Dear Joseph, I am looking out of the window of my apartment onto the gates of Fort Benning, Georgia, the home of the School of the Americas. It is a place that has stolen the dreams and the lives so many people throughout the Americas, such as Walter Trochez, a good friend of young Honduran activist Jimena Paz who marched to these gates at my side just a few weeks ago. Many of you joined Jimena and I at the gates, others joined us from afar in solidarity, and one friend – Theresa - chose to scale right over the gate in the face of armed soldiers who promptly dragged her to be arrested. Her trial on January 5 will be an opportunity to put the SOA on trial for its complicity in the death and disappearance of thousands of our Latin American neighbors. I write today to invite you to join me at another line that is a concrete expression of the suffering caused by our nation’s policies: the southern border of the United States. So many of our neighbors have also tried to cross, climb or swim across this line, fleeing economies broken by U.S. free trade agreements, violence armed and funded from this side of the border, and atrocities caused by the booming U.S. drug market. Many of these line crossers have reached the other side, some have been criminalized and returned, while others have died trying. The most vicious perpetrators of the violence that is jolting Mexico are none other than graduates of the SOA who comprised two-thirds of the original ranks of the Zetas, the most brutal hired assassins of the drug cartels. These deserters from the elite Special Air Mobile Force Group of the Mexican army acquired specialized knowledge of arms and techniques at the SOA that have brought the brutality of the drug violence to unprecedented levels. For years the SOA Watch movement has cried "No más, no more" at the gates of School of the Americas. Now it is time to take this message to the US-Mexico border. We go to stand in solidarity with the 50,000 victims of Mexico's so-called "war on drugs." We go to stand at our southern border - every day more militarized - and demand that policies such as the Merida Initiative cease. We go because we believe that justice in Latin America can only exist if we close the SOA, bury the failed military policies of the past, and replace them with policies based on the needs of real people on both sides of the border. As the Obama Administration continues to deport record numbers of immigrants and states pass xenophobic immigration laws, NOW is the time to say "No más, no more." Please consider joining me on a delegation to the US/Mexico border in El Paso/Ciudad Juarez from February 12-19, 2012 to experience the realities of both sides of the border, and to understand the border itself. For more information, write Lisa Sullivan at LSullivan@soaw.org. Thank you so much for your support and solidarity, abrazos, Father Roy Bourgeois, MM SOA Watch founder To edit your subscription to the SOA Watch email list or to unsubscribe, click here

Report Back from November Vigil Solemn voices lifted up the spirits of those killed by graduates of the School of the Americas and filled the air as the music team sang out their names from the stage during this morning's funeral procession in front of the entrance to Fort Benning. The crowd of thousands responded, "PRESENTE!" Joining actor Martin Sheen on stage this weekend was Georgia NAACP State President Edward DuBose, who told the crowd many had asked him why he'd come here. “I made a promise to Troy Anthony Davis that I would continue to speak out against any system that takes any innocent life,” DuBose told the crowd. “However long it takes, we'll be here. We're on this road until justice is served!” United Auto Workers President Bob King also addressed the gathering, lifting up the voice of organized labor standing in solidarity with workers all across the Americas. Social movement leaders from Colombia, Haiti, Honduras and Costa Rica joined the thousands of activists who made the trek to this year's vigil. Jimena Paz, who helped organize the SOA Watch Encuentro in Venezuela, and who, as a young member of the Honduran Resistance, has lost friends to the SOA-led repression campaign, shared her compelling story from the stage. Dr. Luther Castillo, a young, Afro-indigenous Garifuna doctor and community organizer, directs the foundation For the Health of Our People ("Luagu Hatuadi Waduheñu" in the Garifuna language), and is the founder and director of the First Popular Garifuna Hospital of Honduras. Exposing the effects of SOA training of Honduran soldiers since the 2009 graduate-led military coup, Luther shared that he and the hospital have been subject to many threats of closure and other attacks by the military and coup government. Jani Silva, a community organizer from La Perla Amazonica, Putumayo, Colombia, addressed the reality of US foreign policy in her country, which has sent more than 10,000 soldiers to be trained at the SOA with chilling results. Mario Joseph, a prominent Haitian human rights lawyer, is representing political prisoners and victims of political violence in Haiti. He spoke from the stage, urging solidarity with Haitian struggle to keep the army from being brought back. Also present among those giving testimony to SOA violence was Nelly del Cid, one of the Feminists in Resistance in Honduras. She shared her deep concerns about the huge number of femicides since the coup. Costa Rican lawyer and peace advocate Luis Roberto Zamora also gave updates about the lawsuit he filed against the Costa Rican government for sending police to the School of the Americas/WHINSEC. Theresa Cusimano, 43, of Denver, Colorado, crossed the line for the second time following the morning's solemn funeral procession. She was arrested by military police and faces up to six months in prison. Stay tuned for a message from Theresa! See Photos from the November Vigil Tom Bottolene of MN SOA Watch shared these images from the weekend, including the pictures of the massive procession (left), Jimena Paz from the Honduran Resistance (below), the puppet pageant (below) and Tami Ramirez, Father Roy and Maia Rodriguez on stage (below). SOA Watch on Facebook SOA Watch on Twitter See us on YouTube Please make a donation to help cover the cost of the November Vigil.   We appreciate your interest! You are subscribed to the SOA Watch list as peacelongbeach@optonline.net. Click here to unsubscribe. Contact us. Our mailing address is: SOA Watch, PO Box 4566, Washington, D.C. 20017, USA Our telephone: (202) 234 3440 Click here to fund the campaign to close the SOA.

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for immediate release November 8, 2011 Contact: Hendrik Voss, 202-234-3440 OCCUPY FORT BENNING Shut Down the School of the Americas November 18-20, 2011: Thousands of social justice activists from across the Americas will occupy the main gates of Fort Benning, Georgia to call for an end to U.S. militarization and for the closure of the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, formerly the School of Americas, The three day convergence will include a massive rally, where thousands will occupy the main gates of the Fort Benning military base in order to transform it from a place that trains assassins to a place of initiation into political awareness. On Sunday, November 20, the chain-linked barbed wire fence will be transformed with images of the martyrs, crosses, stars and flowers into a memorial for the victims of SOA violence and U.S. intervention. Human rights activists will carry their protest onto the grounds of the military base, risking arrest and up to six month in federal prison. The mobilization will include speakers from the NAACP, the Sisters of Mercy, the Georgia Undocumented Youth Alliance (GUYA), torture survivors and human rights activists from Latin America as well as plenaries, workshops, concerts, strategy sessions and more. “The SOA provides the military muscle to protect the greed of the 1% at the expense of the 99% throughout the Americas.” said Father Roy Bourgeois, the founder of SOA Watch. “The surge of social justice activism in the U.S. is fueling the call for the closure of this notorious institution.” The SOA/WHINSEC is a U.S. taxpayer-funded military training school for Latin American soldiers, located at Fort Benning, Georgia. The school made headlines in 1996 when the Pentagon released training manuals used at the school that advocated torture, extortion and execution. Despite this shocking admission and hundreds of documented human rights abuses connected to soldiers trained at the school, no independent investigation into the training facility has ever taken place. SOA violence continues in Mexico, where 1/3 of the original members of the Zetas drug cartel were trained at the SOA, and where the U.S. is promoting military solutions to the drug problem. SOA violence continues in Colombia, which has sent more than 10,000 soldiers to train at the SOA, and where SOA graduates are involved with extrajudicial killings and other serious human rights violations. SOA violence continues in Honduras, where SOA graduates overthrew the democratically elected government in 2009. SOA violence continues in Guatemala, where SOA graduate Otto Pérez Molina just won the presidential elections, and throughout the Americas. In October 2011, Time Magazine published the article “Is It Time to Shutter the Americas' 'Coup Academy'?:” http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2097124,00.html#ixzz1b9Rvmcbu In August 2011, 69 Members of the House of Representatives delivered a letter to President Obama, calling on the President to shut down the Western Hemispheric Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC), formerly the School of Americas (SOA) by executive order. The 69 Representatives including Representative John Lewis from Georgia, Representative Ron Paul from Texas and Representative James McGovern from Massachusetts. To read the letter, visit http://soaw.org/docs/ObamaLetter.pdf On November 4, Representative McGovern introduced H.R. 3368, the Latin America Military Training Review Act, in the House of Representatives. The bill calls for the suspension of the SOA/ WHINSEC and an investigation into the connection between U.S. military training and human rights abuses in Latin America. SOA Watch is a nonviolent grassroots movement that works for the closing the School of the Americas and a change in U.S. foreign policy - www.SOAW.org ### To edit your subscription to the SOA Watch email list or to unsubscribe, click here

Standing in Solidarity with the Resistance! SOA Watch in Honduras Click Here to Send a Message to Your Representative An SOA Watch delegation, including SOA Watch Latin America Coordinator Lisa Sullivan and SOA Watch founder Father Roy Bourgeois, is currently in Honduras to see firsthand the numerous and serious human rights abuses carried out against the people of Honduras. The human rights activists are meeting with members of the resistance, human rights groups, teachers, union leaders, religious leaders, and members of the administration of deposed President Manuel Zelaya. They are currently visiting the Bajo Aguán where horrendous human rights violations have been occurring since the School of the Americas graduate-led coup d’état in June of 2009. Less than a month ago, the bodies of two campesino leaders were found decapitated in Bajo Aguán. The delegation will also visit the U.S military base in Palmerola, involved in the military coup. The two men orchestrating the military coup in Honduras in June of 2009, the former Chief of the Armed Forces, Romeo Vasquez Velasquez, and the Chief of the Air Force, General Luis Prince Suazo are both graduates of the School of the Americas. The violence and human rights violations that are currently happening in Honduras are being funded with Honduran money as well US tax dollars. Including US aid to Honduras are gas bombs priced from $160 to $220 used by Honduran security personnel to terrorize and even kill people. Teacher and co-founder of a leading human rights organization, Ilse Ivania Velásquez was killed after a tear gas canister fired at her head. A two-month old is in critical condition after Honduran security personnel fired a gas bomb inside a family’s home, informed Bertha Oliva, a leading Honduran activist. Live bullets and toxic chemicals are also being used against unarmed demonstrator. Visit www.SOAW.org to stay tuned for updates from the SOA Watch Honduras delegation and take action now: Ask your representative to join Reps. McGovern, Schakowsky and Farr and sign on to the Congressional sign-on letter to Secretary Clinton calling for the U.S. to pressure the Honduran government “to end abuses by official security forces by suspending, investigating and prosecuting those implicated in human rights violations.” The letter also calls for a suspension of all military and police aid among other proposals. Urge your Representative to also pressure President Obama to shut down the School of the Americas (SOA/ WHINSEC) by executive order. Click Here to Send a Message to Your Representative New Video Documentary About the April Days of Action (30min) Watch the documentary and share it with your family and friends!   SOA Watch Latin America just produced and released this amazing 30 minute documentary about the Days of Action to Close the SOA and Resist Militarization, which took place from April 4-11, 2011 in Washington, DC. More videos of the SOA Watch Days of Action: Click here to watch a 5 min. video by Tamar Sharabi Click here to watch a 15 min. video by Eddie Becker Click here to watch the 30 min. video by Gabriela Uassouf _________________ Follow SOAW on Facebook Follow SOAW on Twitter See us on YouTube We appreciate your interest! You are subscribed to the SOA Watch list as peacelongbeach@optonline.net. Click here to unsubscribe. Contact us. Our mailing address is: SOA Watch, PO Box 4566, Washington, D.C. 20017, USA Our telephone: (202) 234 3440 Click here to fund the campaign to close the SOA.

A Weekend with SOA Watch founder Father Roy Bourgeois

Witness for Peace Mid Atlantic Retreat ‘11

April 2-3

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This will be your last chance to register for Witness For Peace’s 2011 Mid-Atlantic Retreat on April 2-3, in Wernersville, Pennsylvania (near Reading) with School of the Americas Watch (SOA Watch) founder Father Roy Bourgeois. Friday, March 26 is the deadline for registration.

 

Father Roy comes to us between two significant and international events concerning SOA Watch and their work. First, the retreat will happen right before Father Roy heads to Washington D.C. where he will fast for more than a week on the White House steps to push to close the School of the Americas (now known as WHINSEC) and stall U.S. militarization in Latin America.  This is a part of SOA Watch’s Days of Action  which will cumulate with activities on the weekend of  April 9-10.

 

Second, his presence with us comes right on the heels of the release of U.S. government cables by the group Wikileaks, which show attempts to disrupt SOA Watch campaigns to close the counter-insurgency training school. It is again an exciting time for change in Latin America. Please join us and let us build off of Father Roy’s relentless energy and inspirational example to really begin to transform U.S. policy in Latin America and the Caribbean.

 

Thanks,

 

Todd

 

You can register by submitting the registration form electronically or through the mail. The registration deadline is March 26.

The retreat begins at noon on Saturday, April 2 and ends after lunch on Sunday, April 3. For a tentative schedule, click here.  

The South Mountain YMCA is located outside Wernersville, Pennsylvania, 7 miles west of Reading. For directions, click here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Joseph, Hope this email finds you well. We just received the letter below from prison from Father Louis Vitale. Fr. Louis was arrested together with David Omondi, Nancy Smith and Chris Spicer by the Fort Benning military police during the November Vigil when they carried the call to close the SOA onto the military base. Father Louis and David were sentenced immediately to six months in federal prison. Nancy and Chris are currently preparing for their federal trials on January 5, 2011. They will use the courtroom to put the SOA itself on trial. Several others are also still facing charges after having been arrested by the Columbus police following the rally on November 20, 2010. Support the SOA Watch Legal Defense Fund with a contribution today. You'll find addresses to write to the prisoners below. Letter from Father Louis Vitale, SOA Watch Prisoner of Conscience: Two weeks have passed since David Omondi and I began our sojourn here at Irwin County Detention Center in southern Georgia. Some may say, "Vitale has protested himself back into the pokey below the Mason-Dixon line" and "He has been jailed again in an effort to bring peace and social justice." SF Chronicle 11/28 Many ask, "Why do you keep doing this?" We try to respond: "Because the oppression goes on and our nation is a major participant in that oppression of the poor and of all creation." Specifically this manifestation of mourning focuses on the School of the Americas (WHINSEC) at Ft. Benning, Georgia, where U.S. military have taught counter-insurgency techniques, including torture and disappearance, to Latin American military. It still goes on, as recently observed with the outrageous coup in Honduras carried out by graduates of the School of the Americas. In fact, our involvement in oppressive militarism extends throughout the world! But why so many times at Ft. Benning (my fourth arrest and incarceration, and so far from my home base)? The School of the Americas is an icon of our intrusion into developing countries over many years and the source of horrific massacres including religious leaders and thousands of peasants. Also Ft. Benning is a major military base feeding vast numbers into the war machine. Thousands gather annually to mourn the victims and to call for an end to our war machine that continues to grow into more bases, nuclear weapons manufacturing facilities, even into space war (and the new X-37B militarized version of the space shuttle). Are we ready to declare peace and act in its presence? Let's call - with all our energy - for nonviolent solutions now, transforming many peoples' lives and our world. Our work is cut out for us as we must be vigilant and active with nonviolent resistance. May we move towards peace in the new year. [Louie, serving a 6 month sentence for trespass at Ft. Benning, was moved from the Irwin County Detention Center on December 15, and is currently in transit. We will let you know as soon as he reaches his final destination.] Write the the Prisoners of Conscience To write to Louis, please direct correspondence to: Fr. Louis Vitale, c/o The Nuclear Resister, P.O. Box 43383, Tucson, AZ 85733 To write to Michael David Omondi, also sentenced to six months for trespass at Ft. Benning, please direct your correspondence to: David Omondi, c/o The Los Angeles Catholic Worker, 632 N. Brittania St., Los Angeles, CA 90033 If you'd like to make a tax-deductible donation of $100 or more, please write a check to "SOA Watch Educational Fund" and mail it to: SOA Watch, PO Box 4566, Washington, DC 20017. We appreciate your interest! You are subscribed to the SOA Watch list as peacelongbeach@optonline.net. Click here to unsubscribe or change your subscription. Contact us. Our mailing address is: SOA Watch, PO Box 4566, Washington, D.C. 20017, USA Our telephone: (202) 234 3440 Click here to fund the campaign to close the SOA.

Dear SOA Watch Partner,

My name is Liz Albanese and I am the Vigil Coordinator in the SOA Watch office in Washington, DC. I had the pleasure of working with some of you during the 2009 vigil at Fort Benning, and look forward to working with many of you again!

I am contacting you today because now is the time to submit requests for workshop, table, and ad space at the November 19-21 vigil at the gates.

The SOA Watch staff and our many working groups are hard at work putting together a great schedule for this November's convergence, and it's filling up fast! Reserve your workshop, table, and ad space today - and don't miss the opportunity to be a part of this historic moment.

Below is information on how to reserve space. Please consider our requested donations for space, without your financial support this large event would not be possible.

I am handling all requests for workshop space, and Tom Bottolene is handling table requests. You can get in touch with Tom by emailing him at tom@circlevision.org. If you are interested in tabling, please read the Tabling Information and make sure to send Tom your completed table registration form by October 20th.

If your organization would like to host a workshop, please fill out the workshop registration form as soon as possible. We have a limited number of spaces available and they will be awarded on a first come, first serve basis. Forms may be emailed to Liz at liz@soaw.org or sent to the SOA Watch office. Payment must be received prior to the vigil. Call SOA Watch at 202.234.3440 with any questions. The deadline to reserve workshop space is October 6th.

For the past several years, SOA Watch has offered our partner organizations the opportunity to purchase ad space in the November Vigil Program. This program will be distributed to thousands of people who travel to Columbus from all parts of the world and share our common desire for just policies in Latin America. Donating money for an ad is a great way to raise awareness about your particular organization and its campaign while simultaneously helping SOA Watch cover the cost of this year's vigil. The donation scale for space in the program is as follows:

Full-page ad: $600
Half-page ad: $425
1/4-page ad: $300
1/8-page ad: $225
1/16-page ad: $150

We hope that you will seriously consider placing an ad in this year's program. For a copy of this year's rates and sizes, click here. Ad designs and payments are due by Wednesday, October 6th - please make sure to indicate what size ad you are purchasing when you respond. Contact Liz with any questions.

Thank you for your time and solidarity. See you at the gates!

In peace, Liz Albanese

Please mail all workshop and ad forms & payments (remember, table info goes to Tom) to:

SOA Watch
Attn: Liz
PO Box 4566
Washington, D.C. 20017

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Dear Joseph,
This November 19-21, we return to Fort Benning because we must.

The martyrs demand it.

Twenty-six years ago, the graduates of the School of Assassins killed my good friend Maura and the other three Church women in El Salvador. It has been 20 years since 14-year-old Celina, her mother Elba and the six Jesuits were killed by SOA grads. It's been five years since it was revealed that instructors at the school worked with the paramilitaries in Colombia. One year has passed since SOA graduates overthrew democracy in Honduras.

The school is still open and the violence continues.

There has been no accountability. The martyrs made the ultimate sacrifice for their resistance. We will not forget the goals they fought for. We must return to Fort Benning to remember them and to recommit ourselves to those same goals. We must return to Fort Benning until this school is closed once and for all. Justice will prevail!

See you at the gates,


Father Roy Bourgeois, M.M.


P.S. Please click here to forward the November 2010 call to action to your family and friends. Mobilize your community to take a stand for justice at the gates of Fort Benning. Following the November Vigil, we will carry our resistance to Washington, DC in April 2011. Please click here to make a donation to support the work of SOA Watch.

 

Free ALL Prisoners of Conscience - Click here for the prison addresses Judge Faircloth Change of Heart? Michael Walli Released from Jail! Today, only three days after he was sentenced to six months of federal prison for carrying the protest against the School of the Americas onto Fort Benning, Michael Walli was released from jail. Early Thursday, Michael was ordered to pack up his belongings from his jail cell. He expected that he would be transferred to a federal facility but was then told by the wardens that he is free to go, without any further explanation. From the jail, Michael managed to get to Father Roy Bourgeois' apartment at the gates of Fort Benning, Georgia. The two celebrated his release and Michael is now on a bus headed to his home in Washington, DC. According to the Columbus Ledger Enquirer, U.S. Magistrate G. Mallon Faircloth, who had only days ago handed down the maximum sentence to Michael, reduced Michael's sentence to time served. We are full of joy that Michael is out and that he will soon be reunited with the great folks at the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker House in DC. At the same time, the human rights defenders Ken Hayes, Father Louis Vitale and Nancy Gwin, all of whom were arrested with Michael during the 2009 vigil at the SOA/WHINSEC, remain in federal prison where they serve their harsh prison sentences. Please contact Judge G. Mallon Faircloth to commend him for doing the right thing in Michael Walli's case and to also demand the release of ALL Prisoners of Conscience that he incarcerated. There is no justification that our friends Nancy, Ken, and Louis are spending their days and nights in prison for speaking out against the SOA, while those responsible for the training of human rights abusers and for the use of torture manuals at the SOA have never even been investigated: G. Mallon Faircloth U.S. Magistrate Judge Post Office Box 117 Columbus, GA 31902-0117 Courtroom Clerk: Terrie Smith - (706) 653-2942 Please also send messages of support to the Prisoners of Conscience who are still incarcerated in federal prisons across the United States and let them know that you are keeping up the work to close the School of the Americas and to change U.S. foreign policy! You can find their prison addresses here: http://soaw.org/about-us/pocs/150-articles/3421-write-to-the-soa-watch-prisoners-of-conscience Consider engaging in nonviolent direct action: Keep the pressure on! People who put their bodies on the line to speak in solidarity with the people of Latin America are crucial in the struggle to close the SOA/ WHINSEC. Stand up for justice at the gates of Fort Benning, Georgia in November: http://SOAW.org/take-action/november-vigil We appreciate your interest! You are subscribed to the SOA Watch list as scroke@verizon.net. Click here to unsubscribe. Contact us. Our mailing address is: SOA Watch, PO Box 4566, Washington, D.C. 20017, USA Our telephone: (202) 234 3440 Click here to fund the campaign to close the SOA.

June 14, 2010
for immediate release

Human rights advocate sentenced to six months in federal prison for civil disobedience at the School of the Americas

Washington, DC resident Michael Walli was one of four human rights advocates who were arrested during the annual November Vigil to close the School of the Americas / Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (SOA/ WHINSEC). Michael Walli was sentenced on Monday, June 14, 2010 to six months in federal prison.

During his November arraignment, Michael told judge Malon Faircloth that he would not pay any bail and that he would not voluntarily return for the trial. Michael Walli made good on his promise and Faircloth issued a warrant for Michael's arrest. Federal marshals arrested Michael in March 2010 at the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker House in Washington, DC.

Ken Hayes, Father Louis Vitale and Nancy Gwin, the three human rights advocates who were arrested together with Michael Walli, were each sentenced in January 2010 to six months in prison as well - the maximum allowed for the charge of tresspass. The extremely harsh sentences are intended to deter others from following the example of the 'SOAW 4.'

"Those who speak out for justice are facing prison time while SOA-trained torturers and assassins are operating with impunity," said SOA Watch founder Father Roy Bourgeois.

The SOA/WHINSEC is a combat training school for Latin American soldiers. Its graduates are consistently involved in human rights atrocities and coups, including the El Mozote Massacre in El Salvador and last year's military coup in Honduras. In 1996 the Pentagon was forced to release training manuals used at the school that advocated the use of torture, extortion and execution.

SOA Watch works to stand in solidarity with people of Latin America, to change oppressive US foreign policy, and to close the SOA/WHINSEC. In November 2010, thousands will return to the gates of Fort Benning to call for justice and accountability.

Send a message of solidarity to the prisoners:
www.SOAW.org/about-us/pocs/150-articles/3421-write-to-the-soa-watch-prisoners-of-conscience

Make plans to join the November Vigil at the gates of Fort Benning:
oaw.org/take-action/november-vigil


School of the Americas Watch, www.SOAW.org

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Please, distribute widely Shelter Rock Forum with Long Island Alliance for Peaceful Alternatives, Great Neck Sane/PeaceAction, Pax Christi Long Island and LI School of Americas Watch invites to hear , M. MROY BOURGEOIS, M. M. Founder of the School of Americas Watch will speak on Obama’s Latin American Policy Father Bourgeois will report on his recent trip  to El Salvador and the surrounding regions In 1980, Fr. Roy became involved in issues surrounding US policy in El Salvador after four US churchwomen--two of them his friends--were raped and killed by Salvadoran soldiers. He became an outspoken critic of US foreign policy in Latin America . Since then, he has spent over four years in US federal prisons for nonviolent protests against the training of Latin American soldiers at Ft. Benning , Georgia . In 1990, Fr. Roy founded the School of Americas Watch , an office that does research on the US Army School of the Americas (SOA). Each year the school trains hundreds of soldiers from Latin America in combat skills - all paid for by U.S. taxpayers. Thursday, May 13 at 7:30 p.m. Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Shelter Rock 48 Shelter Rock Road, Manhasset in the Social Hall $5 suggested donation Directions: UUCSR, 48 Shelter Rock Road, Manhasset From LIE, exit 35 north (from east) or 36 (from west). North 1 ½ miles on Shelter Rock Rd. Entrance on left by white fence. From Northern Blvd. Go South 1/2 mile on Shelter Rock Rd. Entrance on right. For more information, please contact Shelter Rock Forum, 516-6560, ext. 122 Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Shelter Rock, www.uucsr.org LI Alliance for Peaceful Alternatives, 516-741-4360, Email: longislandpeace@gmail.com www.longislandpeace.org LI SOA Watch, Email: marabard@yahoo.com

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Maryknoll priest Father Roy Bourgeois, who founded School of the Americas Watch (SOAW) in 1990, speaks at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Shelter Rock in Manhasset on May 13 at 7:30 p.m. on "President Obama's Latin American Policy."

Father Bourgeois, 72, has been arrested six times, once for entering Fort Benning, Ga. in a disguise and for sitting in outside the base, which is home to the School of the Americas, now known as the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation. Bourgeois' nonprofit group claims that thousands of Latin American soldiers and policemen have been trained in torture techniques in SOA's counterinsurgency programs. SOAW has demanded a meeting with Obama to urge him to close the school. Due to SOAW's activism, four South American countries have stopped sending troops and policemen to the school -- Venezuela, Argentina, Uruguay and Bolivia.

"Our foreign policy is about exploiting the cheap labor and the vast natural resources of these countries," Bourgeois said, "and this school has provided the muscle needed to protect the oligarchs that protect our interests. The 'insurgents' are always the poor."

Bourgeois, a Navy veteran of Vietnam, was ordained in 1972 and spent five years early in his career as a priest living in a La Paz, Bolivia slum. He was moved to found SOAW after discovering that SOA graduates were responsible for three atrocities in El Salvador: the March 24, 1980 assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero; the rape and murder of three nuns and a civilian worker on Dec. 2, 1980; and the slaying of six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper and her daughter on Nov. 16, 1989. He recently revisited El Salvador and urged its president to pull his troops out of SOA.

Bourgeois said Obama's Latin American policy "is a disaster. Latin America isn't even on his radar screen. In Honduras, a military coup took place on Jan. 27. He said that President Manuel Zelaya was democratically elected and must be returned to office. But he took no action to back it up. Zelaya is in exile in the Dominican Republic."

"We want him [Obama] to close the school by executive order," Bourgeois said. "I'll be asking those at the congregation [on May 13] to write the president and ask him to do that. The school is a symbol of America's foreign policy in the past decades and brings shame to our country."

Bourgeois in 2008 concelebrated a Mass at which a female priest was "ordained," contradicting Roman Catholic Church policy. He was given 30 days to "recant" his participation or automatically be excommunicated from the church. He refused and continues to receive Communion and celebrate Masses. "More than 5,000 priests abused more than 12,000 people while many bishops were silent and covered it up," he said. "These priests and bishops weren't excommunicated. It show the priorities of the Vatican. Women are not seen as equals; they're seen as a threat to their power. Many Catholics are asking, 'What's going on?'"

The UU Congregation at Shelter Rock (uucsr.org) is at 48 Shelter Rock Rd. The suggested donation on May 13 is $5. The event is sponsored by the Shelter Rock Forum. Light refreshments follow.

--- Travel to Latin America 2010 Delegations. 2010 Delegations Travel with Father Roy Bourgeois to El Salvador, Learn about ALBA in Venezuela, and Stand in Solidarity with the People of Honduras and Colombia. El Salvador Travel to El Salvador - land of martyrs, with Father Roy Bourgeois on an Oscar Romero Legacy Delegation, from March 19 to 26, 2010. Join Fr. Roy in events commemorating the 30th anniversary of Monseñor Romero´s assassination at the hands of SOA graduates. Walk in the footsteps of martyrs Ita Ford, Maura Clark, Fr. Ignacio Ellacuria, Celia Ramos and others. Accompany SOA Watch's Partnership America Latina (PAL) Coordinator Lisa Sullivan in visiting high level Salvadoran government officials in asking that El Salvador send no more soldiers to this school of assassins. For more information and to apply, write Lisa Sullivan at LSullivan@soaw.org Click here to download the delegation flyer (pdf). Venezuela Come to Venezuela from April 9-18 on the anniversary of a people's victory in overturning a coup d'etat and learn about how the 8 member countries of ALBA are forging a new and exciting new economic model of cooperation and solidarity. Join SOA Watch's Lisa Sullivan in getting a different view from within of this country where she has lived for 25 years. Meet with Colombians in exile in Venezuela and hear from them and from Venezuelans about their concerns for US militarization along the Colombian border of Venezuela. For more information and to apply, write Lisa Sullivan at LSullivan@soaw.org Click here to download the delegation flyer (pdf). Honduras Respond to the request of human rights leaders in Honduras to come to their country to help prevent further atrocities from taking place. World attention towards Honduras has diminished after US-approved November elections legitimized the June coup, while assassinations of resistance members has increased. Click here to listen to a soon to be aired "Making Contact" radio program on the SOA graduate-led military coup in Honduras. Also, hear an excellent one hour unedited web interview with Lisa Sullivan (scroll to center of page for interview). Leaders of the human rights community have requested a constant presence of international visitors to bring attention to this situation and help protect the lives of Hondurans. We are urging SOA Watch activists to join the Task Force on the Americas delegation to Honduras from March 13-20, 2010 (for more information write Dale Sorensen, geodale1@earthlink.net), a Quixote Center delegation (contact Jenny Atlee, jennya@quixote.org) or the January 24-31, 2010 Rights Action delegation (contact Grahame Russell, info@rightsaction.org) Colombia With over 10,000 troops trained at the school, Colombia is the SOA's largest customer and has the worst human rights record in Latin America. The 8th Day Center for Justice and Witness for Peace are organizing a delegation to Magdelena, Colombia from August 7-17, 2010. The delegation will focus on human rights, corporate abuse, military repression and internal displacement. Delegation participants will meet with community leaders, displaced persons, and human rights defenders. For more information: Contact Erin Cox, Erin@8thdaycenter.org, 312 641 5151 or Ashley Valchek, Ashley@8thdaycenter.org or email wfpmagdelena@gmail.com. SOA Watch is a nonviolent grassroots movement that works through creative protest and resistance, legislative and media work to stand in solidarity with the people of Latin America, to close the SOA/WHINSEC and to change oppressive U.S. foreign policy that institutions like the SOA represent. We are grateful to our sisters and brothers throughout Latin America and the the Caribbean for their inspiration and the invitation to join them in their struggle for economic and social justice. We appreciate your interest! You are subscribed to this list as marabard@yahoo.com. Click here to unsubscribe. Contact us. Our mailing address is: SOA Watch, PO Box 4566, Washington, D.C. 20017, USA Our telephone: (202) 234 3440 Click here to support the campaign to close the SOA.

FR. ROY LI VISIT FLIER

SOA Latin America Agenda

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