On Sunday, November 17, the second full day of protests, over 10,000 protesters demanded the closing of the Western Hemispheric Institute for Security Cooperation (WHISC) (formerly the School of the Americas). Ninety-six activists engaged in acts of civil disobedience by illegally entering the Ft. Benning Army Base (where the school is located). At least eighty-eight people were arrested, most of them facing jail sentences of up to six months (many of those arrested at last year's protest have had to serve terms in prison). Elsewhere in solidarity actions, there was a march in Nicaragua, and a student strike in El Salvador. The SOA protests have taken place every year since 1990, and have grown considerably in the last few years.On Sunday, November 17, the second full day of protests, over 10,000 protesters demanded the closing of the Western Hemispheric Institute for Security Cooperation (formerly the School of the Americas). As the massive protests at Fort Benning come to a close, ninety-six activists engaged in acts of civil disobedience by illegally entering the Ft. Benning Army Base (where the school is located).
In one of the more colorful actions of the protest (or any protest), hundreds of puppeteers performed a street pageant following the funeral procession that honored the victims of state terrorism in Central and South America. The first contingent carried a giant blue puppet representing the "Mothers of the Disappeared." Following behind were protesters carrying bird puppets emblazoned with the names of the disappeared, those whose fates remain officially unaccounted for. After this came a contingent celebrating the current struggle of the Argentine people for economic and social liberty, led by a giant red articulated puppet representing the spirit of resistance. A third contingent arrived at the gates led by a giant puppet with a sunburst face with the slogan "A better world is possible." Accompanying the puppet were a phalanx of stilt walkers arrayed in bright yellow followed by yet more drummers.
Bringing up the rear of the pageant, a visible and vocal anarchist presence, waving red and black flags, called with spirit, along with the other marchers, for both the closure of the notorious School of the Americas and for people to "rise up and resist" the system of state terrorism. As the pageant approached the main gate of Ft. Benning, about 100 people staged a mass die-in where they lay down in front of the gates to symbolize the deaths of the thousands killed by SOA graduates in Central and South America. When police tried to arrest them, they got up and kept marching towards the checkpoint, where hundreds of people are rallying and chanting with drums.
At least 95 people were arrested, most of them facing jail sentences of up to six months (many of those arrested at last year's protest have had to serve terms in prison). Two protesters were arrested for cutting the lock on the gate to the base in an attempt to open the way for the whole march to enter. By the end of the day, the chain-link fence had been transformed into a shrine of crosses and flowers representing the victims of massacres committed by graduates of the school. One protestor, Karl Meyer, a leader with Catholic Workers, was arrested [full audio] for refusing to consent to the police metal detector scan and bag search which each and every protestor was subjected to prior to entry. 18 have been incarcerated in the local jail. The rest, including a 12-year-old child, remain detained, and are being 'processed' on the base. In solidarity with the arrestees, a boisterous crew of 20 circled the Muskogee County Jail with samba drums and a giant puppet.[ Photos/Story]
Elsewhere in solidarity actions, there was a march in Nicaragua, and a student strike in El Salvador. The SOA protests have taken place every year since 1990, and have grown exponentially in the last few years.
