School of the Americas Watch
Encyclopedia
School of the Americas Watch is an advocacy
organization founded by Maryknoll
Father Roy Bourgeois
and a small group of supporters in 1990 to protest the training of mainly Latin America
n military officers, by the United States Department of Defense
, at the School of the Americas
(SOA). Most notably, SOA Watch conducts a vigil
each November at the site of the academy, located on the grounds of Fort Benning
, a US Army military base near Columbus, Georgia
, in protest over human rights abuses committed by some graduates of the academy or under their leadership, including murder
s, rape
s and torture
and contraventions of the Geneva Accord
. Military officials state that even if graduates commit war crimes after they return to their home country, the school itself should not be held accountable for their actions. Responding to "mounting protests" spearheaded by SOA Watch, in 2000 the United States Congress
renamed the School of the Americas the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation
(WHINSEC), rather than closing the academy. In addition, all students must undergo a minimum of eight hours of class on human rights and the principle of civilian control of the military.
, who said "we who have a voice must speak for the voiceless," Father Bourgeois and two companions posed as military officers and crossed into Ft. Benning in 1983. The two men and a woman climbed a tree near the barracks housing Salvadoran troops and read the final homily of Archbishop Oscar Romero through megaphones. Bourgeois and his companions were arrested and Bourgeois was then sentenced to 18 months in prison for trespassing onto Federal property.
Bourgeois and his followers began to research the School of the Americas, conduct public education campaigns, lobby Congress, and practice nonviolent resistance
at the School of the Americas facilities.
Following the November 1989 murders of six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper and her daughter at the Universidad Centroamericana “José Simeón Cañas” in El Salvador
in which graduates of the School of the Americas were involved, SOA Watch organized an annual protest to be held on the anniversary of the massacre beginning the next year. The event has been held every year since then.
Mission Statement
movement to close the SOA/WHINSEC, which likewise has grown throughout the Americas since the first protest in 1990. The original band of ten resisters who marched onto Ft. Benning and splashed blood upon the School of Americas to commemorate the first anniversary of the UCA massacre has grown in recent years to a community of 10,000. People come from across the country and around the globe to honor victims of the School of the Americas, as well as their survivors, with music, words, puppets and theatre.
Traditionally the legal vigil and memorial service concludes with a mock funeral procession, using the Presente! litany, onto Ft. Benning, with all who choose to march onto the post trespass
ing on federal property and subject to arrest. Subsequent to 9/11
and the erection of a security fence at the main gate of Ft. Benning in 2001, protesters who wish to take their mourning onto the post need to go over, under, or around that fence, as opposed to the simple marching of the past.
At the 2002 protest, the city of Columbus began requiring all attending the event to submit to a metal detector search at the designated entrance. After a lengthy legal battle, however, in October of 2004 the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously that the forced search was unconstitutional.
In 2004, the Army added a second fence topped by razor wire, and erected a third fence in 2005.
On November 20, 2005 roughly 20,000 protesters attended the Ft. Benning vigil, "remembering those who have been silenced by SOA violence." Forty protesters climbed over or under the fence and were arrested by military police
. Columbus police also arrested bystanders, including some who lifted the fence. Since protests against the school began, 183 people have cumulatively served over 81 years in prison for their civil disobedience
.
On November 19, 2006 over 22,000 protesters attended the vigil, a record highattendance number. On December 3, 2006 Georgia Public Radio broadcasted "The Sounds of Protest at the School of the Americas", an hour-long documentary with audio collected at the 2006 protest. "Sounds of Protest" Audio Documentary
On November 20, 2010 at least 20 people attending the vigil were arrested, including Kaelyn Forde, a journalist from Russia Today
, and her cameraman, Jon Conway. They were charged with unlawful assembly, demonstrating without a permit and failing to obey a police order to disperse. Forde and Conway were jailed for 29 hours before they were released the following day on $1,300 bond each. Both workers maintain they were "wrongfully arrested".
in which the names of people killed in political repression (usually in Central
and South America
) are recited. This litany is used at the annual memorial service held at the gates of the School of the Americas in Columbus, Georgia
for those killed by graduates of the school. "Presente" means "here" or "present" in Spanish.
The purpose of the newspaper is to give updates about the state of the campaign and of events and developments of the movement.
Advocacy
Advocacy is a political process by an individual or a large group which normally aims to influence public-policy and resource allocation decisions within political, economic, and social systems and institutions; it may be motivated from moral, ethical or faith principles or simply to protect an...
organization founded by Maryknoll
Maryknoll
Maryknoll is a name shared by three organizations that are part of the Roman Catholic Church and whose joint focus is on the overseas mission activity of the Catholic Church in the United States...
Father Roy Bourgeois
Roy Bourgeois
Roy Bourgeois is an American activist. He was ordained a priest in the Maryknoll order of the Roman Catholic Church and is founder of the human rights group SOA Watch or the School of the Americas Watch....
and a small group of supporters in 1990 to protest the training of mainly Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
n military officers, by the United States Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
, at the School of the Americas
Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation
The Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation , formerly the United States Army School of the Americas is a United States Department of Defense educational and training facility at Fort Benning near Columbus, Georgia in the United States...
(SOA). Most notably, SOA Watch conducts a vigil
Vigil
A vigil is a period of purposeful sleeplessness, an occasion for devotional watching, or an observance...
each November at the site of the academy, located on the grounds of Fort Benning
Fort Benning
Fort Benning is a United States Army post located southeast of the city of Columbus in Muscogee and Chattahoochee counties in Georgia and Russell County, Alabama...
, a US Army military base near Columbus, Georgia
Columbus, Georgia
Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Muscogee County, Georgia, United States, with which it is consolidated. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 189,885. It is the principal city of the Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area, which, in 2009, had an estimated population of 292,795...
, in protest over human rights abuses committed by some graduates of the academy or under their leadership, including murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
s, rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
s and torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
and contraventions of the Geneva Accord
Geneva Accord
The Geneva Initiative, also known as the Geneva Accord, is a model permanent status agreement to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on previous official negotiations, international resolutions, the Quartet Roadmap, the Clinton Parameters, and the Arab Peace Initiative...
. Military officials state that even if graduates commit war crimes after they return to their home country, the school itself should not be held accountable for their actions. Responding to "mounting protests" spearheaded by SOA Watch, in 2000 the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
renamed the School of the Americas the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation
Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation
The Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation , formerly the United States Army School of the Americas is a United States Department of Defense educational and training facility at Fort Benning near Columbus, Georgia in the United States...
(WHINSEC), rather than closing the academy. In addition, all students must undergo a minimum of eight hours of class on human rights and the principle of civilian control of the military.
Origins
Inspired by the case of slain Archbishop Óscar RomeroÓscar Romero
Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez was a bishop of the Catholic Church in El Salvador. He became the fourth Archbishop of San Salvador, succeeding Luis Chávez. He was assassinated on 24 March 1980....
, who said "we who have a voice must speak for the voiceless," Father Bourgeois and two companions posed as military officers and crossed into Ft. Benning in 1983. The two men and a woman climbed a tree near the barracks housing Salvadoran troops and read the final homily of Archbishop Oscar Romero through megaphones. Bourgeois and his companions were arrested and Bourgeois was then sentenced to 18 months in prison for trespassing onto Federal property.
Bourgeois and his followers began to research the School of the Americas, conduct public education campaigns, lobby Congress, and practice nonviolent resistance
Nonviolent resistance
Nonviolent resistance is the practice of achieving goals through symbolic protests, civil disobedience, economic or political noncooperation, and other methods, without using violence. It is largely synonymous with civil resistance...
at the School of the Americas facilities.
Following the November 1989 murders of six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper and her daughter at the Universidad Centroamericana “José Simeón Cañas” in El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
in which graduates of the School of the Americas were involved, SOA Watch organized an annual protest to be held on the anniversary of the massacre beginning the next year. The event has been held every year since then.
Objectives
Mission Statement
SOA Watch is a nonviolent grassroots movement that works to stand in solidarity with the people of Latin America and the Caribbean, to close the SOA/WHINSEC and to change oppressive U.S. foreign policy that the SOA represents.
In addition to conducting its annual vigils at the main gate of the Fort Benning military base in Columbus, Georgia and educating the public about abuses committed by graduates of the academy, the SOA Watch continues to lobby Congress to shut down the school.
Non-violent demonstrations
Protest demonstrations are staged by SOA Watch at the main gate of Ft. Benning in November each year, in commemoration of the anniversary of the Universidad Centroamericana "José Simeón Cañas" (UCA) massacre. The growing annual protest has remained a major focus for SOA Watch and the grassrootsGrassroots
A grassroots movement is one driven by the politics of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it are natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures...
movement to close the SOA/WHINSEC, which likewise has grown throughout the Americas since the first protest in 1990. The original band of ten resisters who marched onto Ft. Benning and splashed blood upon the School of Americas to commemorate the first anniversary of the UCA massacre has grown in recent years to a community of 10,000. People come from across the country and around the globe to honor victims of the School of the Americas, as well as their survivors, with music, words, puppets and theatre.
Traditionally the legal vigil and memorial service concludes with a mock funeral procession, using the Presente! litany, onto Ft. Benning, with all who choose to march onto the post trespass
Trespass
Trespass is an area of tort law broadly divided into three groups: trespass to the person, trespass to chattels and trespass to land.Trespass to the person, historically involved six separate trespasses: threats, assault, battery, wounding, mayhem, and maiming...
ing on federal property and subject to arrest. Subsequent to 9/11
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
and the erection of a security fence at the main gate of Ft. Benning in 2001, protesters who wish to take their mourning onto the post need to go over, under, or around that fence, as opposed to the simple marching of the past.
At the 2002 protest, the city of Columbus began requiring all attending the event to submit to a metal detector search at the designated entrance. After a lengthy legal battle, however, in October of 2004 the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously that the forced search was unconstitutional.
In 2004, the Army added a second fence topped by razor wire, and erected a third fence in 2005.
On November 20, 2005 roughly 20,000 protesters attended the Ft. Benning vigil, "remembering those who have been silenced by SOA violence." Forty protesters climbed over or under the fence and were arrested by military police
Military police
Military police are police organisations connected with, or part of, the military of a state. The word can have different meanings in different countries, and may refer to:...
. Columbus police also arrested bystanders, including some who lifted the fence. Since protests against the school began, 183 people have cumulatively served over 81 years in prison for their civil disobedience
Civil disobedience
Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal to obey certain laws, demands, and commands of a government, or of an occupying international power. Civil disobedience is commonly, though not always, defined as being nonviolent resistance. It is one form of civil resistance...
.
On November 19, 2006 over 22,000 protesters attended the vigil, a record highattendance number. On December 3, 2006 Georgia Public Radio broadcasted "The Sounds of Protest at the School of the Americas", an hour-long documentary with audio collected at the 2006 protest. "Sounds of Protest" Audio Documentary
On November 20, 2010 at least 20 people attending the vigil were arrested, including Kaelyn Forde, a journalist from Russia Today
Russia Today
Russia Today may refer to:* Russia Today, an English language 24-hour television news channel from Russia. It was launched in 2005 and is not related to an online news service of the similar name operated by EIN News...
, and her cameraman, Jon Conway. They were charged with unlawful assembly, demonstrating without a permit and failing to obey a police order to disperse. Forde and Conway were jailed for 29 hours before they were released the following day on $1,300 bond each. Both workers maintain they were "wrongfully arrested".
Presente litany
The Presente! litany is a memorial litanyLitany
A litany, in Christian worship and some forms of Jewish worship, is a form of prayer used in services and processions, and consisting of a number of petitions...
in which the names of people killed in political repression (usually in Central
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
and South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
) are recited. This litany is used at the annual memorial service held at the gates of the School of the Americas in Columbus, Georgia
Columbus, Georgia
Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Muscogee County, Georgia, United States, with which it is consolidated. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 189,885. It is the principal city of the Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area, which, in 2009, had an estimated population of 292,795...
for those killed by graduates of the school. "Presente" means "here" or "present" in Spanish.
iPresente! Newspaper
The movement to close the School of the Americas (formerly known as the SOA Watch Update) publishes a newspaper - iPresente!, three times a year and sent to approximately 50,000 subscribers.The purpose of the newspaper is to give updates about the state of the campaign and of events and developments of the movement.
See also
- Army Foreign Intelligence Assistance ProgramArmy Foreign Intelligence Assistance ProgramThe US Army Foreign Intelligence Assistance Program, was a 1960s program. One part was "Project X", a military effort to create intelligence field manuals drawn from counterinsurgency experience in Vietnam. These manuals influenced the "KUBARK Counterintelligence Interrogation-July 1963", "Human...
- Dorothy HennesseyDorothy HennesseySister Dorothy Marie Hennessey, O.S.F., was a Roman Catholic Franciscan Sister and activist. Hennessey was born in Manchester, Iowa. The 13 Hennessey siblings — Dorothy Marie Hennessey was the eldest — grew up on an Iowa farm. She was 19 years older than her younger, natural sister, Sister Gwen...
- Gwen HennesseyGwen HennesseySister Gwen Hennessey, O.P., is a Roman Catholic Dominican Sister and activist. She was born on a farm in Buchanan County, Iowa, the thirteenth child of Anna Killias Hennessey and Maurice Hennessey...
External links
- SOAW.org SOA Watch homepage 'Shut Down the School of the Americas'(retrieved November 20, 2010)
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8sHNKvGm7g&feature=related Oscar Romero Speech (retrieved November 20, 2010)
- "Romero" - a 1989 film about Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero directed by John Duigan - Trailer (retrieved November 20, 2010)
- Concern about Iraq war and torture fuels record attendance, Elliott Minor, Associated PressAssociated PressThe Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
(November 20, 2005) - Kucinich protests U.S. army training school - MSNBC - November 19, 2007 - Associated Press (retrieved November 20, 2010)
- Truth Commissions: Reports: El Salvador - The Hague Justice Portal (retrieved November 20, 2010)
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5L1VdlktOw&feature=relatedWar on democracy- documentary by John PilgerJohn PilgerJohn Richard Pilger is an Australian journalist and documentary maker, based in London. He has twice won Britain's Journalist of the Year Award, and his documentaries have received academy awards in Britain and the US....
- School of Americas] (retrieved November 20, 2010) - Crossing the Line The story of two activists arrested at the 2005 SOA Watch vigil
- https://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/727/t/10867/shop/shop.jsp?storefront_KEY=777 Resources (documentary film, books) concerning School of Americas and SOA Watch] (retrieved November 20, 2010)
- Hartford-HWP.com - 'History of the School of the Americas (SOA)', World History Archives
- School of the Americas AssassinsSchool of the Americas AssassinsSchool of the Americas Assassins is a 1994 short documentary film about human rights abuses by graduates of School of the Americas. Produced by Robert Richter, it was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
, a 19941994 in film1994 was a significant year in film.The top grosser worldwide was The Lion King, which to date stands as the highest-grossing traditionally-animated film of all time...
shortShort subjectA short film is any film not long enough to be considered a feature film. No consensus exists as to where that boundary is drawn: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all...
documentary filmDocumentary filmDocumentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
produced by Robert RichterRobert RichterDr. Robert Richter was a film producer and co-founder with August Arnold of Arnold & Richter Cine Technik , ARRI Group....
. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary ShortAcademy Award for Documentary Short SubjectThis is a list of films by year that have received an Oscar together with the other nominations for best documentary short subject. Following the Academy's practice, the year listed for each film is the year of release: the awards are announced and presented early in the following year.-1940s:*1941...
. - Carlisle-www.army.mil - 'The US Army School of the Americas Officially Closed its Doors at 1200 Noon on December 15, 2000 After a long Tradition of Service to the United States of America. This Site is Available Only for Historical Purposes.', School of the Americas (official site, last updated December 20, 2000)
- http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2903309148620605209#Hidden in Plain Site: La Escuela de Las Americas - Documentary by Andrés Thomas ConterisAndres Thomas ConterisAndrés Thomas Conteris is Founder of , serves as the Director of the of Nonviolence International and is active with the International Network for the Abolition of Foreign Military Bases. He is a filmmaker with Raven’s Call Productions and Co-Producer of the award-winning documentary “.” Since...
] (Spanish and English) documentary (retrieved November 20, 2010) - HiddenInPlainSight.org - Hidden in Plain Sight, 'Feature-length documentary that looks at the nature of U.S. policy in Latin America through the prism of the School of the Americas, the controversial military school that trains Latin American soldiers in the USA'
- The War on Democracy - Documentary By John Pilger (accessed November 20, 2010)
- VIDEO: Father Roy Bourgeois - Shut Down the School of the Americas!, talk and discussion in Portland, Oregon, on September 15, 2008.
- Vigil at School of the Americas - Presente! - Recorded on November 22, 2009 by the participants (retrieved November 20, 2010)