On 11/21/08, Carlos Munoz, Jr. <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > *for immediate release > November 21, 2008* > ** > > *Thousands Gather this Weekend at Fort Benning, Georgia to say: > Yes We Can Stop Torture and Close the School of Assassins* > ** > > *Advocates for Justice in the Americas Look Forward with Hope* > ** > > *Columbus, GA* - Thousands will gather this weekend, November > 21-23<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=43eDy6gDK%2FPwVlV0ib9ZEsadFbhgLW%2F%2F>, > at the gates of Fort Benning, GA for what organizers hope may be the last > mass protest to close the controversial School of the Americas, renamed > Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (SOA/WHINSEC). With 35 > Representatives who voted to continue funding the SOA/WHINSEC losing their > seats in > Congress<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=MK8ND24UhzXbTurYxeAsq8adFbhgLW%2F%2F>on > November 4th, human rights advocates have their sights set on pressuring > the new Congress to permanently shut down the school in 2009. The last > vote<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=y2h8HGH5a1ZcToOS8Eo1Z8adFbhgLW%2F%2F>to > defund the SOA/WHINSEC, in 2007, lost by a margin of only six votes. > > Every November, the annual 'Vigil to Close the SOA/WHINSEC' draws thousands > of people to the gates of Ft. Benning, the army base which houses the > facility. Organizers hope to make the most out of the changing political > climate that was revealed during this year's elections.* "We feel > qualified optimism,"* said SOA Watch founder Fr. Roy Bourgeois.* "The > American people have rejected the Bush Administration's policies of > aggression, war-mongering and torture. By closing this notorious school of > assassins now, Obama and the new Congress can show the world that we > genuinely honor human rights."* Hundreds of thousands of Latin Americans > have been tortured, raped, assassinated, "disappeared," massacred, and > forced into refugee by those trained at the SOA/WHINSEC. > > On Sunday, President-elect Barack Obama repeated on* 60 Minutes* his > promise to close Guantánamo and to ensure that U.S. forces not use torture. > However, he has yet to offer a clear position on the SOA/WHINSEC, despite > the school's long association with torture and human rights abuses. SOA > Watch is circulating a petition to the president-elect, urging him to issue > an executive order to close the SOA/WHINSEC. Five Latin American countries > have already announced their withdrawal from the training facility, citing > its history of human rights abuses. SOA Watch believes that closing the > SOA/WHINSEC is a pivotal opportunity for the U.S. to improve its > relationships in the Western Hemisphere, and to fulfill Obama's stated goal > of "regain[ing] America's moral stature in the world." > > The vigil will culminate on Sunday, November 23 with a funeral procession > to the gates of Ft. Benning. Activists will enter the base in an act of > nonviolent civil disobedience. The vigil commemorates the November 16, 1989 > massacre in El Salvador of Julia Elba Ramos, her 14-year-old daughter > Celina, and six Jesuit priests. They were brutally murdered by a Salvadoran > army unit that was led by military officers trained at the SOA. Jon Sobrino, > SJ, the Jesuit priest who survived the massacre, will attend this year's > vigil. > > The School of the Americas made headlines in 1996 when the Pentagon > released training > manuals<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=o%2FvqRiBs%2FOvshPwAfEAqh8adFbhgLW%2F%2F>used > at the school that advocated torture, extortion and execution. The > involvement of SOA/WHINSEC graduates in human rights abuses continues. This > October, Colombian Army commander General Mario > Montoya<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=wYV08riKZoM1lfPsY4rWpsadFbhgLW%2F%2F>resigned > in the wake of a scandal over army killings of civilians that a UN > official called "systematic and widespread." General Montoya not only > received training at the SOA, but also taught soldiers as an instructor > there. He has been replaced by General Oscar > Gonzalez<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=Cz7OUTMcEH6B2HgXwOQgO8adFbhgLW%2F%2F>, > also an SOA/WHINSEC graduate. > > > After research revealed that the SOA/WHINSEC continues to train known human > rights abusers, and that instructors have been involved in numerous crimes, > the Pentagon reacted by classifying the names of all officers, soldiers, and > instructors. > > # # # > > > > -- > > > Dr. Carlos Muñoz, Jr. > > Professor Emeritus > > Department of Ethnic Studies > > 510-642-9134 > > http://ethnicstudies.berkeley.edu/faculty/munoz/ > > "Life is struggle and struggle is life, > but be mindful that Victory is in the Struggle" > - Carlos Muñoz, Jr. >
-- Dorinda Moreno [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Digest: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Help: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive1: <http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive2: <http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
