[Seattle-editorial] can't post!

[briana at riseup.net]

hey y'all,
   i'm having trouble posting to the site. i don't know why. below is the 
article and press release i wanted to post. there are 3 defendants from WA.
gracias,
briana binkerd-dale


>1/21/03 Court Update

Jeremy John and Charity Ryerson appeared in US District Court today before 
Judge Clay Lands. The two were charged with “trespass” and “destruction of 
government property” for their action in November 2002. They cut through a 
padlock in order to open a pedestrian gate in the fence, and then crossed onto 
Ft. Benning, site of the SOA/WHISC.

Andy Olive and Rachel Shively had been scheduled for court today, but their 
charges were deferred for a year. If they do not get arrested within that time, 
the charges will be dropped.

Jeremy and Charity were originally facing up to 18 months in federal prison and 
a $100,000 fine, since they were charged with both criminal trespass and 
destruction of government property. They changed their initial plea of “not 
guilty” to “guilty” in a plea bargain agreement in which the criminal trespass 
charge was dropped. They now face a year in prison and the $100,000 fine. Their 
sentencing was postponed pending a pre-sentencing investigation.

(Forty-three more defendants will begin trial on Monday, January 27th, and 35 
defendants will start trial on Monday, February 10th.)

A news conference was held following Charity and Jeremy’s court appearance. 
Bill Quigley, a lawyer from Loyola Law School in Louisiana who is representing 
many of the defendants; Gail Taylor, SOA Watch legislative director; Eloy 
Garcia, a Maryknoll lay missioner and defendant (trial 1/27); Marie Salupo, a 
Maryknoll missioner and defendant (trial 1/27); and Charity and Jeremy all 
spoke at the conference. Following are excerpts from Eloy, Charity, Jeremy and 
Marie’s statements.

Eloy Garcia: 

“It is documented that the school trains soldiers who in effect become 
terrorists who oppress and terrorize their own civilian populations throughout 
the world in order to protect the interest of American multinational 
corporations and the local elites who do their bidding. Amnesty International 
recently released a report on the “Human Rights Dimensions of US training of 
foreign Military and Police Forces.” This document reviews the record of US 
training in countries such as Colombia, Indonesia and Rwanda where military 
forces have committed serious human rights violations and documents the secrecy 
and lack of oversight around US foreign military and police training. The 
document also states that the SOA name change does not absolve the US 
government for past human rights violations perpetuated by the SOA.

“We also need to bring to the public’s attention that SOA/WHISC at Ft. Benning 
is one part of a vast training network, which promotes terrorist acts against 
civilian populations under the moniker of Low Intensity Conflict/ Counter 
Insurgency. At this time the US trains at least 100,000 foreign police and 
soldiers from more than 150 countries each year. Approximately 275 known US 
military schools and installations provide training to foreign soldiers and the 
US trains many more soldiers in their own nations, but exact numbers are 
classified.

“If President Bush is serious about the war on terrorism the issue of US 
military involvement in the training of soldiers who commit terrorist acts 
against their own civilian populations in Latin America, Africa, and Asia must 
be addressed, and we will continue our actions until there is an end to the 
killing and oppression.”


Charity Ryerson:

“Our acts of civil disobedience focused on the SOA/WHISC as a prime example of 
US funded human rights abuses and as a vehicle for the economic oppression of 
developing nations. This economic oppression can be seen most clearly through 
our support of the sweatshop system, our greed for cheap oil, and the debt 
burden we impose on struggling countries. US trained troops are used against 
labor by putting down strikes and violently opposing unions. The same countries 
that are crippled by low wages also feel the devastating effects of World Bank 
and IMF policies, which take advantage of desperation. These economic policies 
require very high military involvement to prevent uprisings. In order to feed 
its already outrageous demand for oil, in Columbia, US trained troops are 
protecting an Occidental Petroleum oil pipeline. The US has been using the drug 
war in Columbia as a false pretext to protect corporate interests. Just as they 
attempted to overthrow a democratically elected president in Venezuela 
recently, the SOA/WHISC is interfering with the democratic process of many 
Latin American countries and systematically perpetuating a system of economic 
injustice.


Jeremy John: 

“Our aim is to put the SOA/WHISC on trial. When we take the SOA to trial before 
an international tribunal and the teachers and students are found guilty, the 
US will realize the sacrifice that the SOA defendants have made, holding the 
government accountable for the actions of the US military against people of 
other nations. All people, no matter what country they owe allegiance to, still 
have rights as a citizen of the international community. And nobody deserves to 
be tortured or executed even if they are working for civil rights in a military 
dictatorship.

“But this information about international law is not being allowed into the 
courtroom. How is justice to be served when the main facts are not even allowed 
to be discussed, when defendants are silenced and relevant information is 
excluded? This is not in the spirit of democracy.


Marie Salupo: 

“As a U.S. citizen and a catholic I have a moral obligation and responsibility 
to speak the truth, to hold my homeland accountable for its actions, which I 
see as contradictory to the ideals of democracy and justice, and contradictory 
to my faith.

“People around the country and the world are rising up and will not be 
silenced, not even by prison walls because they are listening their deepest 
conscience, a voice that says that war, military aid, and training of foreign 
militaries who suppress their own people are not the answer.”


>January 21, 2003 
for immediate release
School of the Americas Watch
http://www.soaw.org/newsroom
 
Contact: Matthew Smucker
706.221.1672, 202.903.7257 media at soaw.org
 
80 Human Rights Activists to Begin Federal Trial for Civil Disobedience to
Close the School of the Americas

Defendants Aim to Expose Double Standard in War on Terrorism,
Put SOA and US Foreign Policy on Trial

**Interviews with Defendants Available (See Below for full list)**

NEWS CONFERENCE
TODAY, Tuesday, January 21, 10:30AM
In front of the Federal Courthouse
120 12th St., Columbus, GA

Columbus, GA ­ The first two of 80 human rights advocates facing federal
charges for civil disobedience to close the School of the Americas go to
trial today, Tuesday, January 21, in Columbus, Georgia.  The 80 were among
10,000 who gathered in November to expose a double standard in the war on
terrorism, and to call for the closure of the SOA, renamed Western
Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation. The defendants peacefully
crossed onto Ft. Benning, site of the school. They are charged with trespass
and face up to six months in federal prison and $5,000 in fines.

Two defendants' trials are scheduled to begin today, January 21 before Judge
Clay Lands in Columbus.  These two face additional charges and up to 18
months in prison.  Approximately half of the remaining defendants are
scheduled for trial starting January 27, and the other half are scheduled
for February 10. These defendants will appear before Judge G. Mallon
Faircloth. 

Judge Faircloth is known for giving the maximum of six months to opponents
of the SOA/WHISC. Nearly one hundred people have served a total of over
fifty years in prison for engaging in nonviolent resistance in a broad-based
campaign to close the school.

³Those who speak out for justice are facing prison time while SOA-trained
torturers and assassins are operating with impunity,² said SOA Watch founder
Fr. Roy Bourgeois. 

The SOA/WHISC is a combat training school for Latin American soldiers. Its
graduates are consistently involved in human rights abuses and atrocities.
In 1996 the Pentagon was forced to release training manuals used at the
school that advocated the use of torture, extortion and execution.

In a new report Amnesty International calls for a suspension of training at
the SOA/WHISC, and an independent commission of inquiry to investigate the
school. Amnesty refutes the claim that the WHISC is a new institution,
stating that WHISC "is essentially the same school as SOA, with the same
primary missionŠ²

³The SOA is out of alignment with both the interests and values of the
American people,² said Dan Fortson, a veteran from Redway, CA, one of the
80, ³We¹re here to say ŒNot in our name!¹²


The 80 SOA Defendants
(listed in order of state)
To Arrange Interviews, Call: 706-221-1672
 
Key: Name / Court Date / City / State / Age / Description

J.C. Orton (2/10) Berkley, CA, 54, Father. Catholic Worker. Homeless
Advocate. Peace & justice activist.

Carey Martin (2/10) Birmingham, AL, 24, Server.

Seth Cohen (1/27) Fair Oaks, CA, 22, Student at UCLA. Union organizer.

Rachel Montgomery (2/10) Oakland, CA, 26, Owner of pet sitting and dog
walking business. 

Linda Aguilar (1/27) San Francisco, CA, 19, Student.

Sondra Angulo (1/27) San Francisco, CA, 22, Artist. Media activist. Teacher.

Guadalupe Chavez (1/27) San Francisco, CA, 20, Student.

Donald Haselfeld (1/27) San Francisco, CA, 76, Retired from Recreation and
Park Department.  Writer.

Margaret Rossi (1/27) San Francisco, CA, 21,  Senior at the University of
San Francisco. Actor. Poet.

Laura Slattery (2/10) San Francisco, CA, 36, Nonviolence trainer.

Derrlyn Tom (1/27) San Francisco, CA, 44, Teacher.

Dan Fortson (1/27) Redway, CA, 43, Songwriter. Community activist. Served 5
years in US armed forces.

Lisa Hughes (1/27) Valyermo,CA, 37, Registered nurse. Worked for 5 years in
El Salvador. 

Michael Wisniewski (2/10) West Covina, CA, 53, Husband. Father. Grandfather.
Freelance writer.

Daniel Manriquez (2/10) Denver, CO, 18, Salesperson.

Sarah Martin (2/10) Denver, CO, 19, Student.

Byron Plumley, Jr. (2/10) Denver, CO, 55, Grandpa. Educator. Peace activist.
Catholic Worker volunteer.

Tiffany Winters (2/10) Denver, CO, 18, Student.

Eric Tews (2/10) Greenwood Village, CO, Student.

William Combs (1/27) Tallahassee, FL, 58, Retired school teacher. Active in
several peace organizations.

Christine Gaunt (1/27) Grinnell, IA, 46, Mother. Hog farmer. Library
assistant at Grinnell College.

Evalee (Lee) Mickey (2/10) Mt Pleasant, IA, 65, Retired farmer. Widowed
homemaker.

Timothy Grivois (1/27) Chicago, IL, 21, Philosophy/religious studies major
at Saint Xavier University

Sr. Kathy Long (1/27) Chicago, IL, 55, Sinsinawa Dominican Sister. Worker at
8th Day Center for Justice.

Sr. Dorothy Pagosa (1/27) Chicago, IL, 48, Worker at the 8th Day Center for
Justice. Peace activist.

Sr. Joann Quinkert (1/27) Oak Lawn, IL, 71, Sister of Providence. Former
teacher. Social ministry worker.

Douglas Kasper (2/10) Wheaton, IL, 58, Bricklayer. Peace activist. Member of
St. Isidore Faith Community.

Jeremiah John (1/21) Bloomington, IN, 21, Activist. Science and logic major.
Vagabond.

Charity Ryerson (1/21) Bloomington, IN, 20, Student. Activist.

Sr. Adele Beacham (1/27) Bloomington, IN, 76, Sister of Providence. Active
volunteer.

Sr. Rita Gerardot (1/27) St. Mary of the Woods, IN, 76, Retired. Volunteer.

Sonja Andreas (2/10) Wichita, KS, 53, Psychiatric nurse.

Edith Balot (1/27) Jefferson, LA, 69, School social worker.

Jason Lydon (2/10) Hadley, MA, 20, Student.

Laurel Albina (Bischoff) (2/10) Jamaica Plain, MA, 27,Worker with Unitarian
Universalist Association.

Michelle LaValley (2/10) Jamaica Plain, MA, 21, Unitarian Universalist Youth
Programs. 

Scott Schaeffer-Duffy (1/27) Worcester, MA, 44, Catholic Worker.

Christine LaVallee (1/27)  Worcestor, MA, 27, Deli clerk.

John (Jack) Neis (2/10) Apple Valley, MN, 61, Retired NW Airlines captain.
Husband. Father. Grandfather.

Loring Harkness IV (1/27) Northfield, MN, 21, Student.

Daniel Marx (1/27) Northfield, MN, 19, Student/activist.

Anika Walz (1/27) Stacy, MN, 19, Student at College of St. Catherine. Social
justice peer minister.

Michael Ugarte (2/10) Columbia, MO, 53, Professor of Spanish Literature &
Peace Studies at the Univ. of MO

Corbin Streett (2/10) Dublin, MS, 23, Supervisor at rehab center for teens.
Member of peace & justice center.

Vera Brown (2/10) Greensboro, NC, 20, Undergraduate at Guilford College.
Amnesty International member.

Robert Hiltonsmith (2/10) Greensboro, NC, 21, Senior at Guilford College.
Anti-war activist. 

Peter Jessup (2/10) Omaha, NE, Student.

Judy Bierbaum (1/27) Albuquerque, NM, 46, Clinical therapist.

Patrick Stanley (2/10) Bronx, NY, 20, Student.

Doris Reed Endwell, NY, 78, Retired.

Eloy Garcia (1/27) Maryknoll, NY, 34, Activist. Lawyer. Maryknoll lay
missioner. 

Marie Salupo (1/27) Maryknoll, NY, 24, Maryknoll lay missioner.

Rev. Clifford Frasier (1/27) New York, NY, 35, United Church of Christ
minister. Peace activist.

Marvin Warren (1/27) Poughkeepsie, NY, 21, Student. Anti-globalization &
anti-war activist. 

Caitlin Harwood (2/10) Cleveland Hts, OH, 19, Anthropology major at the
College of Wooster.

Jesse Carr (1/27) Oberlin, OH, 20, Transgender student at Oberlin. Works w/
Sexual Assault Support Team.

Eric Zibbel (1/27) Oberlin, OH, 19, Student at Oberlin College. Works with
local social justice groups.

Ann Huntwork (1/27) Portland, OR, 71, Retired medical social worker. Married
with six children. 

Philip D'Onofrio (1/27) Salem, OR, 35, Veteran. Federal employee. Massage
therapist. 

Tom Blancato (2/10) Pittsburgh, PA, 40, Newspaper deliverer.

Sr. Mary Hamilton (1/27) Rosemont, PA, 52, Member of Sisters of the Holy
Child. Educational center worker.

Katherine Brown (1/27) Providence, RI, 52, Artist. Writer. Teacher.

Judd Schiffman (2/10) Providence, RI, 20, Works with economically
underprivileged and disabled children.

Marilyn White (1/27) League City, TX, 55, Presbyterian Elder. Editor of the
Houston Peace News.

Sr. Moira Kenny (1/27) McAllen, TX, 56, Sister of Mercy. Paralegal.

James Hynes (1/27) San Antonio, TX, 57, Priest of San Antonio Archdiocese.
Catholic pastor.

Pamela McBride (1/27) Sorita, TX , 45, Accountant.

Judith Kelly (2/10) Arlington, VA, 57, Facilitator with nonviolence service.
Served in Peace Corps.

Jane Lehr (2/10) Blacksburg, VA, 27, Graduate student.

Patrick Lincoln (2/10) Blacksburg, VA, 21, Senior Spanish major at Virginia
Tech.

Jonson Miller (2/10) Blacksburg, VA, 27, Virginia Tech graduate student.

Dave Depp (1/27) Doswell, VA, 66, Retired. Activist.

Thomas Cleary (1/27) Richmond, VA, 84, Volunteer Mexican interpreter.
Father, Former Jesuit priest.

Julia Shideler (2/10) Olga, WA, 24, Americorps volunteer.

Mildred Vennessa Pustek (2/10) Premerton, WA, 71, Retired.

Sr. Maureen Newman (2/10) Seattle, WA, 57, Educator.

Katherine Bjorkman (1/27) Burlington, WI, 19, Recent student of Loyola
Univ., Chicago. Anti-war activist.

Caryl Hartjes, CSA (1/27) Fond du Lac, WI, 67, Sister of St. Agnes. Employed
at Hospice Home of Hope.

William Slattery (2/10) Maribel, WI, 18, Student.

Joyce Ellwanger (1/27) Milwaukee, WI, 65, Retired.

# # #




-- 

"we fell in love in the wreckage, 
shouted out songs in the 
uproar, danced joyfully in the
heaviest shackles they could
forge; we smuggled our stories
through the gauntlets of
silence, starvation, and
subjugation, to bring them
back to life again and again as
bombs and beating hearts
we built castles in the sky from
the ruins of hell on earth.

accepting no restraints from 
without, we countenanced 
none within ourselves, either
and found that the world
opened before us like
the petals of a rose"
...crimethinc workers collective