Thousands Protest

Undercover protests
Twenty Thousand Gather at the Gates of Fort Benning
to Shut Down the SOA
by Chris Lugo

On the morning after a record crowd of 16,000 (Columbus Police estimate) attended Saturday’s rally at the gates of Ft. Benning to protest the School of the Americas\Western Hemispheric Institute for Security Cooperation, an early morning crowd waited with anticipation for an even larger turnout expected at the annual vigil and civil disobedience. About 100 members of Veterans for Peace and Iraq Veterans for Peace marched in chanting an antiwar cadence to open the ceremonies. They were followed by a group from a Buddhist dojo that had been walking from Atlanta to Ft. Benning since Nov. 12.

At 8:45am the crowds began swelling as the musicians collective opened the day with a round of "No mas No more!" welcoming the protesters, many of whom were bundled up to stay warm on a coolish fall day in central Georgia. The crowd was welcomed by SOA Watch Staff and presented with a list of non-violence guidlines.

Around 10:00am the crowd was entertained by the Indigo Girls and heard the words of Iraqi war Veteran Rev. Charles McKenzia of RAINBOW/PUSH, SOA Watch Rounder Father Roy Bourgeois and former prisoner Sister Diane Pinchot. It was announced that the crowd size was estimated to be 20,000. Also speaking was Patricia Roberts, mother of Jamaal Addison, first soldier from Georgia killed in Iraq and Sister Helen Prejean.
Undercover protests