United in protest

10,000 rally to close School of Americas

COLUMBUS, Ga. - Thirty-five University students of the Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice along with an estimated 10,000 faith, labor and student leaders from around the world traveled to Columbus, Ga. to protest the U.S. School of Americas in Fort Benning yesterday.

The 10th annual demonstration commemorated the Nov. 16, 1989, killings in El Salvador of six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper and her daughter.

DAVID ROCHKIND/Daily One of 10,000 protesters is escorted off Fort Benning property by Columbus, Ga. police yesterday in a demonstration against School of Americas. Most demonstrators were bused to a nearby park.

SOA was founded in 1946 in Panama and was later relocated to Fort Benning, Ga. in 1984. The University students and protesters alleged that hundreds of thousands of Latin Americans had been tortured, raped, massacred and assassinated by SOA graduates.

Ignoring threats of arrest, 5,000 protesters crossed onto Fort Benning property in a funeral procession only to meet head on with dozens of Columbus police officers, military personnel and 40 buses prepared to transport them off SOA property. Those who did not immediately board the buses upon police request - which would transport them to a nearby park - received a "band and bar letter" that stated they can not re-enter Fort Benning for five years.

The demonstrators included nuns, priests, students, the young and the elderly of all races. Some demonstrators held signs that read "Welcome Peace Makers" and "Close the SOA," while others carried black and white cardboard coffins, as they marched to meet police officers and the buses to escort them off the military base.

SOA Public Affairs Officer Rick McDowdell said law enforcement officers did not expect violence but said they still, "had to prepare."

SOA Col. Weidner, a graduate who now serves in it's commandment, urged protesters not "to cross the line" onto Fort Benning. He said when "people violate the law, it undermines the message."

Thousands of people attended civil disobedience and non-violent training throughout the weekend where people sang, clapped and were instructed to cooperate with police.

Director of the civil disobedience training, Randy Serragilo, said protesters were encouraged "to follow their conscience."

LSA sophomore Sonya Datta-Sandhu said the non-violence trainers informed her about "the non-violence direct action at the Fort. They told us what consequences our actions would cause. If you cross the line, you could have a ban or bar order from the Fort," Datta-Sandhu said.

LSA senior Garth Huetel commented on the relationship between the Civil Rights Movement and the SOA protest.

"They're both about human rights. Martin Luther King fought for the rights of African Americans and other oppressed groups in the United States. The struggle to close the School of Americas is fighting for the rights for oppressed people in the Americas," Heutel said.

Some protesters stood in peace while others knelt down on their knees and closed their eyes in a prayerful position.

Actor Martin Sheen indicated he had a first-hand account of the results of SOA training. He said he came to the protest "to give a name to the nameless, to the voiceless victims of violence," as he stood with red paint across his tanned face.

SOA Watch, a group that opposes the school, reported 157 people from Michigan entered Fort Benning and risked arrest. SOA Watch also reported a state high of 315 from New York.

LSA sophomore Monica Patel objected to entering the funeral procession on Fort Benning because she said "I don't feel like it's necessary. I think 10,000 people is enough of a statement."

But Heutel disagreed. "Crossing the line is a statement to the United States army and to anyone who will listen," he said.

11-22-99