SOA protest draws about 10,000; arrests fewer than in past protests

Published: 2003-11-25

COLUMBUS, Ga. (CNS) -- The annual protest aimed at closing a U.S. Army training school for foreign militaries drew an estimated 10,000 people to Fort Benning Nov. 22 and 23. Forty-five demonstrators were arrested, most on charges of trespassing. Speeches, rallies, information sessions and entertainment over the weekend culminated in a mock funeral procession to the gates of Fort Benning. The march commemorated the deaths of people in Latin America that protesters link to graduates of the Army-run school, formerly called the School of the Americas and now known as the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation. Speakers this year touched on a variety of topics, including opposition to the war in Iraq. The program included remarks from Sister Helen Prejean, a Sister of St. Joseph of Medaille who is known for her activism against the death penalty; Kathy Kelly, founder of Voices in the Wilderness, a nonviolence network; and Bob King, United Auto Workers vice president for organizing.

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