[Imc-newsroom] soaw stories for headlines

[Mark Enslin]

Jul 2002 12:00:41 -0400
1. Rainbow Revolutionaries Trial Update
2. Legislative Update: UREGENT-90 More Signatures Needed to Reach Our
Goal
3. Invite Your Member of Congress to Speak at November Vigil
4. Members for SOA Watch Translation Working Group Needed
5. El Salvadoran Generals Connected to the SOA Found Liable for Torture

1. RAINBOW REVOLUTIONARIES TRIAL UPDATE Yesterday, August 24th,
signified the end of the week-long trial of the United States Government
vs. Kate Berrigan, Jackie Downing, Shauna Farabaugh, Anna Hendricks, Ann
George, Becky Johnson, Riley Merline, and Sarah Saunders. The group,
collectively known as the Rainbow Revolutionaries, was charged with
blocking and impeding traffic on the Capitol grounds during the Colombia
Mobilization march on the morning of April 22nd. After two full days of
deliberation, and a deadlocked jury, the case was eventually dismissed.
The trial began on July 17th with several pleas to dismiss the case, and
some commentary from Judge Greene, the presiding judge, about the
consequences of self-representation. The next morning, Ann George plead
no contest, received a $150 fine and one year unsupervised probation,
and was excused from the rest of the trial. The remainder of the group,
along with the two prosecutors representing the government, argued their
cases throughout the day on Friday. Monday morning, they each made their
closing arguments, and after lunch, the jury began their deliberation.
They continued until Tuesday afternoon, when the jury sent a note to
Judge Greene, stating that they were deadlocked. He sent them back,
telling them to continue their deliberation. Again, early Wednesday
afternoon, a similar note came from the jury, but due to improper
process, they were instructed to continue discussing the case. Finally,
at 4:00, another note came, stating that there had been a deadlock for
two full days. At this point, the case was then dismissed. Judge Greene
stated that he was impressed with the quality of the arguments and
statements made by the Rainbow Revolutionaries. There will be a status
hearing on July 26th at 9:30 to determine whether or not there will be a
retrial. Support would be appreciated at the US Superior Court, 500
Indiana Ave., in Judge Edward's courtroom. For more detailed articles:
http://www.soaw.org/new/article.php?id=3D406
http://www.soaw.org/new/article.php?id=3D406 http://www.dc.indymedia.org/=
=20

2. LEGISLATIVE UPDATE: URGENT- 90 MORE SIGNATURES BRING US TO OUR GOAL
HR 1810, the bill in the House to close the SOA/ WHISC, currently has
111 co-sponsors. In order to win, we need to convince at least half the
House to vote to close the school. Co-sponsoring this bill is a way to
demonstrate that when it comes time to vote, your Rep. will vote the
right way. Getting up to 200 co-sponsors is very close to the number of
"yes" votes we would need, and we are over halfway there! Plus, there
are currently 90 Reps who voted to close the SOA in 2000 who have not
yet co-sponsored this current bill. Why not?? This is very important! If
we want to vote on HR 1810 this year, we need these 90 Reps to
co-sponsor the bill to demonstrate that when we vote for it, we WILL
WIN. Check to see if your Rep is one of the 90, and if so, please
contact them immediately to find out why they haven't co-sponsored HR
1810, yet. CALL NOW: Call your Representative at 202-224-3121 and ask to
speak to the legislative aide that deals with foreign affairs. Ask them
to contact Cindy Buhl in Rep. McGovern's (D-MA) office to sign on. For a
sample message to your Representative and for more legislative
information, see our website at
http://www.soaw.org/new/article.php?id=3D448
http://www.soaw.org/new/article.php?id=3D448

3. INVITE YOUR MEMBER OF CONGRESS TO SPEAK AT NOVEMBER VIGIL Now is the
time to contact your Members of Congress to invite them to join you and
over 10,000 other human rights supporters at the November vigil this
year at Ft. Benning. SOA Watch would like to invite all 111 co-sponsors
of HR 1810 to speak, and we hope that many of them would say yes. You
can help by sending a personal invitation to your own Representative to
let them know how important it is to you, as a constituent, that they
speak at this year's vigil. Is your Representative a co-sponsor of HR
1810? Send them a letter inviting them down in November. For a sample
letter, see http://www.soaw.org/new/article.php?id=3D447
http://www.soaw.org/new/article.php?id=3D447 Is your Representative not
yet a co-sponsor of HR 1810 but has been supportive of closing the
school in the past? Start by urging them to become a co-sponsor, and
then invite them to the vigil.

4. MEMBERS FOR SOA WATCH TRANSLATION WORKING GROUP NEEDED SOA Watch is
putting together a translation working group to ensure that all our
major materials are bilingual. If you are fluent in Spanish and/or have
good translation skills and would like to help strengthen the SOA Watch
Movement by being on this working group, please call Gail at the SOA
Watch office at 202-234-3440 or e-mail her at <mailto:gtaylor at soaw.org
gtaylor at soaw.org.

5 EL SALVADORAN GENERALS CONNECTED TO THE SOA FOUND LIABLE FOR TORTURE
On Tuesday, July 23rd , a Florida federal jury awarded $54.6 million to
three Salvadorans who proved they were tortured by Salvadoran security
forces. Juan Romagoza, Neriz Gonzalez and Carlos Mauricio sued two
Salvadoran generals who retired to Florida in 1989. The suit is based on
two federal laws that allow torture victims to seek redress in U.S.
courts, even if the offenses occurred elsewhere. The two retired
generals are Jos=E9 Guillermo Garcia, Salvadoran Minister of Defense and
Public Security from 1979-1983, and Carlos Eugenio Vides Casanova, the
Director-General of the Salvadoran National Guard from 1979-1983, and
subsequently Minister of Defense and Public Security. Both men are
connected to the School of the Americas (SOA). General Jos=E9 Guillermo
Garc=EDa received counterinsurgency training at the SOA in 1962. As
defense minister Garc=EDa refused to investigate reports that
approximately 900 hundred unarmed civilians were brutally murdered by
the U.S.-trained Atlacatl battalion in 1981. A 1993 UN Truth Commission
on El Salvador verified the reports. Garc=EDa also failed to launch a
serious investigation of the murder of four U.S. church women by members
of the Salvadoran National Guard in December 1980. Garc=EDa was granted
residency in the U.S. in 1989. General Carlos Eugenio Vides Casanova was
a Guest Speaker at the SOA in 1985. A UN Truth Commission Report cited
him for ordering the assassination of four U.S. church women in 1980.
Vides Casanova was granted residency in the U.S. in 1989. During a
four-week trial that began on June 24 the plaintiffs told of being
detained and brutally tortured by Salvadoran national guardsmen and
police under the command of the two generals. The jury began
deliberations on Thursday afternoon, and deliberated for 20 hours. For
more information, contact the Center for Justice and Accountability,
http://www.cja.org/ www.cja.org