COLUMBUS, GA - As 10,000 demonstrators on Sunday chanted and waved signs to protest a military school for Latin American soldiers, the commander of Fort Benning said he was duty-bound to arrest those who trespass or damage military property.
"As the installation commander I'm required to protect those who live and work at Fort Benning," Brig. Gen. Benjamin Freakley said at a news conference.
Freakley, who served as a combat commander in Iraq, said that seven protesters were arrested for trespassing Saturday and one person was arrested for damaging government property after he spray painted Fort Benning's main gate.
Opponents of the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, formerly known as the School of the Americas, gathered outside Fort Benning's main gate this weekend to demand its closing.
Protesters blame the school for atrocities committed by some of its graduates in Latin America.
"We are here to speak for them," said the Rev. Roy Bourgeois, a Maryknoll priest who founded the School of Americas Watch and has been leading demonstrations outside the post for 14 years.
"We oppose the violence generated by this school and Fort Benning soldiers. Our way is the way of love with our brothers and sisters who are victims of violence," he said.
William Quigley, a Loyola University law professor and legal adviser to SOA Watch, said another 30-40 protesters were arrested on trespassing charges Sunday after crossing onto fort property.
The sentence for trespassing on military property ranges from probation to up to six months in prison and a $5,000 fine.
Eric la Compton, the protest's organizing coordinator, said it was the largest protest ever. "We believe our non-violent action was effective," he said.
Also speaking at the army's news conference were institute commandant Col. Richard Downie and Columbus Mayor Bob Poydasheff.
The mayor, a lawyer with a background in international relations, said he found it repulsive for a group to hold a demonstration outside Fort Benning at a time when people have died in the war in Iraq.
"I don't deny them their right to demonstrate but don't do it when people at Fort Benning have died and are recovering from their wounds," he said. During the group's traditional funeral march outside the gates, the names of thousands of alleged victims of violence in South America were read as protesters raised their crosses to honor them.
Demonstrators faced about 60 civilian officers in blue uniforms and military police wearing camouflage uniforms. The heavy police presence was partly due to concerns among fort officials that those protesting the Free Trade Area of the Americas in Miami may join the peaceful demonstration. Gas masks were slung over officers' legs, and people entering the area had to pass through a metal detector.
Last year, 84 people, including some elderly nuns, were arrested for trespassing. Some of them served up to six-month sentences in federal prisons.
Downie said he was encouraged that almost 600 of the protesters had attended the school's open house on Saturday.
"I find it somewhat frustrating that this group is trying to close an institution that is working for the same principals they are," he said. He added that the school strengthens democracy and teaches soldiers and police officers their role in a democratic society.
Responding to reports that the army had resorted to psychological warfare on Saturday by blaring loud patriotic music at the demonstrators, the general said the only reason they played the music was to raise the morale of their troops and security officers who were working at the demonstration. He noted that they often play such music to pump up the troops for exercise.
"It wasn't a tactic," Freakley said.
But William Quigley, a Loyola University law professor who serves as the SOA Watch's legal adviser, said the group is considering filing suit against the army for blaring the music.
"The army using taxpayers dollars to play (Lee Greenwood's 'God Bless the U.S.A.') to drown out a peaceful protest is a very big First Amendment problem," he said. "It is a tool against the enemy. It's pretty disturbing that high-ranking officers in the army think peaceful protesters are the enemy. I'm sure Lee Greenwood wouldn't appreciate it being used to drown out the voice of American citizens."