On 20th Anniversary of Killings of 6 Jesuit Priests by US-Backed Salvadoran Forces, Thousands to Pro

[L. Coyote]

Source: Democracy Now

On 20th Anniversary of Killings of 6 Jesuit Priests by US-Backed Salvadoran Forces, Thousands to Protest “School of the Assassins” at Ft. Benning

Thousands are gathering at Fort Benning in Georgia this weekend for the annual protest to shut down the US Army training center dubbed by critics as the “School of the Assassins” for having trained some of the worst human rights violators in Latin America. This year’s protest will mark the twentieth anniversary of the murder of six Jesuit priests in El Salvador by the US-backed Salvadoran military. It comes days after the priests were posthumously bestowed El Salvador’s highest civilian award, marking the first time the Salvadoran government has honored the priests since their deaths. To talk about the priests and the overall state of Latin American affairs, we’re joined by Blase Bonpane, director of the Office of the Americas. A former Maryknoll priest, he has worked for more than four decades to promote human rights in Latin America.

Thousands of human rights activists are gathering at Fort Benning in Georgia this weekend for the annual protest to shut down the U.S. Army training center once known as the School of the Americas. The school, now known as the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, is used to train Latin American soldiers in combat, counterinsurgency and counter-narcotics. Critics have dubbed the training center the “School of the Assassins,” because some of its graduates have been responsible for some of the worst human rights abuses in Latin America.

This year’s protest will commemorate the 20th anniversary of the murder of six Jesuit priest in El Salvador by the US-backed Salvadoran military. The Jesuit priests were killed on November 16, 1989–20 years ago this week– when a military unit entered the Central American University campus and shot them to death. The priests’ housekeeper and her daughter were also killed in the attack.The Jesuits had been outspoken advocates for the poor and critics of human rights abuses committed by the ARENA government. Many of the soldiers involved in the murders were graduates of the School of the Americas at Fort Benning.

Earlier this week, in El Salvador, the Jesuit priests were bestowed the nation’s highest civilian award, marking the first time the Salvadoran government has honored the priests since their deaths. El Salvador’s defense minister announced the military is ready to ask for forgiveness and open its archives to a long-sought investigation.

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Read more: http://www.democracynow.org/2009/11/20/blase

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Documents confirm CIA knew Jesuit priests to be executed
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7047681

[L. Coyote]

1. El Salvador honors 6 Jesuits slain by army in 1989

El Salvador honors 6 Jesuits slain by army in 1989
By MARCOS ALEMAN (AP) – 4 days ago - http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i4MpbaMH2pl4hw6MnYpCptWREDpAD9C0T3MG0


SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — Six Jesuit priests killed by the army during El Salvador's civil war two decades ago were decorated with the country's highest honor Monday.

Mauricio Funes, El Salvador's first leftist president, called the decorations an act of atonement for an atrocity during the 1980-1992 war between leftist rebels and a U.S.-backed right-wing government.

He presented the National Order of Jose Matias Delgado to the families of the priests on the 20th anniversary of the massacre.

"It means lifting the dirty carpet of hypocrisy and starting to purge our home of our recent history," said Funes, whose election in March brought to power the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front, which fought for 12 years to overthrow U.S.-backed governments until laying down their arms and becoming a political party.

"For me, it means lifting the thick veil of darkness and lies to allow the light of truth and justice to enter," Funes said. .....

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[L. Coyote]

2. SOA Watch marks 20th anniversary of assassinations

SOA Watch marks 20th anniversary of assassinations
Demostrations set for this weekend in Columbus
By TIM CHITWOOD - enquirer.com - http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/fort_benning/story/915473.html


It was 6 a.m. on Nov. 16, 1989, when a gardener named Obdulio Ramos saw that six Jesuit priests and his wife and daughter had been gunned down by soldiers in El Salvador.

From these killings came the movement that 20 years later Columbus knows as “SOA Watch.” Eric LeCompte, one of the organizers of the annual protest held here every November to mark the anniversary of the assassinations, said 18 of the soldiers involved were graduates of the Fort Benning school once called “the School of the Americas.” It is now the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation.

Over the years the protest had drawn thousands to gather at the Army post’s Fort Benning Road gate to sing and dance, demonstrate and mourn. And each Sunday, the protest’s last day, some always cross onto Fort Benning, to be arrested for trespassing on federal property, typically facing three to six months in jail.

The protest began with Father Roy Bourgeois in 1990, but the birth of the movement is traced to that morning 20 years ago in El Salvador.

LeCompte said he is unsure how many will attend this year’s protest.

“I think because it’s the 20th anniversary, a lot of people are coming for the event,” he said. The Jesuits have 46 high schools and 28 universities, and delegates from each are expected to attend, he said.

... The demonstration has a central aim: Close the institute. But were the institute shut down today, the protests might still go on, as the movement wants to change U.S. policy in Central and South America. ...........

[L. Coyote]

3. Tens of Thousands Turn Out at School of Americas

Ending Torture School: Tens of Thousands Turn Out at School of Americas
Written by Press Release - 22 November 2009 17:03 - http://www.pacificfreepress.com/news/1/5091-ending-torture-school-tens-of-thousands-turn-out-at-school-of-americas.html


Four veteran human rights defenders crossed the line this morning to carry their witness against the School of Assassins towards where it is located inside Ft. Benning, GA: Nancy Gwin of Syracuse, NY; Ken Hayes of Austin, TX; Fr. Louis Vitale of Oakland, CA; and Michael Walli of Washington, DC.

Walli is continuing his protest by refusing to post bail and will remain locked up until their trial in January 2010. None of those responsible for SOA crimes have ever been investigated or held accountable, while now 290 peace and justice activists will have served prison and probation sentences of up to two years for their acts of nonviolent civil disobedience.

Nobel Peace Prize Nomination Announcement

Fr. Roy Bourgeois and SOA Watch were nominated this morning by the American Friends Service Committee for the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize for our sustained faithful nonviolent witness against the disappearances, torture and murder of hundreds of thousands of civilians (peasants, community and union organizers, clerics, missionaries, educators, and health workers) by foreign military personnel trained by the U.S. military at U.S. taxpayer expense at the School of the Americas at Fort Benning, Georgia.

This nomination is a recognition of the work of the thousands of human rights defenders like you ...............

[jasi2006]

4. We have done some good in the world, but the evil outweighs it. nt