BOSTON--A small group of Harvard students protested by day and camped by night outside the JFK Federal Building this weekend, joining over 100 other protesters against the U.S. Navy occupation of the Puerto Rican island of Vieques.

The crowd marched in a circle holding signs and waving Puerto Rican flags, saying they will not leave the area until the U.S. permanently stops testing bombs on the island.

Hans S. Perl-Matanzo '01, who is the founder and director of Harvard Students for Peace in Vieques, Now!, helped lead the crowd with a megaphone, shouting out slogans in both English and Spanish.

"This is an act of civil disobedience," said Latinos for Social Change member Hector G. Arce, who is also a Harvard graduate student. "We did not ask for permission to stay here."

The U.S. Navy has occupied Vieques since 1941, using the island as a training ground for air, land and sea forces, including weapons and bomb testing. Protesters say the testing has hurt the island's environment and the health its 9,300 residents, and argue the U.S. Navy should leave the island immediately.

On Thursday, U.S. marshals and FBI agents peacefully removed 216 protesters who had been camped at the military training range since April 1999. The group began its protests after civilian guard David Sanes was accidentally killed by an errant bomb drop last year.

Perl-Matanzo said he believes the removal of the protesters from the Vieques military range will only strengthen the growing outcry against the navy presence.

"The removal made the struggle shift from speculation to a show of force where the U.S. made it clear it is more important to continue its colonial legacy than change its policy," Perl-Matanzo said.