05/23/2003

From: Jeffrey McKenzie
Date: Fri May 23, 2003 4:24 pm
Subject: Close the SOA! - Call to Action

This is the base my son, Jeremy is stationed at and lives on with his wife when not deployed elsewhere. Last year I walked from Atlanta to Ft. Benning with a group of other concerned individuals, 140 mile over 9 days. I then protested outside the gates with thousands of others for 3 days. Once the protest was over, I called my son to have him pick me up, and I stayed with him and his wife on base until Jan. 2nd. It was during this time that MFSO took form, having received a reply from Charley and Nancy about forming a group of military families speaking out, on November 22, I launched this listserv from my son's home computer. I will be walking in Australia during this year's events but would be pleased to know MFSO had a presence outside the gates, standing in solidarity with SOA Watch, veterans and people from all walks in life and around the world. So mark your calendars.
Peace, Jeff

SOA Watch wrote:
Fort Benning, GA: School of the Americas Watch Call to Action

** NO MORE MURDER IN OUR NAME - CLOSE THE SCHOOL OF ASSASSINS **

NOVEMBER 21-23, FORT BENNING, GEORGIA

The School of the Americas (SOA), renamed the "Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation," is a combat training school for Latin American soldiers, located at Fort Benning, Georgia.

Initially established in Panama in 1946, it was kicked out of that country in 1984 under the terms of the Panama Canal Treaty. Former Panamanian President, Jorge Illueca, stated that the School of the Americas was the "biggest base for destabilization in Latin America." The SOA, frequently dubbed the "School of Assassins," has left a trail of blood and suffering in every country where its graduates have returned.

Over its 57 years, the SOA has trained over 60,000 Latin American soldiers in counterinsurgency techniques, sniper training, commando and psychological warfare, military intelligence and interrogation tactics. These graduates have consistently used their skills to wage a war against their own people. Among those targeted by SOA graduates are educators, union organizers, religious workers, student leaders, and others who work for the rights of the poor. Hundreds of thousands of Latin Americans have been tortured, raped, assassinated, "disappeared," massacred, internally displaced, and forced into refugee by those trained at the School of Assassins.

COME TO FORT BENNING, GA TO PUT A STOP TO THIS TERROR TRAINING

For over a decade, students, religious, labor, veterans, human rights, and social/global justice groups have been converging every November at the gates of Fort Benning, GA to speak out in solidarity with the people of the Americas and to engage in nonviolent direct action. We will gather again this year on November 22 and 23, 2003 and continue together in the struggle until the School of the Americas is closed and the policies it represents are changed forever. The events this year will be preceded by teach-ins, trainings, and caucuses on Friday, November 21. So check back at www.soaw.org as plans unfold and various events are announced in more detail.

The spirit of liberation is rising up in the people all around the globe. It cannot be silenced by threats and violence any more than it can be contained by prison walls. Our friends who were prosecuted for their witness against the SOA in November 2002 will continue to speak out during their sentences of prison and probation. We call on everyone to speak out against the continuous atrocities perpetrated by graduates of the SOA/WHISC throughout Latin America and to come to Georgia in November.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Organize nonviolent direct action trainings, talks about the SOA, video showings or other educational events in your community in the months leading up to November. Write to your Members of Congress and ask them to support legislation to close the SOA/ WHISC. Organize a bus, vans or car-pool to Georgia, publicize the vigil action in your region and invite others to join you. Discern together with family and friends and consider engaging in nonviolent civil resistance in November.

Resistance organizing costs money. To help to cover the costs of the November organizing click here: http://www.soaw.org/new/article.php?id=546

For more information, educational resources, outreach material (fliers and videos), logistics like hotel listings in Columbus, GA etc. and to get plugged into the November organizing, please call (202) 234 3440 and visit www.soaw.org

If your phone company is Working Assets, please call them to nominate SOA Watch to receive Working Assets funding in 2004. You can call them at 1-800-362-7127.

________________________________________
SOA Watch ~ PO Box 4566 ~ Washington DC 20017 ~ (202)234-3440 ~ www.soaw.org

SUPPORT/WALK: http://nuclearfreefuture.tripod.com/
WATCH: http://www.bigpicturesmallworld.com/winningpeace.html
VISIT/ JOIN: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MilitaryFamiliesSpeakOut
READ:
http://www.9-11commission.gov/hearings/hearing1/witness_kleinberg.htm
Peacemakers: https://peacehq.tripod.com/PHQ_MainMenu/MainMenu.html