From: Colombian Labor Monitor <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Sat, 28 Jul 2001 23:31:18 -0500 (CDT) To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: SOAW: Delegation Reports Further Atrocities ________________________________________________________________ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE JULY 18, 2001 7:27 PM CONTACT: School of the Americas Watch Fr. Roy Bourgeois, Founder, SOA Watch - (706) 682-5369 Eric LeCompte, Colombia Delegation Leader - (253) 376-5694 SOA Watch National Office - (202) 234-3440 Colombia Delegation Reports Further Atrocities by School of the Americas Graduates As 19 Enter Prison, 11 Delegates Arrested for Civil Disobedience at SOA COLUMBUS, GEORGIA - July 18 - A delegation of 20 US citizens who visited Colombia from July 8th - July 17th, to gather facts and first-hand testimony about the US involvement in Colombia's war, is taking an unusual step. After ten days in Colombia documenting atrocities linked to U.S. military aid and training, the delegates traveled directly to Fort Benning, home of the notorious School of the Americas (SOA), to hold a two day vigil calling for an end to U.S. military aid and training in Colombia and the closure of the SOA. Eleven members of the delegation were arrested at 11:45 this morning after crossing the line onto Fort Benning in an act of nonviolent civil resistance. The human rights delegation, organized by SOA Watch and Witness for Peace, traveled to Putumayo, a southern state in Colombia reputed to be the source of the majority of Colombia's coca (the plant used to make cocaine). In Putumayo, the delegation observed the impact of US funded aerial spraying, known as fumigation. They met countless people whose homes have been hit by the spraying. They discovered the painful side effects of fumigation, ranging from skin rash epidemics to birth defects, on the people of Putumayo. They witnessed terror in the faces of the people who asked them to return to the US and call for an end to fumigation and US military aid. The fumigation program in Colombia is managed by 1993 SOA graduate General Montoya. Montoya is in charge of implementing Plan Colombia, the $1.3 billion US military aid package designed to fight the US's War on Drugs. The delegation also met Hector Mondragon who was tortured by graduates of the SOA. The SOA, recently renamed the "Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation" as part of a Pentagon PR ploy to disassociate the School from its horrific past is increasingly under pressure as new details about SOA violence in Colombia surface . Delegation member Evan Gentry, of Lancaster, PA said, "In Putumayo, Colombia we spoke to campesino after campesino whose food crops have been fumigated and whose land has been poisoned so that now nothing can grow. We saw epidemics of skin rashes, birth defects, sight problems, chronic headaches and miscarriages, all caused by fumigation. We are here today to deliver a message to the School of the Americas, where 10,000 Colombian soldiers have been trained, that we oppose the violation of the Colombian people." Referring to the incarceration of 19 SOA Watch activists yesterday*, Ken Crowley of Houston, TX stated before arrest: "After meeting Colombians who have been tortured for their political beliefs, it is shocking to see US citizens jaiIed for speaking out about human rights. I cross the line onto Fort Benning today for the second time, despite the risk of prison, because I promised the victims of SOA graduates that I met in Colombia that I would not be silent while their rights are violated in my name. It is my hope that our action today will contribute to an awareness among the US people and legislators that will force a reassessment of our Latin American policy, especially as it concerns Colombia, the SOA and the ultimate closing of the School." SOA Watch, a grassroots organization committed to closing the SOA/WHISC, is planning a massive vigil action at Fort Benning on November 16-18, 2001. Despite the attempt to intimidate people with maximum jail sentences, thousands from all over the Americas are expected to engage in various civil resistance actions in order to express their outrage over the continuous existence of the SOA and in solidarity with its victims in Latin America. The nineteen who reported on July 17th, 2001 to prison were part of a group of twenty-six US citizens who were sentenced to prison-time for similar acts of nonviolent civil resistance against the SOA/WHISC on the military base Fort Benning. Their sentences range from 2 ysears on probation to 1 year in federal prison. For more info see: www.soaw.org. Members of the SOA Watch/Witness for Peace Delegation: *Arrestees have their names starred. Sarah Cramer Lucas, SC *Ken Crowley, TX *Melissa Fridlin, NC *Evan Gentry, PA *Ann George, WA Aleita Hass-Holcombe *Mary Hershberger, OH *Gretchen Hunter Cercone, NY Sara Koopman, WA *Glen Kuecker, IN *Frances Elizabeth "Betsy" Lamb, MD Eric LeCompte, DC Martin Lepkowski, RI *Jessica Maxwell, NY Doug Morris, NH Maria Njera, NM Justin Podur, Ontario, Canada Ann Tiffany, NY Marcia Thorndike, CA *Dr. Fred Wright, TN *Diana Valentine, CA ________________________________________________________________ **************************************************************** * CLM-NEWS is brought to you by the COLOMBIAN LABOR MONITOR at * * http://www.prairienet.org/clm * * and the CHICAGO COLOMBIA COMMITTEE * * Email us at [EMAIL PROTECTED] or * * Dennis Grammenos at [EMAIL PROTECTED] * **************************************************************** * To unsubscribe send request to [EMAIL PROTECTED] * * unsubscribe clm-news * **************************************************************** _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. 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