Nuns, Priests, Students Protest 'Terrorist Training Camp' in Georgia
By: Administrative Account | Source: CNSNews.com
November 21, 2003 12:33PM EST

(CNSNews.com) - Hundreds, maybe thousands of people are expected to gather this weekend at the gates of Fort Benning, Ga., to protest what critics describe as the home of a "notorious terrorist training camp on U.S. soil."

The target of the protest is the Army's main combat-training school for Latin American soldiers. It used to be called the School of the Americas, but in 2001, Congress changed both the school's name and its approach to human rights.

The school is now called the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC for short).

A well-organized protest group called "School of the Americas Watch" is organizing the weekend demonstration at Fort Benning. The group claims that SOA grads "continue to be implicated in egregious acts designed to terrorize and coerce civilian populations throughout Latin America."

The protest group also says "hundreds of thousands of Latin Americans have been tortured, raped, assassinated, 'disappeared,' massacred, and forced into refuge by SOA graduates."

To address concerns about the training school, Congress in 2001 directed the school to "provide professional education and training""...while "promoting democratic values and respect for human rights."

The law passed by Congress in 2001 requires each student at the school to receive at least eight hours of instruction in "human rights, the rule of law, due process, civilian control of the military, and the role of the military in a democratic society."

But the changes have not mollified protestors.

On Sunday, they plan to stage a mock funeral procession to the gates of Fort Benning. Some protestors say they will trespass on the military base, in what they call an "act of nonviolent civil disobedience."

The protests against SOA/WHINSEC began over ten years ago, and according to SOA-Watch, 170 people have been jailed for civil disobedience during that time.

In a press release announcing the protest, SOA-Watch said the weekend events will feature music and speakers from Latin and North America, including Pete Seeger; Kathy Kelly of Voices in the Wilderness; and Bob King, vice president of the United Auto Workers International.

The press release also noted that the protest at Fort Benning "concludes a week of resistance to empire and corporate globalization." That's a reference to this week's protests at free trade talks in Miami and the anti-Bush rallies in England.

SOA-Watch organizers say they have been "coordinating with organizers in Miami, and working in solidarity with organizers in England."

In fact, the protest groups in Miami, England and Georgia released a joint statement this week, saying their purpose is "to hold our governments accountable."

"Our struggles are interconnected and we organize in solidarity with each other," the statement said.

The three protest groups that claim to have a common vision ("no war for empire") include Stop the War Coalition (UK); Mobilization to Stop the FTAA (US); and School of the Americas Watch (US).

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