Mark Schlachtenhaufen
OKLAHOMA CITY — OKLAHOMA CITY — An Edmond man will be among thousands of activists who will call for the closing of a controversial military school.
Jamaica-born Banbose Shango recently moved from Washington, D.C., to Edmond to be with his fiance. Wednesday morning, Shango and several other Oklahomans departed for the Nov. 20-22 protest outside Fort Benning, Ga.
The Army post is home to a continuing education-style, government-backed institute formerly called the School of the Americas. It has been called the “school of dictators” due to the number of graduates who then went on to control their respective countries.
Protesters will converge at the gates of Fort Benning for the annual vigil and non-violent direct action, when small groups peaceably trespass to draw attention to their cause.
Father Roy Bourgeois, who founded School of the Americas Watch in 1990, said it is up to the protesters to push for closing the institute and for a change in U.S. foreign policy.
“Too many have died and continue to suffer at the hands of graduates of this notorious institute,” Bourgeois said.
Shango said he has deep concerns about the institute/school’s link via alumni to human rights abuses in Latin America.
They include Gen. Romero Velasquez, who engineered and supported the recent military coup in Honduras, exposing the destabilizing and deadly effects the school has on Latin America, Shango said. World leaders have criticized the right-wing coup as ruthlessly anti-democratic, he said.
Lee Rials, spokesman for the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, said the protests have been peaceful, and while Army officials keep an eye on the protesters, most of the security is provided by Columbus, Ga., police.
Rials said police-estimated crowds have been falling from a peak of about 13,000 in 2006 to last year’s estimated crowd of 8,700. Organizers anticipated that about 25,000 would attend this years vigil.
Rials said the institute was created in 2001 to provide professional education and training to eligible men and women — military, law enforcement and civilians — from members of the Organization of American States.
Some critics believe that as long as the school exists, even with a new name, problems will persist.
Rials said 10 percent of the content of every course is devoted to democracy, ethics and human rights training. Students complete one or two of the 18 resident courses offered at the institute, each three to 49 weeks long.
Rials said the institute is open to visitors, and it is one of the most transparent, accessible organizations in government.
Nathaniel Batchelder, director of Oklahoma City’s Peace House, said religious and spiritual connections motivate most of the activists. Mostly Catholic in its early years, the movement today includes Christians, Buddhists and people from other faiths as well, Batchelder said.
Shango said he has been involved in community organizing since the 1970s, when he was living in Chicago. This marks his fourth trip to Fort Benning to protest the school.
The protests are held around the anniversary of the Nov. 16, 1989, killings of six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper and her daughter by army soldiers during El Salvador’s civil war. Later, the U.N. Truth Commission’s report on the incident implicated 19 military members in the murders.
In fiscal year 2000, the school’s budget was estimated to be $4.4 million, according to the Department of the Army. Four U.S. House attempts to cut funding for the school were rejected in 1993, 1994, 1997 and 1998.
The institute’s curriculum is reviewed by a Board of Visitors to ensure that it complies with U.S. laws and regulations, is consistent with U.S. policy goals toward Latin America and the Caribbean and adheres to current U.S. doctrine.
