Photos by Linda Panetta, http://www.opticalrealities.org/United-States/Protest/Nov-22-09-SOAW-Vigil/10365887_TLqPg

Sunday, November 22:Thousands gathered at the gates of Fort Benning, Georgia, standing up against oppressive U.S. foreign policy and speaking out in defense of real and direct democracy, for life, justice, liberty, dignity and peace.

Four veteran human rights defenders crossed the line Sunday 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
• Michael Walli of Washington, DC

None of those responsible for SOA crimes have ever been investigated or held accountable, while 286 peace and justice activists have served prison and probation sentences of up to two years for their acts of nonviolent civil disobedience.

The civil disobedience at Ft. Benning on November 22 follows the arrest of five peace and justice activists at Ft. Huachuca, Arizona, where the torture manuals used at the SOA were created. The

are:

• Fr. Bob Carney of Tucson, AZ
• Joshua C. Harris of Santa Barbara, CA
• John Heid of Tucson, AZ
• Mariah Klusmire of Albuquerque, NM
• Fr. Jerry Zawada of Tucson, AZ

Four the five received 1-year ban and bar letters, while Josh Harris awaits word on a trial date. Harris refused to cooperate with the military police, and when asked for his name said he was there representing a victim of torture.

Several hundred demonstrators marched together on Ft. Benning Rd on Sunday, November 22, risking arrest, and pushed through the police protest confines this year, led by puppetistas and drummers including

.

This exuberant, rebellious expression of the Return to Life honored the work and spirit of those who have fallen in the struggle for justice all across the Americas.

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 struggling against militarism across the Americas. Congratulations!

The puppetista pageant this year commemorated the six intellectual Jesuit Central American University professors killed in November 1989, and demonstrators also carried puppets of the ideas that the graduates of the SOA had tried to kill.


Rebel Diaz on stage at the gates of Fort Benning, Georgia, from the South Bronx, NY, shared a powerful, rousing message with the hearts, bodies and minds of human rights defenders assembled on Saturday, November 21. Also appreciated via live internet streaming around the globe!

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On February 23, 2009, veteran Black Freedom movement leader Ruby Sales had a conversation with Vera Leone, SOA Watch organizer, about state violence and white violence against people of color in the United States, and the implications of that historical and present context for our continuing organizing to close the School of the Americas and dismantle the racist system of violence and domination which it represents.You can listen to the audio file here .

For the complete transcript visit the Presente! website