SOA Watch

We Won the Vote in Congress!
Pentagon Forced to Release Information to SOA Watch

Thanks to your efforts and hard work in defense of human rights, the culture of secrecy and lack of accountability surrounding Defense Department policies suffered a severe blow today when the U.S. House of Representatives approved the McGovern-Sestak-Bishop (GA) amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2009. The amendment forces the public release of names, rank, country of origin, courses and dates of attendance of WHINSEC's graduates and instructors to the public.

The amendment was approved with a 220 to 189 vote!
Click here to find out how your Representative voted.

This is a major victory for the international human rights community!You spoke up and now we are one step closer to transparency and closing the SOA/WHINSEC!

In recent years, WHINSEC has denied information that in the past has been vital in identifying the perpetrators of massacres, targeted assassinations, and human rights abuses committed in Latin America. In response to WHINSEC's lack of transparency and its willingness to undermine public attempts of exercising oversight of the institution, human rights advocates and constituents have taken a stand for justice and demanded Congress to hold WHINSEC accountable.

The access to information regarding students and instructors attending WHINSEC will allow human rights organizations to continue to monitor the school and identify those graduates and instructors who have violated human rights or taken part in criminal activities in their home countries.

Information is power, and the more information we have, the closer we are to closing the SOA/WHINSEC once and for all!

We Won the House, Now Comes the Senate

The approval of this amendment will now lead us to face a new challenge to insure that WHINSEC also be held accountable by the U.S. Senate, in the coming weeks we will continue to keep you updated so we can work together towards another victory.

As our Legislative campaign will now move on to the Senate, please consider making a contribution to SOA Watch. Thank you!

SOA Watch Awarded with the:
¡La Luche Sigue! Award for Activism in the Americas

We are honored to announce that thanks to the committed work of SOA Watch activists around the world, the North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA) honored School of the Americas Watch (SOA Watch) and Chilean human rights activist, writer and distinguished academic Ariel Dorfman, respectively, with awards celebrating new generations of grassroots organizing for peace and justice in the Americas.

"Grassroots mobilization here in the U.S. has been key to bringing injustice in the Americas to light over the last forty years, from the coup in Chile to the U.S.-backed wars in Central America. NACLA strongly believes that today's activist struggles are as important as those of the past, and SOA Watch is exemplary in this regard: its young organizers have successfully mobilized tens of thousands of U.S. citizens to their cause," commented NACLA's Executive Director, Christy Thornton.

Awards were presented to Chilean human rights activists, writer and academic, Ariel Dorfman and the School of the Americas Watch at NACLA's Benefit Gala that was held in New York City on Thursday, May 15th from 6 p.m. - 9 p.m.

The event celebrated NACLA's 40 years of fighting for justice in the Americas and was hosted by the organization's founders and supporters including Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez.

May 5: SOA Watch on Capitol Hill

Representatives from SOA Watch groups and partner organizations all across the country will be meeting with their Representatives in Washington, DC throughout the day today to garner support for HR 1707, the bill to suspend operations and investigate the SOA/WHINSEC.

Representatives from SOA Watch groups and partner organizations all across the country flooded the halls of Congress on May 5th to meet with their Representatives in Washington, DC and garner support for HR 1707, the bill to suspend operations and investigate the SOA/WHINSEC.

Join us in support of our 2008 Lobby Days by calling your representatives office in Washington, DC or sending an e-mail or fax to their offices through our automated action letter.

Click here to see if your Representative has already signed on as a co-sponsor and for a link to our automated action letter!

Please take the time to call the D.C. office of your Representative by calling the Capitol Hill Switchboard (202-224-3121). Ask to speak with the foreign affairs legislative assistant and here is a suggested message for you to convey:

"As a constituent living in _________, I am calling Congressman/woman ________ to urge him/her to contact Rep. McGovern and ask to be a cosponsor of HR 1707, legislation that would suspend operations at the School of the Americas, renamed WHINSEC, and investigate the history of human rights abuses and failed policies of the institution.

New information indicates that WHINSEC has allowed known human rights abusers to instruct and receive training at the school. Argentina and Uruguay are two more countries that have made public announcements they will no longer send students to the school, citing the negative image and history of this institution. Despite demands by Congress to have oversight over the curriculum and promote human rights, the Pentagon is now denying all requests to provide information to human rights organizations and the public about students and graduates of the school.

I urge you to contact Cindy Buhl in Representative McGovern's office and ask that your boss be added as a cosponsor of HR 1707. I hope you will represent my views and support this legislation."

About the School of the Americas / Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation

The US Army School of Americas (SOA), based in Fort Benning, Georgia, trains Latin American security personnel in combat, counter-insurgency, and counter-narcotics. SOA graduates are responsible for some of the worst human rights abuses in Latin America. In 1996 the Pentagon was forced to release training manuals used at the school that advocated torture, extortion and execution. Among the SOA's nearly 60,000 graduates are notorious dictators Manuel Noriega and Omar Torrijos of Panama, Leopoldo Galtieri and Roberto Viola of Argentina, Juan Velasco Alvarado of Peru, Guillermo Rodriguez of Ecuador, and Hugo Banzer Suarez of Bolivia. Lower-level SOA graduates have participated in human rights abuses that include the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero and the El Mozote Massacre of 900 civilians. (See Grads in the News).

In an attempt to deflect public criticism and disassociate the school from its dubious reputation, the SOA was renamed the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC) in 2001.

The name change was a result of a Department of Defense proposal included in the Defense Authorization Bill for Fiscal 2001, at a time when SOA opponents were poised to win a congressional vote on legislation that would have dismantled the school. The name-change measure passed when the House of Representatives defeated a bi-partisan amendment to close the SOA and conduct a congressional investigation by a narrow ten-vote margin. (See Talking Points, Critique of New School, Vote Roll Call.)

In a media interview, Georgia Senator and SOA supporter the late Paul Coverdell characterized the DOD proposal as a "cosmetic" change that would ensure that the SOA could continue its mission and operation. Critics of the SOA concur.

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.