November 18-21 Convergence, Vigil and Direct Action at Fort Benning, Georgia Mobilize your community to close the SOA! Support our Prisoners of Conscience Prisoner addresses on Page 5 November Vigil 2010 Street theater to close the SOA Why we return to the gates of Fort Benning, Georgia ...and our plans for Washington, DC November 2010 will mark the 20th anniversary of the vigil that brings together religious communities, students, veterans, community organizers, musicians, puppetistas and many others. The November Vigil to Close the School of the Americas at the gates of Fort Benning, Georgia will be held from November 18-21. The annual vigil is always held close to the anniversary of the 1989 massacre of Celia Ramos, her mother Elba and six Jesuit priests by SOA graduates at the University of Central America in El Salvador. The killing continues... so our resistance can’t stop. Graduates of the School of the Americas (renamed the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation) continue to use the skills taught at the school to wage a war against their own people. In Colombia, the SOA/ WHINSEC promotes “military solutions” that have Continued Terror in the Lives of Survivors from Argentina Page 6 April 2010: Human rights activists staged a street theater action and passed out fliers in front of the Capitol metro station in Washington, DC to remind hundreds of congressional staffers who passed by that the decisions they make on Capitol Hill cause death and suffering in Latin America. For more photos and tips on how to replicate this street theater, visit www.SOAW.org/theater Continued on Page 4 Looking Back to Move Ahead Todos Somos Arizona Page 7 Página 10 Mirando Atrás Para Seguir Adelante Página 11 Page/Página 2 Spring/ Primavera 2010 Keeping our hands on the plow and our eyes on the prize... Often we hear that the election of President Obama has not fulfilled the hope for change and that U.S. policy towards Latin America under the new administration has basically stayed the same as under President Bush. Yet it has never been those in government who’ve created the change we need -- that’s the task of grassroots movements like ours. We have to step up our resistance to the School of the Americas and to U.S. militarization in Latin America. It literally is a question of life and death. Consider taking your activism to the next level. If you organized a car-load for the Vigil last year, think about organizing a van or maybe even a bus this year. Consider hosting a film screening or a benefit party. Build new relationships. Join local coalitions to fight anti-immigrant legislation. Engage in nonviolent direct action! The possibilities are endless. This November, when we gather at the gates of Fort Benning to speak out and to commemorate the victims of SOA/ WHINSEC violence, we’re stepping up with plans for a mass mobilization to Washington, DC in April 2011. Get ready! Thank you so much for your support and for the important work you do - each step we take together brings us closer to shutting down the SOA/ WHINSEC once and for all and changing U.S. policy! Contents The position is based in Washi ngton, DC. To read the job des cription and to apply, visit www.SOAW.o rg/work Vol 15, No.2, Summer 2010 Why we return to the gates of Fort Benning, Georgia .................................................................. Street theater to close the SOA .................................................................................................... Leave a comment... ...................................................................................................................... News Briefs .................................................................................................................................. Resistance to militarization .......................................................................................................... Secure Communities? .................................................................................................................. Support our prisoners ................................................................................................................... You can build grassroots power ................................................................................................... Continued terror in the lives of Argentina Dirty War survivors ....................................................... Looking back to move ahead ....................................................................................................... CIA paid Colombian intelligence agency to spy on South American Embassies ......................... Interview with Ana Teresa Lozada on Colombia, women, war, and social movements ............... Father Roy Bourgeois’ Speaking Schedule .................................................................................. Thank you to the artists ................................................................................................................ Educate your community - order the SOA Watch DVD ................................................................ Todos Somos Arizona ................................................................................................................... Mirando Atrás Para Seguir Adelante ............................................................................................ Leave a Comment... Visit the Presente webpage at www.SOAW.org/presente, read past and current articles and leave your comments. The comments section on the webpage is a tool for people who are active in the campaign to close the School of the Americas to discuss and share feedback about the articles. Here are some comments and excerpts of comments from the Presente webpage: A Challenge to Institutional Racism One New York activist group transforms how they approach their work by Nada Khader, Presente issue Fall 2009 www.SOAW.org/institutionalracism Comment by Robin Pavesi, October 13, 2009 The statement “It is easy for white folk to preach non-violence because their communities are not the ones being targeted by capitalism, militarism and war.” bothers me because it is not true. Everyone who lives in the United States is targeted by capitalism! I’m white and it annoys Work at SOA Watch SOA Watch seeks an experienced and bilingual, full-time National Organizer to work in collaboration with the grassroots movement and other staff to engage in field org anizing, campaign and event plann ing. me every time I’m lumped together with “whites” and how easy it is for them and how we have done this or that against “people of color”. I am a human with struggles of my own. My struggles may be different than another persons, but each person is unique. I think ending racism includes treating people as people and stop separating us by color! Comment by Moe, February 14, 2010 … It is important to understand that although race is not a biological reality but rather a social construct, it does have real life ramifications. Communities of colour disproportionately bear the brunt of capitalism and state violence, as this article points out, although not exclusively... Colombian Bases for Training and Operations by John Lindsay-Poland www.SOAW.org/bases Comment by James T. Dette, June 02, 2009 Colombia has been the victim of its own military, an ineffective government, an international drug trade, and internal terrorism on a scale not equaled in the Western Hemisphere. Yet in 2006 alone, 80% of the $728 million of the aid we spent in Colombia went to the military. All it has accomplished is aiding and abetting the paramilitary groups who are responsible for the murder of union and cooperative leaders and their supporters on a regular basis. Now we want to build a base there. For what? Instead, we should stop funding brutality. When will we stop deluding ourselves that peace can be attained through military intervention? Page 1 Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 3 Page 3 Page 5 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 7 Page 13 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Página 10 Página 11 Comment by Valerie, November 12, 2009 It’s kind of stupid to fight drug traffic at the supply end. Who in the U.S. is funding an end to the demand? Countries produce cocaine because there’s a demand for it... Petition to President Barack Obama by SOA Watch, Presente issue Spring 2009 www.SOAW.org/obamapetition Comment by Lori, February 12, 2010 I won’t vote for Obama again or support Clinton unless they condemn the current Honduran government and the recent coup and move to close the SOA. The cold war is over. It’s time to be tolerant of differences and let the people have what they need and wantsocial change and equity... Join the conversation at www.SOAW.org/presente www.SOAW.org/presente Page/Página 3 Movement Voices Resistance to Militarization People’s movements in the Americas are working together to confront U.S. militarization and to shut down the School of the Americas (SOA/ WHINSEC). Voices from participants in the June 21-26 SOA Watch Encuentro in Venezuela: Honduras Attacks Continue The U.S. Pentagon is resuming full military cooperation with the repressive Honduran military, despite more than 4,000 human rights violations (including more than 40 political assassinations) since the June 2009 SOA graduate-led military coup. The illegitimate Honduran government and its paramilitary partners continue to attack members of the pro-democracy movement. Human rights workers, including Jesuit priest Ismael Moreno, SJ (Padre Melo) are receiving death threats, along with journalists, movement leaders and others - - threats made real by periodic targeted assassinations. Chile Repression Against the Mapuche in Temuco On May 13, 2010 hundreds of family members, friends and supporters of the Mapuche political prisoners in Temuco staged a peaceful demonstration that was violently dispersed by state forces who arrested 18 people, including children, women and elderly. Among those arrested was Waikilaf Cadin Calfunao, son of Juan Paillalef and community leader Juana Calfunao. Juana has been detained already four years in Temuco this time -- during one of her previous arrests she miscarried a child due to the torture she sustained in custody. The Mapuche resisted the colonial Spanish invasion and still do not recognize the borders imposed by the states of Argentina and Chile. Chile is second only to Colombia in numbers of WHINSEC students, and its security forces are routinely deployed against Mapuche struggles in the southern part of the country. Betha Oliva, Committee of Relatives of the Disappeared and Detained, Honduras “The SOA graduate led coup in Honduras underlines the need for a coordinated peoples response throughout all the Americas.” Pablo Ruiz, Observadores de la SOA, Chile “The only way to stop militarization and the abuse of human rights in our America is for the people of the north and south to work together and make their voices heard. Our only strength is our unity.” Colleen Kattau, SOA Watch Central New York United States Christy Ayala, Centro de Intercambio y Solidaridad El Salvador “Increased U.S. access to military bases in Colombia underscores the urgency and necessity of people’s creative resistance to violence in the Americas.” “It is our right to decide “The U.S. military our present and future agreement with Cowithout intervention.” lombia is rooted on interventionism. It is an attempt to counter the regional integration efforts.” Juan Diego Castro Leon, SOA Watch Southwestern Ontario, Canada For more information about the Encuentro, visit www.SOAW.org/encuentro “Secure Communities”? A deportation program, deceivingly called “Secure Communities,” is targeting immigrant communities in the United States by Sarahi Uribe, organizer, NDLON Many immigrants that come to the United States from Latin America are victims of SOA graduates who carry out violence against civilian populations in their own countries. SOA Watch recognizes that turning to military and police “solutions” at home or abroad especially targets the working class and communities of color, because of our inherently racist and classist systems. Imagine having every U.S. jail in the country serve as pipeline for deportation for anyone simply charged and arrested for anything as minor as traffic offenses. Scary, right? Even scarier is that this massive deportation proContinued on Page 12 Page/Página 4 Spring/ Primavera 2010 November 19-21, 2010 - November Vigil to Close the SOA Why we return to Fort Benning, Georgia... and our plans for Washington, DC in April 2011 Continued from Page 1 Our work has unfortunately not got- tural, working-class communities. ten any easier and U.S. militarization in Latin America is accelerating. The The annual November Vigil plays continued operation of the SOA and a significant role in our movement. the expansion Just as the Mothers of New layers of activists are the Disappeared in Arof US military bases in Latin gentina have sustained joining our movement, inIn 2009, SOA graduates overthrew the America are cluding numerous youth and their vigil at the Plaza democratically-elected government of examples of the de Mayo in Buenos students from multinational, Aires, we continue to Honduras in a military coup, to pre- ongoing threats working-class communities. commemorate the peovent a poll that would have asked if of a U.S. forHondurans wanted a popular consti- eign policy that ple who have been martutional referendum to take place. A is using the military to exert control tyred by graduates of the School of the brutal repression of the Honduran pro- over the people and the resources in Americas at the gates of Fort Benning, democracy resistance continues. the Americas. Georgia, and we continue to demand justice. Over the past two decades, SOA Watch organizer and torture surSOA Watch has vivor Hector Aristizábal writes about grown from the November Vigil as “not just a proa handful of test, but a distinctive place of healing people, fast- for us as individuals and as a culture. ing for justice at the gates of Every year at the SOA Watch vigil a Fort Benning sudden village is created. Elders come into one of the with groups such as Veterans for Peace most dynamic and The Wailing Grandmothers, youth c r o s s - c o n t i - cross the country in buses from collegnental move- es and high schools, and children are ments against brought by their conscientious parents. militarization. As this village is created, the grounds Thousands have of Fort Benning are transformed from been educated a place that trains assassins to a place and mobilized of initiation into political awareness.” to speak out against U.S. Taking our Resistance to foreign policy and to engage in Washington, DC in 2011 nonviolent direct action. New Like all movements for social justice, layers of activ- we have to constantly evaluate, adjust ists are joining and advance our strategies and tactics. our movement, including nu- Following extensive discussions in the merous youth movement, the SOA Watch Council decided, after weighing all the feedback and students Commemorate the dead and stand up for justice Photo by Tom Bottolene from multiculContinued on Page 15 killed thousands of peasants, unionists, religious workers and others who speak out for the rights of the poor, and have displaced almost 5 million people. Colombia Death Threats against Peace Communities Peace Communities like San José de Apartadó continue to receive a growing number of threats from paramilitaries. Last year Somos Defensores registered 125 cases of threats against human rights defenders, 32 of whom were subsequently assassinated. A fourth paramilitary chief confirmed that his forces supported Uribe’s 2002 election. More than 10,000 Colombian soldiers have received training at the SOA/ WHINSEC. The Colombian army has the worst human rights record in the hemisphere and consistently collaborates with the paramilitaries. Nearly five million people have been internally displaced by the conflict in Colombia that is fueled by U.S. policy. Panama / France Noriega Extradited from the U.S. to France Former Panamanian dictator and SOA graduate Manuel Noriega, who has been imprisoned in the United States since 1989, was extradited to France, where he is facing money laundering charges. Paraguay Controversy Over Troop Deployment In May 2010, Paraguay declared a state of emergency and deployed military troops and extra police in northern Paraguay to crack down on a rebel group that calls itself the Paraguayan People’s Army (EPP). Paraguayan human rights groups fear that these measures lead to human rights abuses by state agents, while restricting the civil and political rights of individuals. www.SOAW.org/presente You Can Build Grassroots Power court date in January, was arrested by federal marshals and is awaiting his trial while in jail in Georgia. Letters of support written to Nancy, Ken, Louis and Michael would be much appreciated and can be sent to the following addresses: Four SOA Watch activists are currently incarcerated in federal prisons across the country. Nancy, Ken, Louis and Michael - the ‘SOA 4’ - were arrested by the military during the 2009 November Vigil, when they crossed onto Fort Benning to carry our message that the School of the Americas must be closed onto the base. Their nonviolent civil disobedience action was an act of love and solidarity with the people of the Americas. In January 2010, federal judge Mallon Faircloth sentenced Ken, Louis and Nancy to six months in prison - the maximum allowed for the charge of tresspass. The extremely harsh sentences are intended to deter others from following the example of the ‘SOA 4.’ Michael, who resisted the judges orders to voluntarily return to Columbus for the Page/Página 5 As we prepare for this year’s vigil in Ft. Benning and begin preparations for our event next year in Washington, we turn to you for help. Our work would not be possible without the extensive efforts of grassroots supporters such as you who work tirelessly behind the scenes in the streets of Columbus, in the halls of Congress, and on the ground in Latin America. Right now the movement also needs another kind of support – your financial contribution to SOA Watch. Nancy Gwin #94046-020 FCI Danbury Federal Correctional Institution Route 37 Danbury, CT 06811 When we say that this is a grassroots movement, we mean it. Last month we added several cosponsors to our bill in Congress after supporters from across the country carried out a series of grassroots lobby actions on Capitol Hill. Our fundraising comes from the grassroots as well – over 90% of the funding for our program work and our events come from small contributions by individual donors. We need you to add your name to those who contribute to our movement. Please donate today. Kenneth Wayne Hayes #94045-020 FCI Fort Worth Federal Correctional Institution P.O. Box 15330 Fort Worth, TX 76119 Louis Vitale #25803-048 FCI Lompoc Federal Correctional Institution 3600 Guard Road Lompoc, CA 93436 For twenty years, SOA Watch has been at the forefront of the Latin America solidarity movement, working for peace and justice in the Americas. We couldn’t have done it without you, and we don’t plan on stopping until we win. Please invest in the change we need in this world by making a contribution in support of our upcoming events. Thank you. Michael Walli c/o SOA Watch PO Box 4566 Washington, DC 20017 Please Clip and return this fo rm today, or go online to www.SOAW.o rg/donate to make a donation to SOA Wa tch! You can jail the resister, but you can’t jail the resistance! See you in November at the gates of Fort Benning, Georgia! Yes, I want to close the SOA and build the movement for justice in the Americas with a donation of: $15 $25 $50 $100 $250 Other ____ I want to become a sustainer via credit or debit card: $5/month $10/month $15/month Other ____ Name: ________________________________________ Address: ______________________________________ City: __________________ State: ____ Zip: ________ E-mail: _______________________________________ My check or money order, payable to “SOA Watch,” is enclosed. My check for a tax-deductible gift of $100 or more, made out to the “A.J. Muste Institute / SOA Watch,” is enclosed.* Please charge my contribution to my: American Express Discover MasterCard Visa Card No. _________________________________ Security Code: _____ Expiration Date: ____ / _____ Signature: ______________________ * SOA Watch is not a 501(c)3 org and due to restrictions by our fiscal sponsor, donations under $100 are not tax-deductible. Clip and mail form to: SOA Watch, PO Box 4566, Washington, DC 20017 or donate online at www.SOAW.org/donate Page/Página 6 Spring/ Primavera 2010 Continued terror in the lives of Argentina Dirty War survivors by Theresa Cameranesi and Adrianne Aron research and documentation of the crimes of her oppressors, Patricia had been able to prosecute nine of them. Last year she had the satisfaction of seeing six of them convicted and sentenced by a court of law. The verdict vindicated Patricia and her co-plaintiffs. When it was announced she was able “To honor the memory of The violent crime is being to say, “You see, we were investigated by area police as this strong woman, we will right. That was a crime.” a simple robbery gone awry continue on this path,” she But Domingo Marcellini, the and 2 young men have admit- added. powerful SOA-trained ted to the kill“If this a message against witnesses so as Chief of Intelligence, ing. However, to silence them, then the witnesses too have escaped prosecution. Silvia Suppo’s family and a message: we spoke out in the past, we Too ill to stand trial, died without ever other Dirty War speak out now and we’ll keep on speaking he receiving the judgwitnesses and out despite these painful and terrible things.” ment of the court or survivors are the punishment meted not convinced. out to those who committed These are not idle words. They point to the hour of the atrocities, including atrociAfter decades of tireless killing (family stores do not generally have money in the till at that time), the closeness of the murder to the anniversary date of the Argentine coup, March 24, and the horrible violence of the act. Silvia was slashed and stabbed 9 times. Patricia Isasa was a 16 year-old high school student in 1976 when henchmen of a brutal coup regime disappeared her from her home in Santa Fe, Argentina. For more than two years she was illegally detained and miserably tortured, but unlike the majority of her fellow prisoners, Patricia was not killed. More than 30 years later she was able to bring 6 of her torturers to trial, and this past December heard them condemned to between 19 and 22 years each, convicted of crimes against humanity. Patricia is well known to the SOA Watch movement, having spoken eloquently about her struggles and experiences numerous times at the gates of Ft. Benning during the yearly November Vigil, and also at several SOAW Strategy meetings, in the halls of Congress, and around the U.S. to many grassroots groups and universities. However, today, at 50, she laments the fate of one of her torturers, the SOA graduate Col. Domingo Marcellini, who died in March 2010 without ever standing trial. And even more painfully, Patricia and her fellow survivors grieve in the aftermath of the suspicious early morning murder of an important witness in Patricia’s trial. Silvia Suppo was in the beginning stages of another trial related to the disappearance of her then-fiancé, but she was stabbed to death under suspicious circumstances the morning of March 29th, inside her store in Rafaela, Argentina, where some of the accused also still reside. Isasa remarked about the murder of her concentration camp companion, “If this a message against witnesses so as to silence them, then the witnesses too have a message: we spoke out in the past, we speak out now and we’ll keep on speaking out despite these painful and terrible things.” Survivors in Argentina are working for justice ties against the young Patricia Isasa and Silvia Suppo. When the other criminals on Patricia’s list were convicted, she was able to observe a justice system back on its feet: “They had a defense and were imprisoned in a reasonably decent place, which is something I obviously did not have. They had all the rights that they took away from me. This gives me a dignity, and points out the difference between who I am and who they are. I would never do to them what they did. It’s a crime.” But now the death of Suppo has shaken many of the witnesses. Some now live under 24 hour police protection. All Continued on Page 13 Photo by Linda Panetta www.SOAW.org/presente Page/Página 7 Looking Back to Move Ahead by Simón Sedillo I was asked to write a piece about people of color organizing to attend the 2009 SOA Watch vigil and about our plans for 2010. I believe everything happens for a reason. I am writing this from Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas. I find it serendipitous simply because when we talk about people of color organizing, I think it is always important to remind ourselves about painful pasts, in order to remove any blinders we are wearing in the present. Haskell University was originally a U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs Native American “Boarding School.” Secretary of War John C. Calhoun set up the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1824, which became the War Department’s main agency for dealing with Native Americans until 1849 when it was transferred to the Department of the Interior. The Boarding School program was developed by a U.S. Army Captain by the name of Richard Henry Pratt In 1879. At the time, the Army was concluding that assimilation into white settler society by most Native Americans was impossible, because they simply would not “give up their traditions and ways of life.” So Richard Pratt developed a strategy he called “kill the Indian, save the man.” The idea was probably stolen from the various Christian boarding school programs developed during the Spanish occupation of the Americas. The main idea behind Pratt’s program was that Native families would be forced to send their children to live in these so-called “boarding schools.” The ugly truth is that all over the United States, Native children were kidnapped by U.S. soldiers, loaded into freight train box cars and sent to concentration camps all over the country. Haskell still has the old “rail trail” distinctly marked at the edge of campus. As you can very well imagine, the boys were trained to be soldiers and the girls were trained to be domestic servants. On a national average eight out of ten girls and at least half the boys were sexually assaulted. Overwhelming evidence shows that less than half the children who originally attended Haskell as a boarding school, survived their experience at all. Continued on Page 14 Illustration by Robert Trujillo CIA Paid Colombian Intelligence Agency to Spy on South American Embassies by Susana Pimiento, Fellowship of Reconciliation On May 4, 2010 the Colombian Senate held a special hearing on the illegal activities of the Colombian intelligence Agency (DAS). Such activities have included not only illegal surveillance, but a series of acts that amount to State terrorism, such as death threats, kidnappings, harassment of children, blackmailing and fram- ing of Supreme Court Justices, opposition leaders, journalists and human rights defenders. DAS even created a manual for how to threaten the children of their targets. At the hearing opposition senator Gustavo Petro unveiled the alleged role of United States in one of these operations, citing official documents. Under the code name “Operacion Bahía” (Bay Operation), an illegal operation in 2007 and 2008 was directed not by the Colombian intelligence agency, but by the US. The operation targeted diplomatic representatives from Colombian neighbors from “all the Latin American left,” including Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Cuba. Similar operations were undertaken under the code names “Salomon”, “Fenix” and “Condor.” The episode is likely to have an impact on stability in South America. It clearly shows Colombian willingness to act as trampoline from which Washington launches illegal surveillance activities. How then can either government be trusted when they claim that the US-Colombia military base agreement is not going to be used against Colombia’s neighbors? Page/Página 10 Spring/ Primavera 2010 Todos Somos Arizona Un programa de deportaciones, engañosamente llamado “Comunidades Seguras” (Secure Communities), apunta a las comunidades de inmigrantes en Estados Unidos. a cualquier persona bajo “sospecha razonable” de estar indocumentada. Numerosos inmigrantes que han llegado a Estados Unidos Traducción: le pueden detener en la calle sin más motivo que el tener la piel provenientes de América Latina son víctimas de egresados oscura o hablar español. La Ley SB de la Escuela de las Américas (School of Americas SOA), 1070 convierte el odio racial en legisquienes perpetran actos de violencia contra las poblaciones lación, trastoca la unidad nacional y es la legislación más abiertamente racista civiles de sus propios países. de tiempos recientes. La ley es una Dicho programa es especialmente extensión de programas llevados a cabo Imagínese que cada cárcel en Estados alarmante en un momento en el que las entre la policía y el ICE, que coloca la Unidos sirva como un conducto para alianzas definidas entre la policía y el aplicación del derecho de inmigración deportar a alguien, simplemente al hab- ICE han desembocado en la crisis de en manos de las autoridades locales. er sido inculpado y arrestado por una derechos La nueva ley de ofensa tan menor como una infracción humanos SOA/ WHINSEC y políticas de Arizona es el de tráfico. Es asustador, ¿verdad? Más que atravieinmigración injustas, como el pro- resultado directo asustador resulta que este programa de sa Arizona grama de deportaciones “Comuni- de la transferendeportaciones masivo se llame “Cohoy en día. cia de poder, a munidades Seguras”, y el que ya esté El Estado dades Seguras”, forman parte del las autoridades siendo implementado a la velocidad del de Arizona mismo sistema racista sustentado en locales, de lo vértigo sin que la mayoría del público es uno de que debería ser, la violencia y la dominación. se entere. los primexclusivamente, eros lugares una responsabiliA partir del 11 de septiembre y desde piloto para este tipo de dad federal, el derecho inmigratola creación del Departamento de programas, haciendo rio. Seguridad Nacional (Department of alarde, como lo hace, de Homeland Security), la proliferación de contar con algunos de Diversas comunidades en todo el alianzas entre fuerzas de policía locales los primeros programas país están exigiendo al Presidente y el Servicio de Inmigración y Control policía-ICE, así como Obama que dé por terminadas las de Aduanas de Estados Unidos (Immicon el mayor número de desastrosas alianzas entre la policía gration and Customs Enforcement ICE) ellos. Bajo las apariencias y la ICE, y que además emita un dehan comandado un asombroso aumento de que el gobierno federal creto presidencial para anular la Ley de detenciones y deportaciones en los hace todo lo que puede por SB1070 en Arizona. Tan sólo la Estados Unidos, a la vez que van crecumplir con la ley de inmisemana pasada, grupos dedicados ando una grave preocupación en torno gración, el sheriff Arpaio ha a los derechos civiles, la justicia a los derechos civiles y las garantías desencadenado un régimen penal y los derechos de inmiprocesales. Hoy en día, estas alianzas de terror sobre las comunigración, en 14 ciudades, parestán siendo sistematizadas, formalizadades de color en la ciudad ticiparon en el lanzamiento das y promovidas en forma agresiva de Phoenix, Arizona. de la campaña “Descubra por el Servicio de Inmigración y la verdad de las colaboraControl de Aduanas de Estados Unidos El 23 de abril de 2010 fue un ciones Policía-ICE” ICE. La administración de Obama ha triste día para Arizona, y un hito (“Uncover the anunciado planes para que, de aquí a sumamente peligroso para el resto 2013, a través del Programa de Comudel país. La gobernadora de Arizona nidades Seguras (Secure Communities promulgó la Ley SB1070, legaliProgram), en cada cárcel del país se zando, de hecho, el perfilamiento racial proceda a verificar el estatus migratorio en aquel Estado. La ley de todos los individuos arrestados. requiere que la autoridad local interrogue por Sarahi Uribe Truth on Police-ICE Collaborations”). Con ruedas de prensa, manifestaciones y conferencias políticas conocidas como ‘teach-ins’ en todo el país, todos elevaron una voz de protesta: “No más Arizonas.” En la capital de la nación, concejales del Distrito de Columbia tomaron una firme postura, al introducir, en forma unánime, un decreto de ley que rechaza su participación en el llamado “Programa Comunidades Seguras”---creando un precedente que ha ido cobrando apoyo, velozmente, en otras ciudades interesadas en hacer lo mismo. SOA/ WHINSEC y políticas de inmigración injustas, como el programa de deportaciones “Comunidades Seguras”, forman parte del mismo sistema racista sustentado en la violencia y la dominación. Nos aliamos con las personas más afectadas por la violencia de la SOA, y con sus familias, en nuestro esfuerzo por alcanzar un mundo mejor. www.SOAW.org/presente Page/Página 11 Mirando Atrás Para Seguir Adelante por Simón Sedillo Me invitaron a escribir algo sobre la gente de color que se organizaba para asistir a la vigilia realizada por el Observatorio de la Escuela de las Américas (SOA Watch) en 2009 y sobre nuestros planes para el 2010. Creo que las cosas pasan por algo. Escribo estas líneas desde la Universidad de las Naciones Indias de Haskell en Lawrence, Kansas. Me parece una grata casualidad simplemente porque cuando hablamos de gente de color que se organiza, es importante recordarnos de los pasados dolorosos para quitarnos cualquier anteojera que usemos en el presente. Originalmente, la Universidad Haskell fue un “Internado” de Americanos Nativos administrado por la Oficina de Asuntos Indios (BIA). Establecida por el Secretario de Guerra John C. Calhoun en 1824, la BIA era la agencia principal del Departamento de Guerra para lidiar con los indígenas hasta1849, cuando fue transferida al Departamento del Interior. gramas de internados católicos durante la ocupación española de las Américas. La idea principal tras el proyecto de Pratt era obligar a las familias nativas a enviar a sus hijos e hijas a vivir en estos llamados “internados”. Haskell, la base militar del Fuerte Leavenworth sirve como otro recordatorio constante de una historia atrincherada y tenebrosa, una historia oficial de la devaluación humana a través de la criminalización. El Fuerte era el epicentro de la expansión del Ejército en las tierras indígenas del Oeste. La trayectoria de estas instituciones demuestra, sin lugar a dudas, que el gobierno de Esta- La fea verdad es que por todas partes de Estados Unidos, las y los niños nativos fueron secuestrados por los soldados estadounidenses, Aquí empieza la historia de la criminalsubidos a los ización de la juventud pobre por el gobierno vagones de de Estados Unidos. Hoy en día, las y los trenes de carga jóvenes empobrecidos de los barrios urbanos y enviados a del país viven una nueva encarnación de la campos de concentración a lo misma devaluación humana sistemática. largo del país. El programa del Internado fue Aún ahora se ve distintamente el dos Unidos llevó a cabo prácticas desarrollado en 1879 por un capi- trazo de la vieja vía de tren en las genocidas, y que su manera de tán del Ejército de Estados Unijustificar dichas prácticas era afueras del campus de Haskell. dos llamado Richard Henry Pratt. Como se pueden imaginar, los criminalizar oficialmente el acto En aquel entonces, el Ejército niños fueron entrenados para ser de ser indígena. estaba llegando a la conclusión soldados y las niñas para ser emque la asimilación a la sociedad pleadas domésticas. Un promedio Aquí empieza la historia de la de colonos blancos de la mayoría nacional de ocho de cada diez criminalización de la juventud de los Americanos Nativos era niñas, y por lo menos la mitad de pobre por el gobierno de Estados imposible porque estos simpleUnidos. Hoy en día, las y los los niños sufrieron de agresión mente se negaron a “renunciar jóvenes empobrecidos de los barsexual. Pruebas contundentes a sus tradiciones y maneras de rios urbanos del país viven una demuestran que ni siquiera la vivir.” Por eso, Richard Pratt mitad de los niños y niñas que in- nueva encarnación de la misma desarrolló una estrategia dedevaluación humana sistemática. gresaron al internado de Haskell nominada “Mata al Indio, Salva Las comunidades negras, moresobrevivió a la experiencia. al Hombre.” Es probable que la nas, amarillas, inmigrantes, idea haya sido robado de los pro- Situado a apenas 49 km de pobres, y sí, nativas-americanas que siguen vivas y vigentes hoy en día en Estados Unidos, tienen poco acceso a los servicios básicos y elementales. Esto implica, también, una falta de acceso a los aviones, barcos y camiones que inundan a sus comunidades con armas y droga. La vieja estrategia ahora se extiende a la criminalización de la pobreza, de la juventud y de cualquier forma de disensión. La única diferencia es que en lugar de enviar a los jóvenes a los “internados” por la fuerza, la estrategia es enviarlos, ya criminalizados, a prisión. Los Estados Unidos de América encarcela a más de sus propios ciudadanos que cualquier otro país del mundo. Y el encarcelamiento de gente de color de las comunidades pobres está totalmente fuera de proporción. Día con día, se aumenta el número de prisiones privadas en el país ––prisiones operadas para sacar ganancias. ¿Cómo se justifica un sistema que encarcela a sus ciudadanos con fines lucrativos? Esta versión actualizada de la estrategia para criminalizar y “cambiar” a la juventud de color sigue cosechando violencia en nuestras comunidades. Por eso pensamos que es importante que las y los jóvenes de color del mundo tomen un papel activo en cerrar la SOA y el Fuerte Leavenworth y el Fuerte Page/Página 12 Spring/ Primavera 2010 Mirando Atrás Para Seguir Adelante Huachuca. Desde su perspectiva en la línea de frente de la guerra desatada contra ellos, la lista de lugares, instituciones e industrias que contribuyen a la criminalización y devaluación de sus comunidades es interminable. cha actitud. Si estaban prestando atención, tal vez se fijaron en algunas de nuestras maneras creativas de transmitir un mensaje que puede ayudar a cerrar la SOA. A veces los canales de televisión y los periódicos dan la impresión que la gente que se viste y actúa El noviembre pasado, es posible como nosotros es solo una banda que ustedes se dieran cuenta de la de delincuentes. Pero sabemos presencia en la vigilia de muchos que ustedes del SOA Watch ya jóvenes de piel negra y morena saben quienes son los verdaderos que traían gorras de beisbol de criminales. Ustedes verán cada lado, pantalones caídos y muvez más jóvenes de color en las puertas del Fuerte Benning, hasta que todos juntos cerremos la SOA. Ojalá no nos veamos ahí durante mucho más tiempo y que empecemos a vernos en todos los demás frentes donde haya injusticias para combatir. No nos olvidemos de nuestra historia, mientras fijamos un tercer ojo, tan limpio como un parabrisas recién lavado, en el presente. La gente de color joven ha sido y sigue siendo criminalizada, no por ser malvada o malnacida, sino porque siempre ha sido hermosa, poderosa, creativa e implacable en resistir la opresión y en llegar a la primera línea de batalla de los movimientos que compartimos. Cuando nos vean, aunque les parezca que somos ruidosos, hasta estridentes, simplemente sonrían, porque todos sabemos que no podemos ganar esta lucha sin estar el uno con el otro. “Secure Communities”? Continued from Page 3 gram is called “Secure Communities” and its already being implemented at breakneck speed without most of the public knowing. Since September 11 and since the formation of the Department of Homeland Security, the explosion of local police and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) partnerships have driven a staggering increase in detention and deportations in the United States while creating serious civil rights and due process concerns. Today, these partnerships are being systemized, formalized, and aggressively promoted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The Obama administration has announced plans to have every jail in the United States check the immigration status of arrested individuals by the year 2013 through the Secure Communities Program. This program is particularly alarming at a time when its clear police-ICE partnerships resulted in the human rights crisis in Arizona today. The state of Arizona is one of the first testing grounds for these programs, boasting some of the first and also the highest number of police-ICE programs. Notably, the federal government empowered Sheriff Arpaio with the largest partnership. Under the guise of immigration enforcement on behalf of the federal government, Sheriff Arpaio unleashed a reign of terror on communities of color in Phoenix, Arizona. cent memory. The bill is an extension of police-ICE programs like “Secure Communities” that put immigration enforcement into local hands. Arizona’s new law is the direct result of the federal government’s reckless empowerment of local enforcement agencies to enforce what should be an exclusive federal responsibility, immigration law. April 23, 2010 was a sad day The SOA/ WHINSEC and the unjust Communifor Arizona immigration policies like the “Secure ties across and a terribly Communities” deportation program the coundangerous try are are parts of the same racist system of moment for demandviolence and domination. the rest of our ing that country. AriPresident zona’s governor signed SB 1070 into Obama terminate the dangerous and law, effectively making it legal to ra- disastrous police-ICE partnerships cially profile in the state. The bill re- and that he also issue an executive quires local law enforcement to ques- order to nullify SB 1070 in Arizona. tion anyone they have “reasonable Just last week, civil rights, criminal suspicion” of being undocumented. justice, and immigrant rights groups Translation: you could be pulled over in 14 cities participated in the launch for no other reason than that you are of the “Uncover the Truth on Policebrown-skinned or speak Spanish. SB ICE Collaborations” campaign. In 1070 codifies hatred into law, disrupts press conferences, rallies, and teachnational unity, and constitutes the ins across the country they all cried most blatantly racist legislation in re- out “No more Arizonas.” In the na- tion’s capitol, councilmembers in the District of Columbia took a strong stance by unanimously introducing a bill that rejects their participation in the so-called “Secure Communities program”---creating a precedent that is quickly drawing support from others cities interested in doing the same. The SOA/ WHINSEC and the unjust immigration policies like the “Secure Communities” deportation program are parts of the same racist system of violence and domination. We ally ourselves with those most affected by SOA violence and their families in our effort to create a better world. www.SOAW.org/presente Page/Página 13 Interview with Ana Teresa Lozada on Colombia, women, war, and social movements by Chris Knestrick of the Christian Peacemaker Team this law are starting judicial processes against recognized social leaders in the region. Furthermore, the paramilitaries continue to operate under other names and ordinary people know this. For example, in Barrancabermeja there The demobilization process that started were over 145 people selectively assasdispute over the territory. This dissinated last year. There are no massain 2005 was a process that was done pute has caused the dispossession and cres but control continues to exist at the behind the backs of communities in displacement [of poor and marginalized economic, political, and social levels. the region. It has not been an open people] from lands [in order that more There are extortion, threats, and pamprocess for the communities, and it is powerful people might gain] minerals phlets given out with names of those not known how many paramilitaries and natural wealth that we have. to be killed. There is no policy This has led to the presence of of dismantling the paramilitar“...the paramilitaries continue to operate ... illegal armed groups and the ies. These armed actors have in Barrancabermeja there were over 145 increased militarization by the helped to facilitate the entry of state armed forces in the area. people selectively assassinated last year. [multinational corporations] by At one point, there were the ...These armed actors have helped to facilitate removing the farmers from their guerrillas in the urban areas of land and doing the dirty work the entry of [multinational corporations] by the municipalities but now the that the government would not paramilitaries are patrolling, removing the farmers from their land...” be able do. in spite of the demobilization process. The demobilization The people here in Barrancabermeja there are and where they are. Furtheris a proposal that the Colombian state live in poverty despite all the economic more, the victims began to be charged called the “law of justice and peace,” activity we have here. There was the with crimes and [began to be regarded but it is not a law of justice, or peace. oil boom but the people who benefited as] the perpetrators [instead of vicIt has been a process of impunity [i.e., were not from the city. The beneficiatims.] The organizations identified eliminating any sort of consequence for ries from the resources in the regions paramilitaries and in some cases have those who have committed violent acts] are large multinational corporations and generated judicial processes. Now and legalizes the process of forgiving the people who have benefited from Continued on Page 15 Ana Teresa Lozada is part of the Popular Women’s Organization (OFP), an organization that is defending human rights and encourages women to transform social reality and to reconstruct their own social fabric and civil society. What is the political context that you are working in? And what does this mean for women? The political, social, and economic development of the region is very difficult and complex. First, I am going give us some historical context to ground the conversation that will enable us—women and communities—to say how we are currently living. Barrancabermeja and the Magdalena Medio region [have] lived for many years with different forms of violence. The armed conflict has its roots in deep social inequalities, such as the Continued terror in the lives of Argentina Dirty War survivors Continued from Page 6 recall the 2006 kidnapping and disappearance of another witness, Mario Lopez, soon after he gave witness in a trial in Buenos Aires. The unexplained murder grieves Suppo’s former companions, and they particularly point out her terrible sufferings and her strength when resisting her tortures, and her courage in proceeding with the trials and recognizing those responsible. In the streets of Santa Fe province, inside the human rights and social justice organizations, and in Argentine primary and secondary schools, the name of Silvia Suppo will start to be learned as synonymous with a permanent struggle against impunity, against forgetting the past, and against staying silent in the face of state oppression. And as Patricia Isasa vows, “To honor the memory of this strong woman, we will continue on this path.” Visit www.SOAW.org/presente to read a previous interview with Patricia Isasa the armed actors—in [the case of the Magdalena Medio region], paramilitaries who have killed and destroyed families and the social fabric with the complicity of the military. Father Roy Bourgeois’ Speaking Schedule Hear Fr. Roy Bourgeois, founder of SOA Watch, speak powerfully and from personal experience about peace and justice June 21-24: SOA Watch South-North Encuentro in Venezuela June 25-27 Dallas, Texas, Contact 928-282-4122 August 1-8 Delegation to Colombia August 27-29 Madison, Wisconsin, Contact 608-257-1259 September 11-12 Lansing/Detroit, Michigan, Contact 313-891-2192 September 25-26 Ben Lomond, California, Contact 802-387-4789 October 2-3 Minneapolis, Minnesota, Contact 612-529-3551 October 23-24 Ontario, Canada, Contact 905-934-9115 November 5 Concord, New Hampshire, Contact 603-254-4727 To invite Father Roy to speak in your community, call 706-682-5369 Page/Página 14 Presente is the newspaper of the movement to close the School of the Americas. It is published three times a year and sent to subscribers. Several thousand additional copies are being distributed by local activists and organizers. Visit www.SOAW.org/presente to read and comment on articles online. SOA Watch Council: Katie Varatta, Palmer Legare, Deirdre MacDermott, Linda Panetta, Ken Hayes, Greg Speltz, Theresa Cameranesi, Pedro-Jesus Romero-Menendez, Andy Kafel, Gray Newman, Wayne Wittman, Demissie Abebe and Harold Nelson SOA Watch Staff: Liz Albanese, Luciana Andrade, Michael Baney, Father Roy Bourgeois, Pam Bowman, Pablo Ruiz Espinosa, Lisa Sullivan, and Hendrik Voss Contact: SOA Watch, PO Box 4566 Washington, DC 20017 Phone: 202-234-3440 Email: info@soaw.org Web: www.SOAW.org and www.SOAW.org/presente Subscriptions www.SOAW.org/subscribe Distributor Network Spring/ Primavera 2010 Looking Back to Move Ahead Continued from Page 6 Less than 30 miles away from Haskell, the U.S. Army base Fort Leavenworth serves as another continuous reminder of deep dark history, an official history of human devaluation through criminalization. Fort Leavenworth was the epicenter of U.S. Army expansion into native lands in the west. These institutions prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the U.S. government engaged in genocidal practices, and justified these practices by officially criminalizing the act of being indigenous. The United States of America incarcerates more of its citizens than any other country in the world. The U.S. disproportionately incarcerates people of color from poor communities. Everyday this country has more and more private prisons, prisons run for profit. How do you justify a system that incarcerates its citizens in order to make a profit? Today this updated version of the same strategy to criminalize and “change” young people of color has continued to reap violence in our communities. The history of the U.S. government criminalizing poor young people begins here. Today inner city and impoverished youth throughout this country are experiencing a new incarnation of the same systematic human devaluation. Black, brown, yellow, immigrant, poor, and yes many Native American communities alive and well in the U.S. today have little access to basic needs and services. This implies a lack of access to the planes, boats, and trucks that fill their communities with weapons and drugs. This is the story of why we think it is important them, and send them to prison. for young people of Let us not color from around the world to have forget our history, while keeping an active role in shutting down the a squeegee clean third eye on the SOA and Fort Leavenworth and Fort present. Young people of color have Huachuca. From the perspective of been and continue to be criminalized young people of color on the front not because they are evil or born bad, lines of a war against them, this list of but because they have always been places, institutions and industries that beautiful, powerful, creative, and contribute to the criminalization and relentless when it comes to resisting devaluation of their communities is oppression and meeting us on the endless. front lines of these movements that we share. When you see us, even This last November you may have if we seem loud, or even abrasive, noticed a lot more black and brown just smile because we all know that young people with crooked baseball we can’t win this fight without one caps, sagging pants and a whole lot another. of attitude. If you were paying at- The strategy has been broadened to the criminalization of poverty, of youth, and of any form of dissent. The only difference is that instead of forcibly sending young people to “boarding schools” today, the official strategy is to criminalize them, and send them to prison. tention, you may have seen some of the creative ways in which we are carrying a message that contributes to shutting down the SOA. Sometimes the TV and newspapers do a good job of making people that act and dress like us look like nothing more than a bunch of criminals. But we know that folks at SOA Watch know who the real criminals are. You will see more and more young people of color at the gates of Fort Benning, until we all shut down the SOA. Hopefully we won’t see each other there for too much longer, and we can start seeing each other on Instead of forcibly sending young every other people to ‘boarding schools’ today, front where the official strategy is to criminalize injustices are taking place. www.SOAW.org/distribute Back Issues www.SOAW.org/archive Submissions www.SOAW.org/submissions Advertise in Presente www.SOAW.org/advertise Thank you to all the artists who have contributed their work to Presente. Artists are a tremendously important part of the movement to close the School of the Americas. The creatively minded inspire the campaign. Art and activism is an effective combination that is able to reach people on a different level and moves them to take action. Visit www.SOAW.org/artists to learn more about the contributing artists and to see their work. www.SOAW.org/presente Page/Página 15 Why we return to Fort Benning, Georgia and our plans for Washington, DC Shut Down the School of the Americas A Compilation of Films to Close the SOA/ WHINSEC and to Change Oppressive U.S. Foreign Policy Twelve of the finest films on the School of the Americas and the movement to shut it down on one DVD! Shut Down the School of the Americas is a bilingual compilation of eight English and four Spanish films and is an excellent resource for both those who are new to SOA Watch and those who are long-time activists. The following films are on the compliation DVD: English: Guns and Greed, Nightwind, The New Patriots, Journey to Awareness, An Insider Speaks Out, Prisoners of Conscience, Trailer for El Enemigo Comun Español: Protesta en Colombia, Armas y Avaricia, Un Instuctor Denuncia Buy the DVD: Order it now online at www.SOAW.org for only $17 plus $3 shipping and handling You can send a check or money order to: SOA Watch P.O. Box 4566 Washington DC 20017 Interview with Ana Teresa Lozada on Colombia, women, war, and social movements by Chris Knestrick of the Christian Peacemaker Team Continued from Page 13 mega projects. There are no jobs. There is rummaging for work like the selling of cell phone minutes [cards] and the making and selling of tamales. From the national and local government there are no real solutions to the poverty experienced in the region. It is clear that when we talk about the assistance programs that have emerged from the national government, that their solutions are superficial around military bases], we notice the increase in prostitution of very young girls and forced abortions. [If there is] additional deployment of the U.S. military bases in Colombia, it is going to be a disaster for the women and the people because the American soldiers … cannot be punished for the crimes they commit in Colombia. Why are you working in the peace movement? The social movement talks about “the militarization of women’s bodies.” Could you explain what this means in the context of the war here in Colombia? It has to do basically with wanting to contribute to the transformation of this reality that we live, especially for women. Colombia is a country that has faced an armed conflict for many years—an armed conflict where many women and men have died, been displaced and have been disappeared. I want to build a better country, for my nephews, my children, and my friends. I dream that one day this country will be fair for everyone, where everyone has place and where all can be… For many years, women’s bodies have been used by armies as shields, insulted, and [used to humiliate] their enemies, by placing them in places to be publicly mocked and [degraded], which generates fear. [In areas Visit www.SOAW.org/presente for the full text of the interview in English and Spanish. In the region we, the women, continue to actively resist, to denounce human rights abuses, and to work hard for the reconstruction of the social fabric. Continued from Page 4 that they received, that the November vigil will stay in Georgia and that we need to continue to converge on the base, where the killers are being trained, until the School of the Americas is closed once and for all. In addition, SOA Watch is going to mobilize for a massive gathering in Washington, DC in the Spring of 2011 that will take our demands to the halls of Congress and other places where military and foreign policy decisions are made. We’ll be joining with the Latin America Solidarity Coalition’s 5th Conference, concentrating our creative direct action and lobbying efforts where the policy makers are, to finally shut down the SOA/ WHINSEC! By first creating the world we wish to see in November as we remember the fallen, we will then carry those visions with us to DC in the Spring and make 2011 the year that we triumph! “If the abolition of slave-manacles began as a vision of hands without manacles, then this is the year; if the shut down of extermination camps began as imagination of a land without barbed wire or the crematorium, then this is the year; if every rebellion begins with the idea that conquerors on horseback are not many-legged gods, that they too drown if plunged in the river, then this is the year. So may every humiliated mouth, teeth like desecrated headstones, fill with the angels of bread”. (from Imagine the Angels of Bread, Martín Espada) SOA Watch PO Box 4566 Washington, DC 20017 Please share this copy after reading! Return Service Requested Nonprofit U.S. Postage PAID Madison, WI Permit #168