Date: Thu, 5 Mar 2009 10:35:52 -0500
From: info@soaw.org
To: davidbchirot@hotmail.com
Subject: "SOA 6" to Report to Prison, Video Interview with Torture Survivor Pablo Ruiz, Evo Morales Speaks Out, and more
In this SOA Watch Email Newsletter:
"SOA 6" to report to federal prison Video Interview with SOA Watch Communications Coordinator Pablo Ruiz Latin America Delegations Peter DeMott ¡Presente! Evo Morales slams the SOA/ WHINSEC SOA Graduates in the News Support SOA Watch Anti-War protests in Washington, DC and NYC SOAW 2.0
Guilty of Telling the Truth! SOA Watch Activists to Report to Federal Prison Five of the six human rights defenders who crossed in November 2008 onto the Fort Benning military base in protest against the continuing existence of the School of the Americas are going to start their prison sentences on March 9 and on March 11, 2009. Lou Wolf, who was sentenced to six months of house arrest and is already serving his sentence for his nonviolent witness against the violence of the School of the Americas.
At the same time, those who are responsible for the SOA torture manuals and for the training of known human rights abusers remain free and haven't even been charged for their crimes!
For the addresses and statements of the SOA 6, vist: www.SOAW.org/SOA6
Video Interview with Pablo Ruiz SOA Watch Latin America Communications Coordinator and torture survivor Pablo Ruiz joined the SOA Watch Encuentro and Lobby Days in Washington DC in February 2009. While in DC, he conducted this video interview.
The interview is the first part of a two part series production by the Real News Network about the campaign to close the School of the Americas. Part two includes updates from Colombia and an interview with SOA Watch organizer Vera Leone. To watch Part II, click here.
What better time than now... Join the Upcoming SOA Watch Delegations to Latin America!
May 31 - June 10, 2009: PARAGUAY The delegation to Paraguay will focus on the hope arising from the recent election of Fernando Lugo.
June 17-26, 2009: VENEZUELA The Venezuela delegation will look at what´s working and what isn´t in the Bolivarian revolution.
July 8-18, 2009: Hope Arising from the South - Retreat in Venezuela.
August 14-24, 2009: BOLIVIA The Bolivia delegation will focus on the hope and challenges of a new constitution.
October 9-18, 2009: CHILE The Chile delegation will focus on efforts to bring justice to Chile after the brutal Pinochet regime as well as the struggles of the Mapuche people to maintain their culture and traditions.
November 28 - December 6: COLOMBIA We will visit the Uraba region of Colombia and will make the connection between companies like U.S. based Chiquita Brands and the SOA/ WHINSEC training. No one ever comes back... unchanged! Peter DeMott ¡Presente!
Peter DeMott, a veteran peace activist and a former prisoner of conscience passed away after an accident falling from a tree. A Vietnam veteran, DeMott lived and worked with the late Philip Berrigan and Elizabeth McAlister at Baltimore's Jonah House as part of the Atlantic Life Communities before settling in Ithaca with his family. Our thoughts and prayers are with Ellen and their beautiful daughters.
In Loving Memory - Peter De Mott | January 6, 1947 - February 19, 2009
Bolivia's President slams the SOA/ WHINSEC for destabilizing Latin America. While talking about the role of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in a corruption scandal that is shaking Bolivia, President Evo Morales pointed to the School of the Americas as one of the main centers that trains Latin Americans to undermine their civilian leaders. Click here to read the Prensa Latin article.
Bolivia officially severed ties with the School of the Americas in February 2008, when Evo Morales sent a letter to the commandant of the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, in which he denounced the school and announced that Bolivia will no longer send its soldiers to be trained at the institution.
The SOA/WHINSEC has played a significant role in Bolivia's recent political history, Hugo Banzer Suarez, who ruled Bolivia from 1971-1978 under a brutal military dictatorship attended the school in 1956 and was later inducted into the school's "hall of fame" in 1988. In 2006, two former graduates of the SOA/WHINSEC, Generals Juan Veliz Herrera and Gonzalo Rocabado Mercado were arrested on charges of torture, murder and violation of the constitution for their responsibility in the death of 67 civilians in El Alto Bolivia during the "Gas Wars" of 2003.
| SOA/ WHINSEC Graduates in the News
 SOA graduate and former instructor (!) at the school, General Montoya was forced to resign as the head of the Colombian after a scandal about the killings of civilians by the military. However, instead of being charged for his crimes and his proven connections to paramilitaries, Gen. Montoya was named by Colombian president Uribe the ambassador to the Dominican Republic. Click here to read the article.
 Former Salvadoran Defense Minister General José Guillermo García, who received counterinsurgency training at the School of the Americas and is responsible for the killing of innocent people and human rights abuses, faces federal passport fraud charges in the United States. Click here to read the article.
Money Matters Please fund the campaign to close the School of the Americas (SOA/ WHINSEC) and to change oppressive U.S. foreign policy. SOA Watch's work wouldn't be possible without the financial support of the people who are active in the movement. Click here to contribute.
Anti-War Protests in Washington, DC and New York City A.N.S.W.E.R. will demand "From Iraq to Afghanistan to Palestine, Occupation is a Crime" and "We Need Jobs and Education, Not Wars and Occupation" in a March on the Pentagon on the sixth anniversary of the Iraq war: Saturday, March 21. Visit www.PentagonMarch.org for more information. 
United for Peace and Justice is planning a National Mobilization in New York City on April 4th 2009, stating that "It is Time to End the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, It is Time to Address the Economic Crisis by Cutting Military Spending." Visit www.UnitedForPeace.org for more information. 
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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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