite Church Peace and Justice Committee, 330-683-6844; SusanML@MennoniteUSA.org