SOAW–West News for November / December, 2004
1) SOA Watch Victory - US Constitution Upheld!
2) Reminder to Fort Benning Vigil Participants.
3) Caravan Dance!
4) Acomodations still available in Columbus
School of the Americas Watch–West ~ SOAW–W
October 19, 2004
San Jose Website - http://teachers.bcp.org/llauro
Los Angeles Website - www.soaw-la.org
National Website - www.soaw.org******
Note: Items for SOAW–W e-mails should be sent to:
Dolores Perez Priem
SOAW Vigil at Ft. Benning, GA –
Nov. 19-21, 2004
EVENTS/ACTIVITIES:
- Concert, teach-in and benefit for SOA Watch by SOAW-East Bay Saturday, October 30
- Halloween Benefit for Haiti Information Project Sunday, October 31, 7:00 pm
For details, see our calendar by clicking below:
NEWS!
SOA Watch Victory - US Constitution Upheld!
T ---====SOAWW - School of the Americas Watch West - December 23, 2004
Note: Items for SOAWW emails should be sent to
Dolores Perez Priem - doloresmp@aol.com
SOA WATCH WEST sends greetings of hope and peace for the coming holidays!
Hopes are high as our movement continues to grow as evidenced by: SOA WATCH recognized for its work in human rights; and participation in our annual vigil and protest at Fort Benning greatly increased! Thanks to all for your contributions to our cause, whether it is with peaceful acts of civil disobedience on behalf of justice, continued commitment to activism in your communities, welcome financial assistance for educational work and/or advice and counsel. We appreciate all you have done this past year.
NEWS ITEMS:
1. SOA WATCH WINS PRESTIGIOUS HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD
On Tuesday, December 14, SOA Watch was honored to receive the esteemed Alfonso Comín Foundation Award in Barcelona, Spain. The Alfonso Comín Foundation, a private foundation that works to serve those who are struggling to build a more just world, grants the annual human rights award. SOA Watch founder Father Roy Bourgeois accepted the award -- presented by Mayor Joan Clos and the City Council of Barcelona -- on behalf of the SOA Watch movement.
Past recipients include Nelson Mandela, Vandana Shiva, and Brazil's Movement of Unemployed Workers (MST). In 1989, the award was given to San Salvador's University of Central America and its rector, Ignacio Ellacuría. Two weeks after receiving the award, Ellacuría was assassinated along with five other Jesuits, their co-worker and her 14-year-old daughter. Nineteen of the 26 soldiers found responsible for the murders by a United Nations Truth Commission were trained at the US Army's School of the Americas (SOA).
Each year the Alfonso Comín Foundation recognizes individuals, groups of people or collective organizations that have distinguished themselves in their work for justice, peace and human rights. SOA Watch was recognized for its work to close the SOA/WHINSEC and its struggle for substantial change in US foreign policy.
2. TRUTH CANNOT BE SILENCED: THE SOA/WHINSEC PUBLIC RELATIONS MACHINE
After receiving countless inquiries from activists and organizational partners in reference to public relations activities by supporters of the SOA/WHINSEC, SOA Watch is releasing the following:
Since the early 1990s, the Army and the Pentagon have spent untold amounts of taxpayer money protecting the SOA and now WHINSEC. This undisclosed sum is spent on direct lobbying, media courting, and intimidation of challengers of the institution. Examples of their tactics include:
---- Calling colleges and universities where SOA Watch presentations will be
given to pressure event planners into including a WHINSEC representative.
While SOA Watch is not opposed to debate, we believe that event organizers
should be free to make the decision of who to welcome to their constituency
without intimidation.
---- Sending attacking letters to organizations who support efforts to close
the SOA/ WHINSEC. Allies like the United Auto Workers (UAW), Pax Christi
USA, and the Blue Triangle Network have recently received accusatory letters
that seek to confuse and harass organizations that have carefully researched
the issue and reached their own policy decisions.
---- Publicly spreading misinformation regarding allied partners' positions.
Since the publication of Amnesty International USA's 2002 report, "Unmatched
Power, Unmet Principles," Pentagon and Army officials have repeatedly
misconstrued the report's findings. The following section has been used by
the Army and the Pentagon to claim that Amnesty International supports WHINSEC:
"Currently, for the great majority of foreign military trainees, no
such [human rights] instruction is required. WHINSEC-SOA's core human rights
program and the Investigative Criminal Investigative Training and AssistanceProgram's (ICITAP) partnership with John Jay College could serve as modelsfor some 275 US institutions providing training to foreign military and law
enforcement officers."
In truth however, the findings clearly state, "...changes to the institution
and its curriculum do not absolve the US government of responsibility for
identifying and prosecuting those responsible for human rights violations
perpetrated by the School of the Americas, including past and current US
personnel responsible for having drafted, approved, or taught with manuals
that advocate illegal tactics such as torture. The US Government should take
immediate steps to establish an independent commission to investigate the
past activities of the SOA and its graduates, particularly the use of these
manuals in SOA training and the impact of such training. Pending the
publication of the findings of the independent commission of inquiry,
training at the WHINSEC-SOA should be suspended."
Despite direct requests from AIUSA to "set the record straight," supporters
of WHINSEC continue to mislead the public, Members of Congress, and the
media. To read the complete summary of the findings of Unmatched Power,
Unmet Principles, visit: ttp://www.amnestyusa.org/arms_trade/ustraining/military_101.html
The truth is on our side. The SOA/WHINSEC is a symbol of some of the worst
of US foreign policy, and there has been no accountability for its illegal
activities. Until training stops and a full investigation is conducted, the
SOA/WHINSEC will continue to be a stain on the United States government, and
the people of Latin America will be paying the price with their lives.
3. REGULAR MEETING NOTICES FOR 2005:
SOAWW - San Francisco (First Thursday of the month)
Thursday, January 6, 2004 at 7 pm
Regular meeting at the Unitarian Universalist Center
1187 Franklin (corner Geary Blvd and Franklin St)
San Francisco
SOAWW - East Bay (Third Wednesday of the month)
Wednesday, January 19, 2005 at 7 pm
Regular meeting at the World Ground Cafe
3726 MacArthur Blvd
Oakland
SOAWW CONTACTS:
SOAWW - East Bay: Robert Nixon - 510-533-3120 - robertnixon@mindspring.com
SOAWW - Contra Costa: Natalie Russell - 925-934-0759 - russell1626@juno.com
SOAWW - Sacramento: Janice Freeman - 916-812-7680 - janice@compudigital.com
SOAWW - Placer: Denise Sewart - 916-300-0482 - sewart@quiknet.com
SOAWW - San Jose: William O'Connell - 408-286-9341 - wocdoc@earthlink.net
SOAWW - San Francisco: Dolores Perez Priem - 415-387-2287 - doloresmp@aol.com===
error fears don't trump the Constitution, the 11th Circuit Court in Atlanta, Georgia ruled on October 15th. The three judge panel ruled unanimously that protesters at the annual November demonstration at the School of the Americas in Fort Benning, may not be required to pass through metal detectors and searched.
The Court ruled that the City of Columbus' search policy violates the First and Fourth Amendments to the Constitution, stating that "We cannot simply suspend or restrict civil liberties until the War of Terror is over," Judge Gerald Tjoflat wrote for the three member court. "September 11, 2001, already a day of immeasurable tragedy, cannot be the day liberty perished in this country."
The ruling stems from a November 2002 policy instituted by city officials in Columbus, Georgia, requiring participants in the annual SOA Watch vigil to submit to search at a checkpoint. SOA Watch attorneys objected, but a Bush-appointee, Judge Clay Land, upheld the illegal searches. SOA Watch attorneys then appealed to the Eleventh Circuit Court.
Since September 11, 2001, we have seen dramatic attacks on our civil liberties, including the unconstitutional limiting of the ability of citizens to peacefully assemble and "to petition the government for redress of grievances." This ruling has far-reaching implications and importance not only for SOA Watch, but also for all of us struggling to uphold human rights and civil liberties.
REMINDER: We'd like to update our November Vigil Participant Locator. So please send your information to our Vigil compiler, Bhaskar, know your completed plans by emailing him at bhaskar.ghosh@oracle.com - with the following information:
Name
Address
Home Phone
Cell Phone while in Georgia
SOAW Area Group (if any)
Travel: Airline/Time Leaving/Time Returning
Hotel: Name/Phone #
SOAWW - School of the Americas Watch West - October 20, 2004
SOAW Vigil at Ft. Benning, GA - Nov. 19-21, 2004
Note: Items for SOAWW emails should be sent to
Dolores Perez Priem - doloresmp@aol.com
CARAVAN NEWS:
Bus Caravan to Ft Benning, Georgia
Contact: Carlos Mauricio at carlosmauricio@cs.com
Carlos Mauricio will be leading a group to attend the Annual Vigil at Fort Benning, Georgia, via a bus "Caravan." They will leave San Francisco on November the 6th at 8:00 a.m. arriving at Fort Benning on November 19th, on time to participate the rallies on 20th and 21st of November.
The Caravan will visit Bakerfield, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Tucson, El Paso, Fredickburg, Austin, Houston, New Orleans (on November 16th to commemorate the killing of the Jesuits) and finally arrive in Columbus, Georgia.
We are accepting persons who want to ride with us and share this unique experience in every city there are already activists wating for us. See email contact above.ACCOMMODATIONS STILL AVAILABLE IN COLUMBUS:
If you still are trying to find a place to stay either in Columbus or nearby, call Natalie Russell, 925-934-0759). She still has a few rooms but will give them up November 9th if no one takes them.
CARAVAN DANCE:
Dance to support the Caravan:
November 5 at 8:00 pm
Women's Building
3543 18th Street (between Valencia and Guerrero)
Featuring Orqchestra Palenque -- playing Cuban music!
$ 10.00 donation to benefit the caravan to Fort Benning.
Salvadoran food and drinks available.
Contact: CarlosRMauricio@cs.com
CONTACTS:
SOAWW - East Bay: Robert Nixon - 510-533-3120 - robertnixon@mindspring.com
SOAWW - Contra Costa: Natalie Russell - 925-934-0759 - russell1626@juno.com
SOAWW - Sacramento: Janice Freeman - 916-812-7680 - janice@compudigital.com
SOAWW - Placer: Denise Sewart - 916-300-0482 - sewart@quiknet.com
SOAWW - San Jose: William O'Connell - 408-286-9341 - wocdoc@earthlink.net
SOAWW - San Francisco: Dolores Perez Priem - 415-387-2287 - doloresmp@aol.com
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