All About the Western PA Coalition to Close the School of the Americas

Background Information

The School of the Americas is a combat training school for Latin American soldiers. In its 53-year history, the SOA has readied over 60.000 Latin American troops in commando tactics, military intelligence, psychological operations, and advanced arms training. SOA-trained soldiers have used their training to wage war against their civilian populations. Entire villages heave been massacred and thousands have "disappeared". Most appalling are the abuses of human rights, violations of civil rights, and the targeting of grassroots leaders (especially religious workers, student leaders, and union organizers working for better conditions for the people) by School of the Americas graduates. Many of the training techniques taught at the SOA are actually designed for these uses against civilian populations. The SOAoperates, then, to silence working people and the poor.

History

In October 2000, the leader of the National Coalition to Close the School of the Americas, Father Roy Bourgeois, came to Pittsburgh to speak about his work. Inspired by the growing movement nationwide to close the SOA, several Pittsburgh groups, including University of Pittsburgh student groups, the United Electrical Workers (UE), the Thomas Merton Center, and Pax Christi, took the opportunity provided by Father Roy to organize a new coalition against the school. The Western Pennsylvania Coalition to Close the School ofthe Americas was formed.

In the year 2000, the WPA Coalition sent the first full bus from Pittsburgh to the National Demonstration to Close the School of the Americas at Ft. Benning, Georgia, and hosted two showings of the films, "SOA Guns and Greed," and "School of Assassins" to over 100 people. We also attended a large national action that marched to the Capitol in Washington DC, to insist that Congress shut down the School of the Americas. When Congress only changed the name of the school, keeping the mission and classes the same, we held a 2-hour vigil on the steps of the Federal Building to close the "Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation". In 2000, we handed out over 2,000 leaflets at actions and community events, and our mailing list has grown to over 1500 people in Western PA. During the summer we worked very hard to encourage our Congress people to CO-sponsor legislation to close the school, and Representatives Coyne, Doyle, and English agreed to do so, proving that democratic participation in our institutions can work.

Vision for 2002/2003

The vision and purpose of the Western PA Coalition to Close the School America is to grow a local movement to contribute to nationwide education and advocacy around the SOA and the effort to close it down.

Plans for 2002/2003

1. Increase Awareness and Participation at the Spring Trip to DC
2. Expand lobbying efforts to Hart and Mascara by communicating with their constituents.
3. Send two buses from Pittsburgh in 2002
4. Develop a Western PA Says Close the SOA Concert and Letter Writing Event