The second experiments, using biological and chemical
weapons, were performed by the
The military’s revelation of those tests more than a week
ago has added fuel to local demands that the
The U.S. Department of Defense admitted having conducted
chemical and biological warfare experiments after complaints of ill health from
55 veterans, who claim to have served as guinea pigs in these tests.
The experiments were performed outdoors, meaning civilians
might also have been exposed to harmful chemical and biological agents, say
observers. Apart from Vieques, tests were also
performed in
In Vieques, the military sprayed
trioctyl phosphate on troops at a firing range in May
1969. According to the local Committee for the Rescue and Development of Vieques (CRDV), the substance can harm the skin, eyes and
respiratory system, and is known to cause cancer in animals.
Since April 1999, Vieques has
been the site of a prolonged and massive civil disobedience campaign against
the U.S. Navy presence there.
Well over 1,000 activists have been arrested and imprisoned
for trespassing on the firing range, including actor Edward James Olmos, environmentalist Robert Kennedy Jr., Reverend Al Sharpton and
The
Roosevelt Roads naval base in the town of
”This new evidence of the grave danger that the Navy and
its training manoeuvres pose to the health of our people
calls for an epidemiological study,” said Rafael Rivera Castano,
a retired epidemiologist in Vieques.
”An executive order from (
Puerto Rico Justice Secretary Anabelle
Rodriguez was to hold meetings last week with the government’s lobbyists in
The military tests came to light just as the independence
movement began a campaign to persuade the American Association for Cancer
Research (AACR) to change the name of an award named after a scientist that the
movement accuses of conducting unethical medical experiments on Puerto Ricans.
The prize in question, the Cornelius P. Rhoads Scientific
Achievement Award, is given yearly to outstanding young cancer researchers. In
the 1930s, Rhoads worked in the
”In 1931 (Rhoads) used the Puerto Rican population as
guinea pigs, injecting patients with cancer cells without their knowledge”,
said
”At least 13 people died as a result of these experiments.”
In a letter that was prominently displayed by the local
media last week, Rhoads openly bragged about killing Puerto Ricans. ”What the
island needs is not public health work, but a tidal wave or something to totally
exterminate the population,” said the letter.
The letter also contained this opinion of Puerto Ricans, ”they are beyond doubt the dirtiest, laziest, most
degenerate and thievish race of men ever inhabiting this sphere”.
According to the Internet newsletter ‘CounterPunch’,
“Rhoads went on to head the U.S. Army Biological Weapons division and to serve
on the Atomic Energy Commission, where he oversaw radiation experiments on thousands
of US citizens”.
In an Oct. 16 letter to the AACR,
”Clearly, establishing an award in honour
of Dr. Josef Mengele
would be a monumental insult to Jews, regardless of Dr. Mengele’s
contributions to medicine,”, added Cumpiano,
who represents the CRDV, a group of Vieques residents.
”Accordingly, regardless of Dr. Rhoads’ contributions
in the field of cancer research, your organisation’s
establishment of the ‘AACR-Cornelius P.
Rhoads Memorial Award’ is either an unfortunate oversight or an
egregious insult to the more than 8 million Puerto Ricans.”
You can blow out a candle,
but you can’t blow out a fire.
Once the flame begins to catch,
the wind will blow it higher.
· Peter Gabriel
Back to The Cornershag
Contact Carmelo