The training center, dubbed the "School of Assassins," repeatedly has
been cited by human rights groups, including the UN Truth Commission,
for training Latin America's worst human rights abusers. This
includes 48 officers from El Salvador, cited for human-right violations in a UN
Truth Commission report. Another SOA graduate is Manuel Noriega,
ex-dictator of Panama, now serving 40 years for drug trafficking.
Protesters were detained when they planted dozens of crosses on base
property, then walked toward the School. Each cross bore the name of
one of the thousands of Latin Americans murdered by SOA graduates.
Two other people were arrested after hanging rosaries and a message
on doorknobs of the School's dormitories. Written in Spanish and
English, the note read, "Pray with us for the martyrs of UCA."
There are enough martyrs in Latin America," insisted Marcia Timmel,
with the U.S. Jesuit Conference. She was one of several speakers
addressing the crowd, attending the demonstration. "Heaven is
overpopulated with victims of the School of the Americas."
All of those arrested are expected to be released on their own
recognizance. Protest organizers anticipate first-time offenders
face the likelihood of two month prison sentences. Maryknoll priest
Fr. Roy Bourgeois, director of the SOA Watch, is currently
incarcerated in the Atlanta Federal Prison Camp, serving a six-month
sentence set to end in mid-December.
"Fifty years ago, the U.S. Army School of the Americas opened its
doors in Panama to a class of Latin America and Caribbean military
officers to receive training in the art of war," noted U.S. Rep.
Joseph Kennedy II in a letter read at the demonstration. "Half a
century later, it is time to shut the School down." He commended
individuals who "have shown a willingness to serve as prisoners of
conscience for speaking out against the School," and ironically
added, "those sentenced for protesting have served more time than any
of the SOA graduates linked to atrocities."
HOW MANY PEOPLE OF CONSCIENCE MUST GO TO JAIL BEFORE PRESIDENT CLINTON SEES FIT TO
CLOSE THIS SCHOOL OF ASSASSINS. WRITE YOUR CONGRESSPEOPLE AND
SENATORS TODAY DEMANDING THE CLOSURE OF THE SOA.
Maryann Bell
Peace Studies Center
University at Stony Brook
Stony Brook, NY 11794-4392
TELEPHONE: 516-632-7107
FAX: 516-632-7132