-Caveat Lector- http://www.cnn.com/2000/WORLD/americas/12/12/school.americas/index.html Army's controversial 'School of the Americas' to close Friday December 12, 2000 Web posted at: 12:19 p.m. EST (1719 GMT) In this story: Army chief says decision was 'a difficult one' Protests have gone on for years Defense Department to run new school >From CNN Military Affairs Correspondent Jamie McIntyre WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Army plans closing ceremonies Friday for its controversial "School of the Americas," nicknamed the "School of the Assassins" by critics who allege the school provides military training for leaders who are responsible for human rights abuses in their own countries. An Army announcement Tuesday said simply: "The U.S. Army School of the Americas, located at Fort Benning, Georgia, is closing its doors after 54 years of distinguished service." The statement made no mention of the government's previously announced plans to reopen the school in January under a new name, "The Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation." Army officials hope that changing the Georgia school's name and making sure its curriculum stresses civilian control of the military and respect for human rights will blunt some of the criticism that has dogged the school for more than a decade. Opponents of the school have said the changes will only be cosmetic. They vow to continue protests. Critics have charged for years that some of Latin America's most notorious human rights abusers are among the school's 65,000 alumni. Army chief says decision was 'a difficult one' The Army says that it will conduct a closing ceremony at the school on Friday at 10 a.m. and that Secretary of the Army Louis Caldera will speak at the ceremony. Caldera, who as recently as last month was vigorously defending the school, said Tuesday that "the decision to close USARSA (U.S. Army School of the Americas) was a difficult one. "Since its creation, the school has been a major contributing factor to the success of U.S. foreign policy in the Latin American region," Caldera said. "The school and its graduates have done so much to foster a spirit of cooperation throughout the hemisphere, but as our region turns to face the new challenges of the 21st century, it is time to move forward by closing one successful chapter in the story of our cooperation and mutual interchange, and open a new and different one." Protests drew 1,700 arrests last month Last month, police arrested 1,700 protesters after they marched through the school's gates and demanded that the facility be shut down. Those arrested included actor Martin Sheen, star of the television drama, "The West Wing." An estimated 3,000 other demonstrators protested outside the school's gates. Most of those arrested were charged with trespassing, given a warning and released, Army officials said. The protests have been held every year since 1989. They commemorate the November 16, 1989, killings in El Salvador of six Jesuit priests, to which some of the school's graduates have been linked. Military officials have dismissed critics' charges as absurd. "I'd characterize it as false and as propaganda," Maj. Gen. John LeMoyne, the post commander, has said. Defense Department to run new school The new school will be run by the Defense Department, under guiding principles of the Organization of American States. But Ray Bourgeois, a leading critic of the school, has said opponents won't let up. "We see this as cosmetic," Bourgeois, a co-founder of School of the Americas Watch, said last month. "It's like taking a bottle of poison and writing 'penicillin' on it." The Associated Press contributed to this report. RELATED STORIES: Thousands protest Army's School of the Americas November 20, 2000 U.S. House deals setback to Army School of the Americas - July 30, 1999 July 30, 1999 Thousands protest 'School of Assassins' November 22, 1998 Protesters guilty of vandalizing Army school sign March 4, 1998 RELATED SITES: School of the Americas School of the Americas Watch © 2000 Cable News Network. All Rights Reserved. <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. 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