The following article is from the Fight Back! News Service:
Podcasts from the SOA protest
Charla Schlueter
Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) at University of North Carolina at Asheville
Speaking at Nov. 22 SOA rally
Kosta Harlan
Freedom Road Socialist Organization
Speaking at Fight Back! program on Colombia, Nov. 23
Meredith Aby
Colombia Action Network
Speaking at Fight Back! program on Colombia, Nov. 23
Angela Denio
National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera
Speaking at Fight Back! program on Colombia, Nov. 23
Doug Michel
Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) at University of North Carolina at Asheville
Speaking at Fight Back! program on Colombia, Nov. 23
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Columbus, GA – Over 20,000 people from across the country flooded Fort Benning on the Nov. 22-23 weekend, calling for the School of the Americas (SOA), a U.S. military training institute that trains Latin American soldiers in ‘counter-insurgency’ techniques, to be shut down. During the vigil to honor the memory of the thousands of men, women and children that have been tortured, kidnapped and murdered by SOA graduates, six people, in an act of civil disobedience, crossed onto the military base and were arrested. They face up to six months in federal prison for taking action to close down the SOA – the ‘School of Assassins.’
Throughout the weekend, groups that organize in solidarity with Colombia emphasized the need for people in the U.S. to take action to stop the U.S. government’s support for war and repression in Colombia.
Colombia is particularly affected by both the SOA and U.S. foreign policy. Colombia sends more soldiers to the SOA than any other country. Under aid packages such as Plan Colombia, Colombia receives billions of dollars from the United States. It is no coincidence that Colombia has one of the worst human rights records in the hemisphere, with over 40 Colombian trade unionists killed this year alone. Continue reading →
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