Thousands of Protesters Again Demand the Closing of the Pentagon's Infamous School of the Americas

Report on the 15th annual protest at Fort Benning, Ga. Produced by Melinda Tuhus

Nov. 19-21 marked the 15th annual gathering called by School of the Americas Watch, or SOA Watch, to close down the Pentagon's School of the Americas -- now known as the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, or WHINSEC -- at Fort Benning in Columbus, Ga. This year more than 15,000 people came from across the country to commemorate the lives of Latin Americans shattered by rape, torture and murder committed by graduates of the military institute.

Saturday featured music, puppetry and short speeches by some activists who have served time in prison for trespassing non-violently onto the base. Among them were celebrities like Susan Sarandon, and the founder of SOA Watch, Maryknoll priest Father Roy Bourgeois. On Sunday, a solemn vigil was held to honor those who died, and 15 more people crossed over, under or through two fences topped with barbed wire to get onto the base to make a powerful personal statement against WHINSEC and its deadly role in Latin America. Those protesters face a probable three - to six-month prison sentence after their trial scheduled for January.

The days were spent connecting with friends and former prisoners of conscience from around the country -- all bolstering the strongly held view among the activists there, that another world is possible. Between the Lines' Melinda Tuhus covered the weekend's events, and files our report.

Related links: "16,000 Protest U.S.-Run School of the Americas," by Elliott Minor, The Associated Press, Nov. 22, 2004

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