GARCIA: Vieques Fakers and Fighters

Don't worry, you're not alone if you've had trouble keeping track of the latest celebrities and politicians, or celebrity-politicians, who've managed to get arrested in the name of stopping the U.S. military bombing of Vieques island in Puerto Rico.

At the risk of sounding cynical, I get the feeling that some these folks care more about hamming it up for the press than actually helping the people of Vieques. I'll give you a breakdown in a minute of these new luminaries of the Vieques movement, but first a little background:

Vieques is a tiny island with about 9,400 inhabitants that the U.S. military has been using as a terrestrial bulls-eye for the past 60 years. The Bush Administration, like every administration before it, insists that Vieques is the only U.S.-property in the world where it can perform these training exercises.

For the past year, opponents of the Vieques bombing range, have vociferously disagreed and have pressed the government to shut down its military operations there. To make that point, thousands of protesters have carried out almost nonstop acts of civil disobedience, including routinely trespassing on the Navy-controlled land where the bombing takes place.

At first, the protesters' ranks consisted of longtime Vieques activists and devout sympathizers. Some were well known in the Puerto Rican community but few are what you'd call household names.

Lately, that's changed. In recent months, Vieques has become a magnet for celebrities, activists and politicians, some of whom, of course, are well meaning. But frankly, others seem far more interested in getting their name dropped by the press than in keeping bombs from being dropped on Vieques.

For what it's worth, here's my who's who of the Vieques fakers and fighters.

First, the fighters:

Fighter No. 1: Dennis Rivera of New York. Union leader. Active in the Vieques movement for 20 years. He's struggled for blue-collar workers and the disenfranchised for most of his adult life. The late, great civil rights leader César Chavez would have been proud.

Fighter No. 2: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Son of the late Senator. Longtime environmental activist. Kennedy has filed a lawsuit alleging that the Navy's bombing of Vieques violates the Endangered Species Act by poisoning the island's once-pristine environment. The suit also documents health risks linked to the bombing, including unusually high cancer rates on Vieques.

Fighters Nos. 3, 4 and 5: New York politicos Roberto Ramirez, Adolfo Carrion, and Jose Rivera. All sit in jail today. All are on a hunger fast. As one newspaper story put it, they've had the courage and the cultural credentials to put their careers on the line.

Fighter No. 6: Puerto Rico Gov. Sila Calderon. Elected last fall, Calderon is an honest and powerful advocate for the people of Vieques. She has the tough job of condemning the U.S. bombing exercises even as she tries to cultivate good relations with the White House and Congress. So far, Calderon has stuck by her principles and her people, even at the risk of being labeled anti-American.

Now here's a list of a few of the fakers:

Faker No. 1: Rev. Al Sharpton. Publicity hound extraordinaire. His support of the Vieques movement might actually hurt more than help. The last person the White House wants to deal with on Vieques is Al Sharpton. Stunned that he was arrested and not just fined, the flamboyant and corpulent Mr. Sharpton is fasting in a New York jail. One can only hope his ego will drop a few pounds along the way.

Faker No. 2: New York Gov. George Pataki. Pataki, A Republican, is running for reelection. He hasn't formally announced his candidacy, but it's clear that after last year's Census figures showed a Latino population boom, Pataki is suddenly willing to stump to a Latin beat.