School for political assassins funded by your tax $$$ - PhillyBlog

peacemover · #1 (**permalink**) 11-16-2004, 01:46 PM

I just received this message in an e-newsletter from Sojourners magazine a progressive journal that addresses issues of social justice, ethics and policy:

Quote:

The U.S. Army School of the Americas (SOA) is a combat training school for Latin American soldiers located at Fort Benning, Georgia. SOA graduates have been responsible for some of the worst human rights atrocities in Latin American history, including:

-Two of the three officers responsible for the assassination of Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero in 1980

-Three of the five officers responsible for the rape and murder of four U.S. churchwomen in 1980

-19 of 26 responsible for the massacre of six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper, and her daughter in 1989

-The man convicted in Guatemalan courts for the assassination of Guatemalan Bishop Juan Jose Gerardi in 1998

-The man arrested for the murder of Colombian Bishop Isaias Duarte in 2002

Originally set up as a counterinsurgency training school in 1946, the SOA has claimed numerous reforms in the way it selects and trains its students over the years, culminating in its name change to the "Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation" (WHISC) in 2001. Each of these changes came only because of grassroots and congressional activism, but none has permanently closed the school or allowed for a full accounting of its tragic legacy. The school continues to train soldiers from countries with the worst human rights records in the region.

There are three ways to take action today to close the School of the Americas:

1. Arrange to travel to Fort Benning, Georgia, this coming weekend for the annual vigil to close the SOA. Join Martin Sheen, Susan Sarandon, Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls, Sr. Helen Prejean of Dead Man Walking fame, Bishop Gabino Zavala, and thousands more people of conscience to stand in solidarity with those affected by the atrocities committed by SOA graduates. This annual vigil serves as a powerful reminder of the work that can be accomplished by those who care enough to take a stand and take action. Go to www.soaw.org for travel details, and if you can't attend yourself, consider giving financial help to a local college or church group making the trip.

2. Begin planning to take part in the SOA Lobby Days, February 21-22, as faith-based activists from around the country make a personal appeal to congressional representatives to close the school.

3. A bill sits in Congress that would close, investigate, and prevent another cosmetic remake of the SOA. Please contact your congressperson today and urge them to co-sponsor HR 1258.

SurfDog · #2 (**permalink**) 11-30-2004, 03:52 PM

People have been trying to close the place down for twenty years.

seand · #3 (**permalink**) 12-16-2004, 12:17 PM

Thanks for the post, peacemover. SOA is a horrible, horrible institution that has trained torturers and death squad commanders for decades.

I keep wondering about all that "police training" going on in Iraq these days. I wonder if it matches up to the high standards of training for our own prison guard in Abu Graib.

Are you, or someone in your congregation, planning to go to this vigil, John?

peacemover · #4 (**permalink**) 12-16-2004, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by seand

Thanks for the post, peacemover. SOA is a horrible, horrible institution that has trained torturers and death squad commanders for decades.

I keep wondering about all that "police training" going on in Iraq these days. I wonder if it matches up to the high standards of training for our own prison guard in Abu Graib.

Are you, or someone in your congregation, planning to go to this vigil, John?

I am looking into that possibility and hope that people will help get the word out about shutting the American version of a training camp for terrorists down.

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