A2 group speaks against School of Americas

Members of the Ann Arbor community plan to gather on the steps of the Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library to call for the closing of the Army School of the Americas tonight at 7 p.m.

The Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice is organizing the candlelight vigil, which marks the ninth anniversary of the massacre of six priests and two women by the Salvadoran army.

The vigil also will serve as a send off for an Ann Arbor delegation planning to travel to Fort Benning, Ga., the site of the SOA. The delegates plan to meet with others from around the nation to call for the closing of the school.

"As an American taxpayer, I find it disgraceful to support the atrocities which are caused by this school," said Jack Tocco, a member of the Overseas Development Network - a student organization that is sponsoring the event. The School of the Americas trains Latin American army officers in American military tactics.

Interfaith Council members believe many of the schools' graduates are responsible for human rights violations in Central and South America.

"For years, the school has helped train officers for oppressive military dictatorships in Latin America," said Mary Anne Perrone, president of the Interfaith Council Steering Committee.

Perrone said the United States sponsored a dictatorship in Guatemala that was responsible for 200,000 civilian deaths in the early 1980s.

Joe Rivers, husband of U.S. Rep. Lynn Rivers (D-Ann Arbor), is one of the delegates planning to travel to Georgia to protest the school.

"I'm just going as a concerned citizen who is appalled by their atrocities," Joe Rivers said, adding that he believes the SOA is "policy gone wrong."

"It stands out as the dark side of U.S. foreign policy," he said, adding that his wife supports closing the school. She has signed on to close the school "on every bill that has come before Congress."

Although none of the bills have passed, organizers of the vigil remain hopeful. "More and more people come (to the protest) every year," Perrone said. "Last year, over 2,000 people came. We estimate over 5,000 this year."

Tocco, an LSA junior, said he believes most students at the University are largely unaware of the problem. "I think things like this vigil and protest will put the issue more into the spotlight," he said.

But organizers said they agree that most Americans know little or nothing about the SOA.

"We believe that most Americans would be appalled if they knew their tax dollars were going to support this place," Perrone said.

The Interfaith Council has sponsored programs to raise student awareness about the issue. They have shown videos and hosted guest speakers at the University. They also sent lobbyists to Washington D.C. to put pressure on elected officials.

"We are trying to cut the school's funding," Joe Rivers said. "If you don't have any bucks, you can't play Rambo."

11-16-98