This fall, when I participated in a nonviolent demonstration against the SOA myself, I went as a Friend and sought the guidance and friendship of other Quakers throughout the rainy, damp weekend at Fort Benning, Georgia. Events to publicize and protest training by the U.S. Army against the people of Central and South America are organized primarily by the SOA Watch, an organization founded by Fr. About ten years ago, Roy rented an apartment across the street from the main gate into Ft. Benning and opened the SOA Watch office. He has watched the annual demonstration of protest there increase from a handful of friends to over 10,000 priests, nuns, unionists, students, and friends of those murdered throughout Latin America.
Many groups organize to attend as whole colleges, religious sects, and organizations.
The SOA was established in Panama in 1946 to promote stability in the region. Soldiers were trained in Low Intensity Conflict, a cynical strategy to protect the interests of U.S. corporations and maintain the economic status quo that benefits rich and powerful people in the U.S. and their allies in Latin America. Its purpose is to maintain a U.S. military presence in Central and South America without jeopardizing the lives of American soldiers. Instead, Latin American soldiers are trained in techniques that target labor organizers, religious leaders, student activists, educators, and others who work for human rights. Many of these people were also raped, mutilated, burned, and left unburied.