SOAW-W News for November, 2002
1) November 3rd News.
2) Solidarity: Guatemala and Dublin, CA.
3) Prayer Vigil; Panel on Justice in El Salvador.
School of the Americas Watch–West ~ SOAW–W
November 3, 2002San Jose Website - http://teachers.bcp.org/llauro
Los Angeles Website - www.soaw-la.org
National Website - www.soaw.orgDetails below about:1) SOAWW San Francisco Meeting - Thurs. Nov. 7, 7:00 pm
Unitarian Universalist Church2) Contra Costa SOAW - Sun. Nov. 10, 5:00-7:30 pm
Rally and Commissioning Service
Pleasant Hill City Hall and Christ the King Church Hall3) Vigil for SOAW Prisoner of Conscience, Chani Geigle in Dublin,
CA
Mon. Nov. 11, 3:00 pm, Exact Location - TBA4) A Glimmer of Justice for El Salvador - Fri. Nov. 15, 5:00-7:00 pm
Lone Mountain Campus, University of San Francisco5) California Caucus in Columbus, GA - Sat. Nov. 16, 8:00 pm
6) Statement from Rep. Barbara Lee for Ft. Benning Vigil
1) San Francisco SOAW Meeting - Thurs. Nov. 7, 7:00 pm
Unitarian Universalist Church, Franklin at Geary
Focus will be on Ft. Benning, GA Vigil.
Contact Dolores at doloresmp@aol.com2) Contra Costa SOAW - Sun. Nov. 10, 5:00-7:30 pm
5:00 pm Community Gathering and Rally to Protest the SOA
Pleasant Hill City Hall, Gregory Lane and Cleaveland Road
Come with signs and candles.
6:45 pm Commissioning Service by Interfaith Council of Contra Costa County
Christ the King Catholic Church Hall, Gregory Lane and Brandon
If you are going to Ft. Benning and will participate in the commissioning, contact Natalie to receive a prayer shawl at the celebration.3) Dublin, CA vigil for Chani Geigle of Salem, OR, convicted of trespass at Ft. Benning in Nov. 2001. Chani began her 6-month sentence at the Federal Prison Camp in Dublin, CA on 9/10/02. SOAWW members are invited to join with some of Chani's friends from Oregon in a vigil on Mon. Nov. 11 at 3:00 pm.
Come with signs and banners.
The exact location of the vigil in Dublin is still to be determined.
Contact Judy Liteky.4) A Glimmer of Justice for El Salvador:
Torture Survivors' Successful Lawsuit against two former Salvadoran Generals (also SOA Graduates)Fri. Nov. 15, 5:00 - 7:00 pm, University of San Francisco
Lone Mountain Campus148, Pacific Rim RoomPanelists:
Carlos Mauricio, Plaintiff-Torture survivor
Neris Gonzalez, Plaintiff-Torture survivor
Sandra Coliver, Executive Director, Center for Justice and Accountability (CJA)
Terry Karl, Professor of Political Science, Stanford University
Joshua Sondheimer, Litigation Director, Center for Justice and Accountability
Shawn Roberts, Human Rights Lawyer
Beth Van Schaack, Former Associate, Morrison & Foerster; Assistant Professor, University of Santa Clara, School of Law
This event, co-sponsored by the University of San Francisco and St. Ignatius Church, is free and open to the public. The event marks the 13th anniversary of the assassination of six Jesuits and two co-workers in San Salvador in 1989 by SOA graduates.Free parking is available in the Loyola Lot located near the bottom of the Lone Mountain ramp on your left. Walk up the stairs at the west end of the parking lot and proceed to the Pacific Rim Room.
Directions to Lone Mountain Campus, University of San Francisco
Pacific Rim Room, Lone Mountain 148
Enter the Lone Mountain campus off Turk Boulevard between Parker Avenue and Temescal Terrace. Proceed up the ramp, past the security kiosk. The Pacific Rim Room is distinguished by a semicircle of flags outside the entrance.5) Caucus for Californians at the Ft. Benning, GA Vigil:
Please come socialize and strategize on Sat. Nov. 16 at 8:00 pm.
Magnolia Room, Heritage Inn, 1325 Veterans Parkway.
Contact Theresa.6) STATEMENT OF CONGRESSWOMAN BARBARA LEE for SOA Watch Vigil on Nov. 17, 2002"Once again you are gathering at Fort Benning for your annual vigil to remember victims who suffered at the hands of graduates of the School of the Americas. Your presence and your energy and sacrifices ensure that this issue will not disappear from the political agenda. It must not disappear because human rights must be the cornerstone of our foreign policy.
"The School of the Americas' name has been changed, and its curriculum has been altered somewhat. But cosmetic changes are not nearly enough. We must be vigilant about the values we export.
"The efforts of the School of the Americas Watch and other organizations and individuals to protect human rights are crucial to the transformation of our foreign and military policies. As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. taught us: 'Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon. It is a weapon unique in history, which cuts without wounding, and ennobles the man who wields it. It is a sword that heals.'
"While I was not able to join you in Georgia, I salute your efforts and your willingness to give up your time and even your freedom on behalf of the cause of human rights."
School of the Americas Watch–West ~ SOAW–W
SolidaritySan Jose Website - http://teachers.bcp.org/llauro
Los Angeles Website - www.soaw-la.org
National Website - www.soaw.org1) Human Rights and the Guatemalan Military, Sun. Nov. 10, 3:00 pm
A Presentation by Helen Mack Chang
Women's Building, San Francisco2) Dublin, CA Vigil for Chani Geigle, Mon. Nov. 11, 3:00 pm
Location: Dublin Blvd. and Demarcus, the entrance to Camp Parks Military Reservation where Chani is incarcerated.1) Helen Mack: Woman of Courage and Hope
An Afternoon with Guatemalan Human Rights Activist Helen Mack ChangHelen will talk about her 12 year struggle in bringing military officers to justice for her sister's murder, the obstacles she faced, and the current political climate in Guatemala.Sun. Nov. 10, 3:00 pmHelen Mack Chang, sister of Guatemalan anthropologist Myrna Mack Chang who was assassinated for her work in uncovering the Guatemalan military's counterinsurgency tactics of the late 1980 established the Myrna Mack Foundation and has tirelessly sought justice for her sister's murder. From 1993 to the present, Helen Mack's unyielding efforts have focused on bringing
The Women's Building
3543- 18th Street (x-st Valencia St.), San Francisco
Suggested donation: $10
Sponsored by Global Exchange and El Comité Guatemala Nunca Más.
to justice the then-heads of the elite military Presidential Security Staff (EMP) as the apparent intellectual authors of Myrna's murder.
As a result of Mack's efforts, three high-level military intelligence officers, General Edgar Augusto Godoy Gaitán (SOA Grad), Colonel Juan Valencia Osorio, and Colonel Juan Guillermo Oliva Carrera (SOA Grad) have been indicted as the suspected plotters of Myrna's murder. After many delays and intimidations to the prosecution, lawyers, witnesses and judges, the trial began on September 3, 2002 and exactly one month later, a verdict was reached. Colonel Valencia Osorio was sentenced to 30 years in
prison, while the other two officials were acquitted. This is a partial victory. Helen Mack and the Foundation are appealing the decision because there was enough evidence presented to convict all three officials.Contact: Aura @ (415) 575-5522
2) Dublin, CA vigil for Chani Geigle of Salem, OR, convicted of trespass at Ft. Benning in Nov. 2001.Chani began her 6-month sentence at the Federal Prison Camp in Dublin, CA on 9/10/02. SOAWW members are invited to join with some of Chani's friends from Oregon in a vigil on Mon. Nov. 11 at 3:00 pm. Come with signs and banners.
The vigil will be held at Dublin Blvd. and Demarcus, the entrance to the military/prison property.
If you take BART to the Dublin/Plesanton station, you can walk down Demarcus to Dublin Blvd.
Contact Judy Liteky, jliteky@aol.com.
Letters:
Chantilly Geigle
FPC Dublin
#90968-020
5775 8th Street
Camp Parks
Dublin, CA 94568
School of the Americas Watch–West ~ SOAW–W
November 11thSan Jose Website - http://teachers.bcp.org/llauro
Los Angeles Website - www.soaw-la.org
National Website - www.soaw.orgDetails of the following below:1A) and 1B) Radio Interviews with local SOA Watch Activists
Sun. Nov. 10 and Wed. Nov. 132) "Fr. Bill O'Donnell Replacement Brigade" T-shirts and Photo Op
Sat. Nov. 16 in Georgia3A) and 3B) SOAW articles in the Columbus (GA) Ledger-Enquirer
Nov. 7 and 8, 2002, Articles below.
Website: www.ledger-enquirer.com
Check for articles on SOA Watch and the vigil through 11/19.4) A greeting from Fr. Louie Vitale, ofm.
1A) (Already aired.)
Sun. Nov. 10, 5:30 PM (live on air) KALX/90.7 FM
UC, Berkeley Radio Station
Host Kathy Hwang will interview East Bay SOA Watch activist Fred Zierten
Program: Amandla
Website: http://kalx.berkeley.edu/
1B) Wed. Nov. 13, 6:00 PM (live on air), SF Liberation Radio/93.7FM
Host Sunny Angulo will interview SOA Watch activists Laura Slattery and David
Mezzara
Program: San Francisco Liberation News
Website: http://www.liberationradio.net/2) Davida Coady, friend of Fr. Bill O'Donnell, has produced 200 t-shirts saying, "Bill O'Donnell Replacement Brigade". The shirts are $10. Davida wants to spread the word that there will be a special photo taken in front of the Ft. Benning Main Gate at 10:30 am on Sat. 11/16 of everyone wearing the t-shirts.3A) Nov. 7, 2002
Both Sides: Downie, Bourgeois share stage in public for first time after several private Meetings
by S. Thorne Harper, Columbus (GA) Ledger-EnquirerA day after after Georgians took a decidedly rightward shift in the American political landscape, the Rev. Roy Bourgeois and U.S. Army Col. Richard Downie squared off in a Columbus forum involving United States' foreign policy in Latin America.
And, a little more than a week before his organization -- SOA Watch -- begins its 13th annual protest of a Fort Benning institute that trains Latin American soldiers and police officers, Bourgeois found himself in a lion's den of cordial opposition Wednesday night at the RiverCenter for the Performing Arts.
Columbus and Fort Benning residents lined up to ask Bourgeois: What has to happen before SOA Watch ends its protests? Why doesn't the group take its "offensive" protest to Washington, D.C., and leave Fort Benning alone?
Bourgeois remained composed. Collectively, Bourgeois' response was this: Fort Benning's Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation does not benefit the poor of Latin America. It serves as a "black eye" to the U.S. military. And it represents a foreign policy that benefits the few at the expense of the many.
"Civil disobedience is a difficult thing to understand," said Bourgeois, a priest with the Maryknoll Order of Catholics. "What we're about is, we're not trying to shut down Fort Benning. We're trying to shut down this school that's causing shame to our country and bringing death to Latin America. This is not about us. It's about the suffering poor of Latin America."
With an audience of about 400, Downie, the institute's first commandant, found himself in more friendly environs, at one point receiving a standing ovation. But questions -- some of them posed by Columbus State University students and faculty -- were no less difficult: Have formerly brutal military Latin American regimes been made more humane by the institute's students? How does the institute know that?
Downie answered a definite yes to the first. The answer to the second was less definite. The institute tracks the students through an anonymous questionnaire, Downie said.
"We're making sure the ones with the guns... really do respect dignity and rights for everyone, not just the rich," Downie said.
Hosted by the CSU's Sociology Club and the Student Political Awareness Association, the forum was the first public discourse between the two involving the institute. Bourgeois and Downie have shared several private meetings during the past 18 months discussing the institute. Both share military backgrounds, and similar aims of peace in the region. They said they just have different approaches.
Bourgeois, a Vietnam war veteran and Purple Heart recipient, worked in Latin America and maintains that the Fort Benning institute -- the successor to the U.S. Army's School of the Americas -- trains terrorists responsible for atrocities in Latin America. He began the protest in 1990, a year after the massacre of six Jesuit priests, their co-worker and her teenage daughter in El Salvador. SOA graduates were linked to the atrocity.
This year's protest is Nov. 16-17.
Bourgeois said the "vast majority of people" in Latin America "live on the edge," fearful of the military while lacking good jobs, education, health care and education.
"It is out of that, soldiers come to the institute," Bourgeois said. "And we are led to ask the same questions that we are asking today: How are these forces going to improve the quality of life for their people? The school is a symbol of something deeper. It is a symbol of a foreign policy that is wrong."
Downie is a 26-year Army veteran and West Point graduate who holds a doctorate degree in international relations. The institute, opened two months after the School of the Americas closed in December 2000, has said it doesn't share the more aggressive Cold War policy of its predecessor and that it has placed greater emphasis on human rights training.
Downie said the institute is instrumental in providing "inter-agency operations" -- anti-terrorism, counter-narcotics and disaster relief -- while establishing vital military contacts.
"You will hear Rev. Bourgeois say that the military and police can't teach democracy," Downie said. "I disagree. Who better to teach those things? What better role model can you think of other than our police and military?"
3B) Nov. 8, 2002, "On the Same Stage, if not the Same Page"
Columbus (GA) Ledger-Enquirer EDITORIALWednesday night's discussion between the protester and the commandant was noteworthy for several reasons, and valuable for several more.
o When the Rev. Roy Bourgeois and Col. Richard Downie stood up on stage in the RiverCenter, it was the first time they had discussed their differences in public. Downie commands the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation at Fort Benning. Bourgeois is leader of a movement to close the school.
o Columbus State University students instigated and organized the discussion -- and then also asked the most thoughtful questions of the evening.
o By and large, the audience treated both participants with respect. The students set a thoughtful tone. Downie and Bourgeois amplified it.
o The event demonstrated yet another use for the RiverCenter, another way in which it helps create community.
o The health of a democratic republic depends on its citizens' ability to think critically and independently. The clash of competing views in a civil setting enhances that ability. That such a clash is sanctioned by our local university is evidence of Columbus' rising aspirations.
o American ideals, of which human rights is one, are at the center of this clash. Bourgeois' protest calls the U.S. government to account for its work in a part of the world where the military historically has had weak regard for human rights. That call to account and its result -- an unarmed soldier answering civilians' questions -- is and ought to be an outstanding example of what Downie says the institute teaches: the role of the military in a democratic society. Wednesday night's discussion also helped reveal the many different planes on which this argument occurs -- planes of history, personal experience, economics, moral values, political opinion and more. It helped remind us that from the same facts come many truths. Thanks are due to Downie and Bourgeois -- and to the CSU students who invited them -- for contributing to the health of the republic.
Mike Burbach, for the editorial board
www.ledger-enquirer.com/*/*/4470557.htm4) A Greeting from Fr. Louie Vitale, ofm.Here's the update from Fr. Louie courtesy of Jenny Wiley.
Fr. Louie reports that he is doing well at "Camp Snoopy." The plushest federal prison camp, FPC Nellis used to be known as "Club Fed" until Barbara Walters did an expose and they had to scale back on the olympic size pool, golf course privileges, and automobile access for inmates.
Fr. Louie has been spending his days picking up cigarette butts in order to fulfill the FPC's mission as a work camp for Nellis Air Force Base. His typical day consists of getting up at 6 AM, eating breakfast, picking up cigarette butts, exercising, reading, responding to letters, and talking to inmates. Many inmates just want a chance to tell their story. Fr. Louie is dismayed by the number of inmates with a long sentence and nothing to do, which seems to be such "a waste." Some inmates are in for 14 years on white collar crime charges, and other young inmates have 60 years for drug charges. There is a drug program and a GED program, but no other educational programs. Many inmates spend most of their time working out.
When Fr. Louie reported to FPC Nellis, he was accompanied by a group of supporters carrying signs. A picture of Fr. Louie with a "Stop US Terrorism" sign made it into the local paper, along with two articles on Fr. Louie and the SOA. Many people at the FPC read the articles and were eager to discuss them with Fr. Louie, which has been a great consciousness-raising opportunity. Some prisoners from other countries know about SOA, and it's been interesting to talk to them.
He's also been assigned to the chapel, where he gets to help out and even give some homilies. His homilies have included SOA and inmate issues, which the inmates appreciate. Fr. Louie is concerned that the chaplains are not very open and accepting of other religions besides Christianity, which makes it difficult for Native American and Muslim inmates. Accordingly, Fr. Louie has decided to participate in fasting for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan (11/5-12/5) in solidarity with Muslim people at FPC Nellis and all over the world, particularly in this time of "war against the Muslim world." Although the different religious groups worship in the same chapel, they don't do any activities together, so Fr. Louie sees this as an opportunity to bridge the divide.
Being at Nellis, Fr. Louie says it is very clear that he is in the heartland of preparation for the war against Iraq. B2s and stealth planes frequently take off from the base. Fr. Louie is praying a lot about this.
Fr. Louie says hello to all, and is grateful for "lots of nice letters" which he has received. He has plenty of books to read and no shortage of reading material because the FPC has a library. He especially sends his regards to people attending the SOA protest in Georgia. We are all in his prayers.
1) Prayer Vigil & Send-Off for Fort Benning at USFSchool of the Americas Watch–West ~ SOAW–W
November 13, 2002
San Jose Website - http://teachers.bcp.org/llauroLos Angeles Website - www.soaw-la.org National Website - www.soaw.org
2) A Glimmer of Justice for El Salvador. Additional Information
Prayer Vigil & Send-Off for Fort Benning
Join us for Prayer, Reflection and the Planting of Crosses representing the Martyrs of El Salvador and Latin America & Send-Off for those Traveling to Fort BenningThursday, November 14, 2002
6:30 pm
Xavier Chapel in Xavier Hall*
University of San FranciscoMore information: USF University Ministry, 422-4463.
(*Xavier Hall is located at 650 Parker Avenue, at Golden Gate Avenue. Enter the building on the east side, along the pathway between Xavier Hall and the USF Gleeson library.)
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