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From: School of the Americas Watch <media@...> 
Date: 07-dic-2006 13:00 
Subject: Help Stop Repression in Oaxaca & Other Updates 
To: luxweb-owner@... 
 
   *SCHOOL OF THE AMERICAS WATCH* 
 *www.SOAW.org<http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=241376569&url_num=1&url=http://www.soaw.org/new/>;| 
202-234-3440 | Click 
to Subscribe<http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=241376569&url_num=2&url=http://soaw.live.radicaldesigns.org/modinput4.php?modin=52>; 
* 
 
*SOA Watch Update 
December 7, 2006* 
 
*In this email, you'll find:* 
 
Updates & News from Latin America 
Support the SOA 16 
SOA Watch Legislative Update 
SOA Watch Strategy Meeting & Lobby Day 
 ------------------------------ 
 
*Oranize to Help Stop Widespread Government Repression in Oaxaca* 
 
 In May 2006, Oaxaca's state-wide teachers' union initiated a strike and 
non-violent occupation of the city center, demanding better pay and work 
conditions, as well as improvements to the state's educational 
infrastructure. At dawn on June 14, state governor Ulises Ruiz Ortiz 
(popularly referred to as URO) sent in state police to violently break up 
the ongoing, peaceful teachers' protest. The brutal police action, which 
included the firing of tear gas from helicopters onto the crowd below, 
sparked widespread indignation and outrage in many Oaxacans. The repressive 
tactics backfired resoundingly, and teachers had retaken the city center by 
nightfall, pushing back the police—mostly through the forces of their 
numbers and determination. 
 
More importantly, the violent police action sparked a widespread, 
broad-based, non-violent popular movement. URO has awakened a sleeping 
giant—thousands of students, housewives, small business owners, workers, 
professors, professionals, campesinos, intellectuals and artists have come 
together to demand the governor's resignation. And they have formed the 
People's Popular Assembly of Oaxaca (APPO), made up of at least 350 
different civil organizations working in arenas of indigenous issues, 
sustainable community development, human rights and social justice. They are 
working to build a transparent, inclusive, participatory political 
system—true democracy from the grassroots. 
 
 Since the conflict began more than 5 months ago, *17 people have been 
killed, including U.S. journalist Brad Will*, shot in the chest by 
plain-clothed police while videotaping their attack on a neighborhood 
barricade defended by people sympathetic to the popular movement. On 
November 9, leaders of the People's Popular Assembly of Oaxaca (APPO) 
publicly asked local leaders of the Catholic Church to provide safe refuge 
after receiving death threats. 
 
The situation in Oaxaca has become increasingly volatile and violent with 
hundreds of activists, human rights leaders and community organizers 
arrested, disappeared and killed. The state sponsored repression as executed 
by the Federal Police to control a social movement on the rise such as the 
APPO is a clear example of how the practices taught at the SOA/WHINSEC are 
put into practice. 
 
*Read more about Oaxaca and what you can do to 
help<http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=241376569&url_num=3&url=http://www.soaw.org/new/article.php?id=1438>; 
* 
 
*Zapatistas Call for Oaxaca Solidarity Events on December 
22!<http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=241376569&url_num=4&url=http://www.soaw.org/new/article.php?id=1439>; 
* 
 
We encourage you to take action in your community, find out about local 
events in solidarity with the people of Oaxaca by checking your local * 
Indymedia<http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=241376569&url_num=5&url=http://www.indymedia.org>; 
*, *El Enemigo Comun<http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=241376569&url_num=6&url=http://www.elenemigocomun.net>; 
*, or the *Oaxaca Solidarity 
Network<http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=241376569&url_num=7&url=http://www.oaxacasolidarity.org>; 
*. 
 
Join the call for solidarity actions on December 22nd, take part in an 
existing event or organize your community for non-violent protests at your 
nearest Mexican consulate demanding an end to government sponsored violence 
and repression in Oaxaca. Click here to find the *Mexican 
Consulate<http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=241376569&url_num=8&url=http://www.mexonline.com/consulate.htm>; 
* nearest you. 
 
*Read about the connections between the SOA and repression in 
Mexico<http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=241376569&url_num=9&url=http://www.soaw.org/new/article.php?id=1440>; 
* 
 
*SOA Graduates in the News* 
 
 After decades of civil wars, dictatorships and social and political unrest, 
most Latin American countries have, in the past 20 years, undergone peaceful 
transitions towards democracy. The re-organization of civil institutions and 
the reinstatement of political freedom have empowered the social movements 
that were once silenced under military rule. Thanks to these social 
movements and the efforts of survivors of repression and human rights 
activists, many of those who abused their power and committed gross human 
rights abuses during the "dirty wars" are either currently in prison or 
awaiting trial. In this context, and as documents and testimonies surface, 
we are constantly reminded of the roles that the U.S. government and the U.S. 
Army School of the Americas played in protecting and or aiding military 
dictatorships that safeguarded U.S. interests throughout Latin America. 
 
To this day, SOA graduates constantly resurface in trials and testimonies 
related to human rights violations. The year 2006 alone has seen ten SOA 
graduates connected to kidnappings, murder, torture, and massacres make 
headlines in the news and we can be sure that the list will only continue to 
grow in the following months. 
 
This past November, ex-Chilean military officer Enrique Sandoval confessed 
to the murder of the first underage victim of the military dictatorship in 
Chile, fourteen year old Carlos Fariña Oyarce. Carlos was kidnapped from his 
home in La Pincoya on October 13, 1973 and was killed execution-style by 
three bullets to the head. His body was then burned and buried in an 
undisclosed location, making Carlos another of Chile's many disappeared and 
one of the 79 underage children who fell victim to the brutal regime led by 
Gen. Augusto Pinochet. His remains were found 27 years later during an 
excavation in the West end of Santiago. The confession was part of a trial 
led by Judge Zepeda. Enrique Sandoval and Chilean officer Com. Lopez Almarza 
have been convicted for Carlos' kidnapping and murder and could face prison 
sentences. 
 
A few months prior to the murder and the military coup of September 11, 
1973, Enrique Sandoval had attended the *School of the Americas*, then 
located in Panama for "Combat Arms Orientation 0-37". 
 
*Read more about this case and other SOA Grads in the 
news<http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=241376569&url_num=10&url=http://www.soaw.org/new/article.php?id=205>; 
* 
------------------------------ 
 
*The SOA 16: Support those facing prison for speaking out against the SOA* 
 
 Since protests began at Fort Benning in 1990, people in the SOA Watch 
movement have made decisions to put their bodies and freedom on the line by 
publicly defying the laws which prevent political speech on Fort Benning. 
Participating in civil disobedience has allowed hundreds of people to bring 
the case against the SOA/WHINSEC into the U.S. court system and to take 
action in solidarity with those most affected by SOA violence. 
 
On Sunday November 19, 2006, 16 human rights activists decided to take the 
protest to close the School of the Americas (SOA/WHINSEC) onto the Fort 
Benning Military Reservation. Grandmothers, homemakers, college students, 
religious workers, a fitness equpiment specialist and a piano tuner make up 
this diverse group of witnesses for human rights. 
 
The 16 were held at Ft. Benning and charged for unlawful entry. Fifteen of 
the 16 arrested were released after bail money ($500 - $1,000/per person) 
was posted. One person, Margaret Bryant-Gainer, opted to remain in prison, 
awaiting trial; she is being held at Muscogee County Jail in Columbus, 
Georgia. The 16 defendants will appear in federal court in Columbus on 
January 29, 2007 to put the SOA/WHINSEC itself on trial. We encourage all 
SOA Watch supporters to come to Columbus, Georgia to show your support for 
the SOA 16. On Sunday, January 28, we will celebrate a Festival of Hope, a 
gathering to honor the prisoners of conscience, to celebrate their actions 
and to further strengthen our community. The event will begin at 7 pm in the 
Howard Johnson Presidential Ball Room. 
 
*Read More about the SOA 
16<http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=241376569&url_num=11&url=http://www.soaw.org/new/article.php?id=322>; 
* 
 
*What you can do:* 
 
*Take Actions in solidarity with the Prisoners of 
Conscience<http://www.soaw.org/new/article.php?id=129>; 
* 
 
*Make a Donation to help us with trial 
costs<http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=241376569&url_num=12&url=http://www.soaw.org/new/article.php?id=546>; 
* 
------------------------------ 
 
*SOA Watch Legislative Update* 
 
As you may know, the midterm elections of 2006 were a huge victory for SOA 
Watch and our issues. After the final tally, over 30 of our June opponents 
lost their seats in the House giving us an incredible opportunity for 
legislative success in the 110th Congress! 
 
*GET STARTED EARLY!* - Use some free time you may have over your holiday 
break to start researching your Member of Congress if they are new and/or 
prepare for a meeting in your legislator's district office in January. Visit 
the website of the House of Representatives 
Clerk<http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=241376569&url_num=13&url=http://clerk.house.gov>;to 
see a list of all of the new members of the House and who your 
Representative is. 
 
If this is your first time doing legislative actions for SOA Watch, the DC 
office has extensive information on your region and it's history of support 
on Congress. Contact us and ask questions!!! 
 
For more information on scheduling meetings with your legislators or 
information about the legislative campaign, contact Pam Bowman, our 
legislative coordinator at pbowman(at)soaw.org <pbowman@...> or 
202-234-3440, and visit the Legislative Action 
Index<http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=241376569&url_num=14&url=http://www.soaw.org/new/article.php?id=96>;on 
our website. 
 
------------------------------ 
 
*Join us in DC in February: SOA Watch Strategy Meeting & Lobby Day* 
 
The inspiring rise of powerful social movements in Latin America and the 
Bush administration's policies in the Middle East and Latin America that 
have negatively affected millions of human lives, have all played a 
significant role in igniting a widespread anti-war and pro-human rights 
movement. In this context, the movement to close down the SOA/WHINSEC has 
grown in unprecedented numbers and spread across the hemisphere like 
wildfire. 
 
Because we have gained so much momentum and energy, it is important that we 
continue in our efforts to fight for the closing of the SOA/WHINSEC on every 
front. The SOA/WHINSEC's continued existence is an affront to millions of 
Latin Americans who have suffered from the disappearance, torture, rape and 
assasination of their loved ones by the hands of SOA graduates. With a new 
Congress and new governments in Latin America that are held accountable by 
the people, we are closer than ever to our goal of shutting down the "School 
of Assassins". 
 
On Sunday, February 18, 2007, activists representing groups from around the 
country will come to Washington, DC for a day of reflection, discussion, and 
strategizing around the campaign to close the School of the Americas 
(SOA/WHINSEC) and plan the next steps we need to take to continue building a 
more just world. 
 
We invite all our friends and supporters to join us on Monday, February 19, 
2007 to attend the grassroots lobby training which will prepare activists 
from around the country to flood the halls of Congress on Tuesday, February 
20, to create awareness and educate our legislators on the SOA/WHINSEC and 
the devastating effects of U.S. foreign policy in Latin America. 
 
*Read more about the SOA Watch Strategy Meeting and Lobby 
Day<http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=241376569&url_num=15&url=http://www.soaw.org/new/article.php?id=1433>; 
* 
 
*We encourage you to start making travel arrangements and come join us in 
February!:* 
 
*Travel and Transportation 
Information<http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=241376569&url_num=16&url=http://www.soaw.org/new/article.php?id=991>; 
* 
 
*Housing in and near Washington, 
DC<http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=241376569&url_num=17&url=http://www.soaw.org/new/article.php?id=714>; 
* 
 
 *Enter your email below to receive email alerts:* 
 
 
------------------------------ 
 
*We appreciate your interest!* 
 
Our postal address is PO Box 4566, Washington, DC 20017. 
 
 
 
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