US: Jail begins for SOA protestors

Nell Ranta

"I still believe, even after being degraded, yelled at, groped 
and shackled in chains, that each American can make a difference. 
We can close this school for terrorists", said Leisa Faulkner one 
of 27 human rights activists standing trial for demonstrating 
against the School of the Americas (SOA), a school for terrorists 
run by the United States army.

She is to serve a three-month sentence for "crossing the line" 
during protests at the military base.

As a result of increasing public knowledge and outrage at the 
SOA, Congress closed the school in 2000 but reopened it in 2001 
under a new name — Western Hemisphere Institute for Security 
Cooperation.

At least 12,000 people have taken part in demonstrations against 
the school. Amnesty International has charged — and the Pentagon 
finally admitted in 1996 — that training manuals used at the SOA 
advocated torture, execution and blackmail. Hundreds of graduates 
of the SOA have been implicated in many of the worst atrocities 
in the western hemisphere — the murder of bishops, priests and 
nuns, of labour leaders, women and children and community 
workers.

The School of the Americas Watch, a national faith-and 
conscience-based group founded in 1990 that is committed to 
closing the base is urging supporters to lobby their Congress 
representatives to sponsor a bill that would permanently close 
the school.

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For more information, visit www.soaw.org People's Weekly World 
(abridged) http://www.pww.org/