Protesters prepare for trip to SOA

LSA sophomore Caricia Catalani grew up under the rainy skies of Salem, Ore. where she always felt it was her civic responsibility to protest issues in which she strongly believed.

She protested environmental issues such as rainforest destruction in the pacific northwest when she was five years old and assisted Mexican refugees when she was in high school. Now, she will be traveling to protest the U.S. Army School of the Americas along with 35 Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice students and 10,000 other activists from across the nation in Colombus, Ga. this weekend.

SOA was founded in 1946 in Panama as the Latin American Training Center and was later relocated to Fort Benning, Ga. in October 1984, with the goal of promoting democracy and stopping drug trafficking between Latin American countries and the United States.

SOA trained 60,000 Latin American soldiers from 22 Latin American countries and the United States.

About 60 people from Ann Arbor will travel to Fort Benning this weekend to participate in the 10th annual protest of SOA.

The protesters and SOA critics say the school has trained Latin American soldiers in commando tactics, torture techniques and military intelligence against civilians.

SOA supporters say the school teaches democratic values and binds the western hemisphere by promoting democracy and respect for human rights.

Catalani blames the SOA for much of the violence and mayhem in Latin America. "The SOA has been a long-standing supporter of non-democratic and totalitarian regimes that have been well known for their human rights abuses, " Catalani said.

Similarly, Toby Hanna-Davies, ICPJ director and member of the Ann Arbor City Council (D-Ward I), said "Many people in Latin America, people of color are being tortured and murdered with our tax dollars and the leaders of the death squads are being trained to fight here in the U.S. at the SOA."

But Col. Glenn Weidner, an SOA graduate who now serves as its commandment, vehemently denies the protesters allegations. "They've been sold on a myth. They object to U.S. foreign policy in Latin America and the school has become a focal point," he said.

Weidner also noted that the soldiers are not trained in torture, but instead are trained to conduct combat operations according to the laws of war. He also noted SOA soldiers take human rights courses.

Likewise, U.S. Rep. Mac Collins (R-Ga.) thinks the SOA is an asset to this country and denies that the SOA teaches torture. Collins said he is a strong supporter of the SOA and notes the "importance of Latin Americans and U.S. soldiers trained side be side to understand what it takes to continue democracy."

Both Weidner and Collins support the protesters going to Fort Benning. Weidner said, "Dissent is part of democracy. It's not subversion."

ICPJ encouraged students from the University to attend non-violent training sessions to prepare for any possible physical confrontations they may encounter during the protest.

Some of the students and protesters plan to "cross the line," which means protesting directly on SOA property. Federal law states that you cannot have a political demonstration on a military base. Thousands of people will protest at the gates of the SOA and thousands may also cross the line on to the military base.

Catalini plans to cross the line. She said, "It's a very clear message not only to the army base there, but to any media voice that is concerned about this. I think that numbers are something that are very demonstrative of concerns."

11-19-99