This year’s protest will commemorate the 20th anniversary of the murder of six Jesuit priest in El Salvador by the US-backed Salvadoran military. The Jesuit priests were killed on November 16, 1989–20 years ago this week– when a military unit entered the Central American University campus and shot them to death. The priests’ housekeeper and her daughter were also killed in the attack.The Jesuits had been outspoken advocates for the poor and critics of human rights abuses committed by the ARENA government. Many of the soldiers involved in the murders were graduates of the School of the Americas at Fort Benning.

Earlier this week, in El Salvador, the Jesuit priests were bestowed the nation’s highest civilian award, marking the first time the Salvadoran government has honored the priests since their deaths. El Salvador’s defense minister announced the military is ready to ask for forgiveness and open its archives to a long-sought investigation.

To talk more about the 1989 killing of the Jesuits and the state of Latin American affairs I am joined here in Los Angeles by Blasé Bonpane.

Blasé Bonpane, Thousands of human rights activists are gathering at Fort Benning in Georgia this weekend for the annual protest to shut down the U.S. Army training center once known as the School of the Americas. The school, now known as the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, is used to train Latin American soldiers in combat, counterinsurgency and counter-narcotics. Critics have dubbed the training center the “School of the Assassins,” because some of its graduates have been responsible for some of the worst human rights abuses in Latin America.This year’s protest will commemorate the 20th anniversary of the murder of six Jesuit priest in El Salvador by the US-backed Salvadoran military. The Jesuit priests were killed on November 16, 1989–20 years ago this week– when a military unit entered the Central American University campus and shot them to death. The priests’ housekeeper and her daughter were also killed in the attack.The Jesuits had been outspoken advocates for the poor and critics of human rights abuses committed by the ARENA government. Many of the soldiers involved in the murders were graduates of the School of the Americas at Fort Benning. Earlier this week, in El Salvador, the Jesuit priests were bestowed the nation’s highest civilian award earlier, marking the first time the Salvadoran government has honored the priests since their deaths. El Salvador’s defense minister announced the military is ready to ask for forgiveness and open its archives to a long-sought investigation. The current head of of Central American University, Father Jose Maria Tojeira, welcomed the posthumous recognition.
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To talk more about the 1989 killing of the Jesuits and the state of Latin American affairs I am joined here in Los Angeles by Blasé Bonpane. He is a former Maryknoll priest who serves as the Director of the Office of the Americas. For more than four decades he has worked to promote human rights in Latin America. He also hosts the show “World Focus” on Pacifica Radio’s KPFK in Los Angeles and is the author of many books including, “Civilization is Possible.”

Related Links

• School of Americas Watch

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