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TIME Magazine, October 17, 2011

Few of the hemisphere's training centers can boast as many ex-leaders and government strongmen among its graduates. For many schools, this would no doubt be an excellent marketing pitch. Not so for the School of the Americas (SOA). None of its famous alumni reached power by way of the voting booth. Some are even behind bars now, either convicted or facing prosecution in their respective countries for abuse of power.

ONE WORLD by Daniel Tillias

This is a call of unity and solidarity to the people all over the earth. It reminds us how the misery of a country like Haiti should bring pain in heart of people in Japan as joyfullness of France should rejoice the soul of Brazil.

There is only one world
Never it has been two
This is why as Haiti is mine
It is also everyone’s

The same sun shining in Africa
Light the flower of Alaska
The morning star in Hinche
Bright the morning in China

In Havana as in Lascahobas
Children laugh and smile the same
When parents remember to take time
Sharing wonderful and magic moments

The world is not huge
The world is small
There is no alien soil
We all belong to the same globe

All harm in the pacific ocean
Will bring pain in the Miragoane lake
But all trees planted in Savane desole
Will send life to the four corners of the world

From October 1-7, 2011, SOA WATCH led a human rights delegation to Haiti with a focus on gaining firsthand knowledge of the effects of a 7-year military occupation by 13,000 troops and police of MINUSTAH (UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti), while also looking at concrete expressions of U.S. foreign policy towards Haiti. In addition, the delegation of 17 activists from around the U.S. visited numerous positive initiatives organized and carried out by Haitians that promote the dignity and sovereignty of their nation.

MINUSTAH is now in its seventh year, having replaced a U.S. military force that had occupied Haiti in the wake of the illegal coup d’etat that ousted the democratically elected government of Jean-Bertrand Aristide in 2004. Classified U.S. State Department cables, recently made public by Wikileaks, have revealed that the U.S. government places a strong strategic importance on MINUSTAH’s ongoing presence in Haiti, and in particular its inclusion of troops from several Latin American governments – in part because the Mission represents a regional initiative that excludes Venezuela, yet involves several left-leaning Latin American countries.

“We began our trip with the knowledge that MINUSTAH is controlled by the U.S. government and serves the U.S. government’s interests,” Dan Beeton of the Center for Economic and Policy Research said. “Since being here, we’ve heard numerous complaints about a wide array of abuses by MINUSTAH troops. We’ve also heard and seen little evidence of MINUSTAH’s positive contributions during Haiti’s greatest hour of need, and that makes us doubt the rationale for a continued MINUSTAH presence.”

For more infromation on MINUSTAH see: Haitians to the U.N.: Please Leave and 10 Reasons Why the UN Occupation of Haiti Must End

See Standing Against Militarism and Violence: From Haiti to Fort Benning by Father Roy Bourgeois

“it's an occupation force that doesn't help the people,

they terrorize the people in the poor neighborhoods,

they say they are here to help the people of Haiti who are here in misery,

and their sole objective is to support the multinationals

and support the bourgeois in Haiti.”

—Representative from the Grassroots Coalition Against MINUSTAH

More reports from delegates:

Report from Haiti by Bill Quigley a law professor and human rights lawyer at Loyola University New Orleans and with the Center for Constitutional Rights.

Haiti-Ayiti by Lisa Sullivan, SOA Watch Latin American Coordinator

Reflections Following a Delegation: How MINUSTAH Hurts Haiti by Becca Polk, published in "This Week in Haiti", the English section of HAITI LIBERTE newsweekly.

Violence Against Women in Haiti by Ken Jones

More pictures and reflections can be found here!

The SOA Watch movement claimed a victory yesterday, September 12, 2011, in its long struggle to close the SOA/WHINSEC and change the culture of militarization.

On April 10, 27 human rights activists lay down on the sidewalk in front of the White House, demanding that President Obama close the SOA/WHINSEC by executive order.  The SOA has left a long and bloody trail through the Americas, as graduates of the school have terrorized, massacred, disappeared and tortured thousands of people, as they protect big corporations and failed economic models.  Over many years of grassroots education, direct action and lobbying in Congress, the SOA Watch movement has demanded a shift from oppressive US foreign policy to respect for self-determination and dignity.

On Tuesday, August 16th, sixty-nine members of congress officially requested that President Barack Obama sign an executive order shutting down the SOA/WHINSEC. Join the chorus by calling President Obama and telling him that you support the closure of this dangerous and unaccountable institution. Here is a short sample call script to help you get your message across.

The script will cover some of the major points, but as always, we encourage you to craft your own message.

A Possible Call to Obama Could Look Like This:

"I am calling to inform President Obama about the letter signed by 69 members of congress asking him to close the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (formerly known as the School of the Americas). The existence of WHINSEC is part of a massive failure in U.S. foreign policy towards Latin America. It is a symbol of oppression and U.S. domination for most Latin Americans and should be shut down without delay.

I urge you to seriously consider the request by the members of congress to shut down the school, thus saving the United States $180 million over the next decade. Closing the school would also send the message to the people of Latin America and your own citizens that you value the sovereignty and human rights of all of the peoples of the Americas.

Thank you for taking the time to listen to me and consider my appeal. I hope you make the right decision."

You can reach Pres. Obama's office at: (202) 456-1111

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