These are some moving pictures from the vigil this past weekend in Columbus, Ga at the gates of U.S.Army Fort Benning where our tax dollars support/ have supported torture, oppression, death squads and other forms of terrorism . We are all home safely and the Upstate N.Y. area was well represented. The vigil is a life transforming experience, feeling in our hearts a hint of the pain and suffering our foreign policies have caused others and hoping for a better, more humane, compassionate world starting with change right here in our country. The Puppetistas reflected this theme this year as the smaller flower figures representing people, workers etc. blew as the " Winds Of Change" to topple the huge monster puppet, a real sight to behold as it went down and the smaller figures rose up. Pam Bowman, legislative coordinator for the SOAW, told us 35 of our opponents have now lost their seats. There should be an end to this school now. The 2009 SOAW Lobby
days will be in February this year ( presidents weekend i believe) and i will be going. Please feel free to join me on the train, it is rewarding and educational and hopefully will bear fruit this year. Present...the voices of the oppressed will be heard and good must prevail

People Power in Action! Sunday Vigil Update:

2pm: The Puppetistas took a new turn following the procession this year. Several hundred activists with puppets, flags, stilts and high energy continued to march down the road and out of the protest area in front of the gates of Fort Benning, Georgia after the puppet pageant. They celebrated people power and resistance by taking the protests into the streets of Columbus, Georgia.

11am: A solemn funeral procession, commemorating those who suffered and were martyred by the graduates of the School of the Americas, made its way towards the gates of Fort Benning. The names of the martyrs are being sung out from the stage to bring their spirits and witness before us as and 20,000 voices respond: "¡Presente!" You are here with us, you are not forgotten, and we continue the struggle in your name. ¡Presente! literally means "here" or "present" in Spanish. There is a long tradition in Latin American movements for justice of invoking the memory of those who have lost their lives in the struggle.
(Photo: Charles Steele, president of the SCLC and Francisco Herrera on the stage at the gates of Fort Benning. Photo by Linda Panetta)

9am: Earlier this morning, six human rights activists crossed through the I-85 Highway entrance onto the military base in an attempt to process towards the SOA/WHINSEC building. The group was stopped by military police after half a mile and was arrested. The six are facing up to six month in federal prison for carrying the protest onto the base. They will appear in federal court in January 2009 and will use the courtroom to speak truth to power and to put the School of the Americas itself on trial.

They are:

Sr. Diane Pinchot, OSU, 63, from Cleveland, Ohio
Father Luis Barrios, 56, from North Bergen, New Jersey
Louis Wolf, 68, from Washington, DC
Theresa Cusimano, 40 Denver, Colorado
Al Simmons, 64, from Richmond, Virginia
Kristen Holm, from Chicago, Illinois

They were bailed out of jail by the SOA Watch legal team on Sunday afternoon. Their federal trial in Columbus, Georgia will begin on January 26, 2009.

Thousands are Gathered at Fort Benning, Georgia, saying:
Yes We Can Close the School of Assassins!

We know that the United States government won't shut down the School of the Americas (SOA/WHINSEC) on its own. It will take people power and grassroots organizing to create a climate and culture that will make the existence of institutions like the SOA/WHINSEC impossible.

This weekend, as thousands are gathered at the gates of Fort Benning, we are changing the climate and we are creating a culture of justice, peace and understanding. We have the power to hold the Obama administration to its promises of a new direction in U.S.-Latin America relations and we are calling for the closing of the SOA/WHINSEC as a first step in the right direction.

Saturday: Around the world, in Los Angeles, California and Santiago, Chile, torture survivors, labor leaders and human rights organizers came together in solidarity protests to call for the closure of the notorious factory of terror and torture.

On Saturday, 12,000 activists lined Fort Benning Rd. to share information and resources from solidarity, anti-imperialism and pro-peace groups around the Americas.

The day opened with a welcome from Fr. Roy Bourgeois, founder of the SOA Watch movement, and was filled with the voices of musicians and activists on the front lines of the struggle for justice.

Puppetistas gathered at the rear of the road and came to life in a dancing battle to bring down the massive puppet of U.S. imperialism.

Saturday ended with workshops, teach-ins and an amazing SOA Watch concert at the Columbus Convention Center. As in previous years, a group of activists danced in a drum circle in front of the Convention Center and afterward took to the streets of Columbus. This year, the police responded much more harshly. Police officers arrested one participant and dispersed the group while a helicopter was hovering above, shining a spotlight on the scene.

Today, the vigil will culminate with a solemn symbolic funeral procession to the gates of Ft. Benning, commemorating all the victims of SOA/WHINSEC violence and oppressive U.S. foreign policy.