<< Back 12/25/02 SOA’s graduates leave legacy of atrocities By Hunter Pope President Bush’s main concern since 9-11 has been to pursue and rid the world of terrorist camps. If he is firm in his convictions, then he might want to direct his attention to Columbus, Ga. On Nov. 16-17, over 10,000 protesters convened on Ft. Benning, Ga., to protest the School of the Americas (terminally reduced by many as the School of the Assassins), a combat training school for Latin American soldiers that teaches counterinsurgency techniques, sniper training, commando and psychological warfare, military intelligence and interrogation tactics. The SOA Watch, the spearhead of this annual action, claims that the graduates have used their training to enact war on their own people. The bulls eye of the SOA graduates have been educators, union organizers, religious workers, students, and anyone who has stood for the indigenous and poor. The SOA watch (their in depth website can be found at www.soaw.org) reports that, “hundreds of thousands of Latin Americans have been tortured, raped, assassinated, ‘disappeared’, massacred, and forced into refugees by those trained at the School of the Americas.” In 2001, the SOA changed its name to “Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation.” The school is now operated by the Defense Department and supervised by an independent 13-member board of diplomats, lawmakers, religious leaders, and scholars. Officials say that while the school still trains Latin American soldiers, it also focuses on civilian and diplomatic affairs. They also point out that human-rights courses are mandatory. The SOA Watch sees this change as “cosmetic.” “New name,” the website reads, “same shame.” The non-violent protests in November boasted the highest attendance ever, with numbers ranging from 11,000 to 15,000. The protests called for celebration, as numerous concerts, speakers, and parades marked the thirteenth year of protesting the SOA The Indigo Girls performed, followed by a massive funeral procession to honor those murdered by SOA graduates. All the protestors carried crosses or Stars of David bearing the names of victims. For several hours, SOA organizers read the names of victims. After each name, the crowd responded by saying, “Presente!” Then the crowd processed around the stage to the front of the lawn of Ft. Benning, where there was a “die-in”— people dressed up as corpses along with fake coffins and gravestones. Each participant placed a cross at the foot of a corpse or on the fence around Fort Benning. The flood of media attention and the influx of youth helped the rally to gain national attention. “There was a lot of publicity for the peace rally this weekend,” said Jim Brown, a spokesperson for the WNC Peace Coalition and an attendee at the protests, along with several hundred other Asheville residents. “Even the NY Times did a story and NPR did stories all day .... We’re hopeful that lots of Americans will hear about it and educate themselves on what’s happening around the world. There were lots and lots of young people at the SOA protest. There were teens for peace, that’s the hope of the future. When the people speak, the government has to listen.” Ninety-six people were arrested, including six nuns, who on their own free will passed through a gate (the padlock was hewn by bolt cutters) and onto private property. The military police then escorted them up the hill where they were arrested. Trespassing on federal property is illegal and carries up to six months in jail. This year, however, a new rule was put in place. “They were all given $5,000 bond or stay in jail until the hearing on Jan. 27,” said Brown. “Hundreds and hundreds of people have been arrested at the SOA protest over the last dozen years. Never ever has anyone not shown up for a court hearing when they were told to. These are respectable honest citizens who feel strongly in their convictions and they do what they believe is right. This was the first year that bonds were set.” The local Columbus paper even reported that there were 13 similar cases last year. All were handled with personal recognizance bonds and all returned for trial. Many papers claimed that the weekend was essentially free of confrontations between police and protestors. Brown saw it as a little more tainted. “Two young women who were coming for the protest came to the wrong entrance. They stopped when they saw it was the wrong base and a guard came over to the car. They told him they were coming to the peace rally ... the guard told them directions on how to get out, but another MP stopped them and they arrested the driver and held her overnight on a $5,000 bond. They then took the passenger and dropped her off at a convenience store. And she was only 17 years old.” Another similar incident happened with two college students (they got lost, then arrested, $5,000 bond, passenger dropped off in the middle of nowhere), and Brown also noted that the barricades were perplexing: “(The police) put barricades on the sides of the street, separating the street from the sidewalk. So they checked all of us who came to the rally on the street. But anyone could have come on the sidewalk and stood within 20 feet of the rally and stage and had a bomb and they wouldn’t have to have worried about being checked on the sidewalk.” Thirteen years ago, barricades, funeral processions, and celebrities (past protestors include Martin Sheen and Woody Harrelson) wouldn’t have been able to cram into the original rallying spot. The SOA watch began in the minuscule confines of an apartment outside the gates of Ft. Benning. These early organizers were responding to the murder of six Jesuit Priests, a co-worker and her daughter in El Salvador on Nov. 16, 1989. A U.S. Congressional Task Force reported that the culprits had been trained at the SOA. The watch began soon after, with its grassroots growing due to the knowledge of many U.S. citizens who had worked with the poor in Latin America in the 70’s and 80’s. Brown and one of his closest friends were some of those people: “My friend, Eric Johnson, is still in prison for protesting the SOA last year,” said Brown. “He stood up for his beliefs. In 1986, he and I went to Nicaragua on separate trips. He got close to a family there. After he left, the family was killed by Contras, financed by the U.S. and trained by the SOA. That makes it real.” Dictators Manuel Noriega of Nicaragua and Leopoldo Galtieri of Argentina came from the SOA, which boasts over 60,000 graduates. Another graduate was Byron Lima Estrada, who is “currently on trial for the 1998 assassination of Guatemalan Bishop Juan Gerardi. Gerardi, who was bludgeoned to death two days after he released the REMHI report linking the Guatemalan army to most of the atrocities committed during the country’s civil war. Lima Estrada headed the infamous D-2 intelligence Agency that was heavily cited in Gerardi’s report.” The SOA was birthed in Panama in 1946, but was kicked out of the country in 1984 due to the Panama Canal treaty. Former Panamanian President Jorge Illueca said that the SOA was the “biggest base for destabilization in Latin America.” Brown claims the manual now used by students goes against the Geneva Convention. The counterintelligence section manual has several entries that have raised alarms: (From the SOA Watch website): “Throughout, the manuals highlight refugees and displaced persons as possible subversives to be monitored. They describe universities as breeding grounds for terrorists, and identify priests and nuns as terrorists. They advise militaries to infiltrate youth groups, student groups, labor unions, political parties, and community organizations ... One of the most pernicious passages, in “Combat Intelligence,” lists ways to identify guerrilla presence. “Indicators of an imminent attack by guerrillas” include demonstrations by minority groups, reluctance by civilians — including children — to associate with U.S or their local troops, celebrations of national or religious festivals, or the presence of strangers.” “The instructors tell us that they are using the same manual that was used when it was called the School of the Americas,” said Brown. “We were told that there were lots of soldiers being trained in Colombia. We want the public to know that the U.S. is training terrorists right here in our own country.” Will the SOA go away? The protestors want to think so, and with their numbers growing annually, the closing is not a fantastical dream. The SOA Watch website is vigilant in its information regarding the SOA and other human rights violations in Latin America. Their goal is two-fold: close the SOA and change foreign policy in Latin America. Yea-round the movement is dedicated to educating the public, lobbying Congress, and doing non-violent sit-ins. Will Ft. Benning and the city of Columbus continue to welcome in the hordes of non-violent advocates? The economy certainly says yes. This year’s protests cost the city about $180,000. But, the city estimated that the convergence of 10,000 people over the weekend gave Columbus over $5 million in revenue. Jim Brown will be in Ft. Benning every year, whether twelcome or not. His goal is to be visible and educate U.S. citizens into thinking globally. “I’ve been to Third World countries and I see how the U.S. is holding these countries down. The people there are beautiful, intelligent, and wise. I believe in respecting life everywhere and not just Americans.” Brown has hope, and he’s even found it in the most unlikely of places. “I noticed a woman military captain who was walking around in the crowd. She had a badge that said “peace and close the SOA.” (Hunter Pope can be reached at w.h.pope@worldnet. att.net)