Part Of A Movement

By:Jessica Keltz

Locals join a protest against the former School of the Americas Three Ithaca residents were among 14 people arrested at last week's vigil to close the former School of the Americas, now called the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation.

About 60 people from Ithaca attended the vigil, held at the school, in Fort Benning, Ga., out of about 6,000 total demonstrators. Those opposed to keeping the school open blame its graduates for human rights abuses in South America, while those in favor of maintaining it say that it promotes military cooperation and international security, and that only a few of its graduates have committed crimes. Demonstrators say that the opposition movement grows every year, attracting college students, union members, priests, nuns, and anti-globalization activists. Congress has voted on three motions to close the school, all of which were narrowly defeated. Although local authorities were reluctant to grant the protesters a permit to assemble, a federal judge ruled that demonstrators had the right to protest. Those who were arrested crossed the line onto school property but not all of those who did so, about 40 total, were arrested. The Ithaca residents arrested - Linda Holzbaur, Jessica Stewart and Peter DeMott - all face charges of trespassing and resisting arrest. Holzbaur, who went to the annual protest last year as well, said that in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, pressing for the school to close is more important than ever. The school's existence, she said, was "always a very serious situation." She added, "But now I think it's more important than ever because we just have to stop ... It should be apparent to the American people what grief and horror it is to be victims of terrorism." "I think we're creating a world where there will be more terrorism," Stewart agreed. "We've got to stop that. We've got to do our part to show that world that violence never ends." Holzbaur said that while the school's name changed last winter, the curriculum remains "essentially the same." A human rights course was added, she said, but it is not required and its enrollment is low. At past SOA protests, demonstrators who crossed the line were given "ban and bar" letters, which forbade them from setting foot on the grounds for a specified period of time under penalty of prosecution. They faced no criminal charges and were not formally arrested. This year, they were detained and held on $1,000 bail until a federal prosecutor ordered their release. DeMott, Holzbaur and Stewart are due to appear in court early next year, and face up to six months in jail. "Some people who processed us felt it was inappropriate to deal with this in the wake of Sept. 11. But I think it's more important than ever," Stewart said. "If we want to live in a way that is peaceful and just, we have to create a foreign policy that is peaceful and just." Despite the dissent-discouraging climate, more protesters came this year than last, Holzbaur said. "The fact that there were more people there than ever before shows how strong of an issue it is and how people feel about it."

?Ithaca Times 2002