Columbus, GA, 3:20PM - The U.S. Military is blasting anthems and marshal music at high decibel levels from inside Ft. Benning, directed at our peaceful, permitted demonstration outside of the gates of the base. The military is attempting to drown out an annual vigil to close the School of the Americas, renamed Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (SOA/WHISC), the notorious combat-training school for Latin Americans.
The technique of blasting loud music as a « psychological operation » has been used by militaries around the world. This method was used to drive SOA-graduate Manuel Noriega out of sanctuary in Panama and by Israel during the 2002 siege of the Church of the Nativity.
Meanwhile Columbus Police are using metal detectors to search every person attending the demonstration. The City of Columbus has set up a perimeter and demonstrators must enter and exit through access points. Last year Columbus Police took an action that had until then been unprecedented in the United States when they forced people to undergo searches as a condition for their participation in a public demonstration. Late last week, SOA Watch and the ACLU filed an emergency brief with the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in an attempt to get them to rule on the appeal from the 2002 mass-searches, and to enjoin the police from searching today. There has been no response from the Court.
« We will not allow these blatantly unconstitutional attempts to drown out our voices, » said Bill Quigley, a professor of law at Loyola Law School, and lawyer for SOA Watch. « These childish actions by the federal, state and local government only strengthen our resolve to stand up for our rights and all the victims of the School of the Americas. »
You can act now by calling the following base officials and asking them to turn off the music:
Ft. Benning Post After Duty: 706-545-2218
WHINSEC Public Affairs: 706-545-1923
General Ft. Benning Info: 706-545-2011
Stay tuned to Atlanta Indymedia http://www.atlanta.indymedia.org for breaking news from Fort Benning!