{news} USGP-INT FYI: Argentina & Uruguay abandon School of the Americas

[Justine McCabe]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "juliawillebrand" <julia.willebrand at verizon.net>
To: <usgp-int at gp-us.org>
Sent: Thursday, March 30, 2006 11:23 AM
Subject: USGP-INT FYI: Argentina & Uruguay abandon School of the Americas


> Argentina & Uruguay abandon School of the Americas
> 
> www.SOAW.org |202-234-3440
> 
> SOA Watch Update, March 28, 2006
> 
> Read this update on the web
> 
> SOA Watch Breaking News & Update March 28, 2006
> 
> Argentina & Uruguay abandon SOA! Critical victory for
> human rights organizations across the Americas
> 
> We are thrilled to tell you that, after meeting with
> representatives of human rights organizations and the
> three SOA Watch activists Carlos Mauricio, Lisa
> Sullivan and Fr. Roy Bourgeois, the governments of
> Argentina and Uruguay have agreed to stop sending
> soldiers to train at the School of the Americas (SOA/
> WHINSEC)!
> 
> These decisions are a critical victory for all those
> struggling for human rights, justice and military
> accountability across the Americas! Argentina and
> Uruguay are the second and third countries to take this
> vital step; they join Venezuela, which announced in
> January of 2004 that they would no longer send soldiers
> to the school.
> 
> This past Friday, Roy, Carlos and Lisa met with the
> Defense Minister of Uruguay, Azucena Berrutti. Minister
> Berrutti is a former human rights lawyer. During the
> long dictatorship in Uruguay she defended numerous
> political prisoners.
> 
> Lisa Sullivan writes: "From the beginning of the
> conversation, Minister Berrutti told us that there was
> no need to explain the atrocities of the SOA, as she,
> and the people of Uruguay, were fully aware of this
> reality, having experienced first hand the horrors of
> the tortures, detentions, imprisonments and
> 'disappearances' caused by its graduates. Over and over
> here in Latin America we have been humbled and realize
> that we do not need to explain these things to our
> public, but rather they have much to tell us, to put
> faces and emotions on the statistics which we have
> memorized so efficiently...."Minister Berrutti shared
> with Carlos, Lisa and Roy some very good news: during
> the year President Tabaré Vázquez has
> been in office, no military personnel from Uruguay have
> been sent to the SOA, and none will be sent under this
> current administration.
> 
> Yesterday, the three SOA Watch activists and the head
> of the Mothers of the Disappeared met with the defense
> minister, Nilda Garré, whose husband was
> disappeared during the repression in Argentina.
> Minister Garré agreed that after the one
> Argentinean soldier currently at the SOA/ WHINSEC
> finishes his classes, no more Argentinean soldiers will
> be sent to the School of the Americas. Read the whole
> update from Lisa, Carlos & Roy.
> 
> The tide is turning in Latin America! All across
> Central and South America, governments and citizens are
> rejecting SOA-style military "solutions" to social
> problems. Across the Americas, support for the School
> of the Americas is eroding every day. Add your voice to
> this movement for justice! March, rally and lobby to
> close the SOA in Washington, DC April 23-25!  (see
> below for more info).
> 
> -------------------------------------------------------
> Hundreds of thousands mobilize in support of immigrant rights
> 
> Yesterday tens of thousands of students walked out of
> school in California and other states in a second week
> of massive protests across the United States against
> legislation to crack down on illegal immigrants.
> 
> Hundreds of thousands of immigrants and supporters
> participated in enormous and energetic marches in Los
> Angeles, Chicago, Milwaukee, Phoenix, Boulder,
> Washington, DC and other cities to protest a bill that
> would make it a felony to be in this country illegally
> and would make it crime to dispense aid to those
> without legal documents. Broad-based coalitions of
> faith, labor, business and community leaders have come
> together to oppose this bill and to call for the
> creation of a path to citizenship for immigrants.
> 
> In several U.S. cities, the massive marches of the past
> two weeks are the largest public gatherings ever to
> occur in those communities. The outpouring of
> opposition to the conservative bill has been historic.
> 
> SOA Watch understands that many immigrants to the
> United States are victims of U.S.-sponsored military
> training and atrocities in Latin America. In our fight
> to close the SOA, we continue to work towards a world
> that is free of suffering and violence. We recognize
> the SOA as being a part of the same racist system of
> violence and domination. We ally ourselves with the
> victims of military violence and their families in our
> effort to create a better world.
> 
> -------------------------------------------------------
> March, rally and lobby to close the SOA April 23-25 in Washington, DC
> 
> We are riding a tide of momentum as we prepare for our
> Spring Lobby Days! From Argentina and Uruguay to the
> incredible movement we've seen in support of immigrant
> rights, now is the time to take our message to Capitol
> Hill.
> 
> Join us in DC from April 23-25 as we tell Congress to
> close the School of the Americas once and for all!
> Let's ride this tide and flood the halls of Congress
> with justice.
> 
> On Sunday, April 23, we'll gather for a day of
> legislative trainings, workshops and a talk from Father
> Roy. On Monday, April 24, we'll process to Capitol
> Hill, hold a brief rally and meet with Members of
> Congress. We'll continue to hold Congressional meetings
> on Tuesday, April 25.
> 
> -------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Julia Willebrand, Ed.D
> Co-chair, International Committee, United States Green Party
> Co-president, Federation of Green Parties of the Americas (FPVA)
> 212 877-5088-- 
> 
> 
> 
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