Call Congress this week! -- Prisoner Update -- November Organizing Packets

SOA Watch Update
June 6, 2005

1. Congressional Call-in Days: Tomorrow and Wednesday
2. Prisoner of Conscience Update
3. November Organizing Packets available for downloading

Tell Congress to Close the SOA/ WHINSEC!
Call-in Days: Tuesday, June 7 and Wednesday, June 8

Within six weeks of introducing a new bill in Congress to close the
SOA/ WHINSEC, one hundred members of Congress co-sponsored the
legislation. We are now in our strongest position to close this
school since we won a vote in the House of Representatives in 1999.

Tomorrow and Wednesday, June 7th and 8th, representatives from human
rights organizations, labor unions, and religious networks will be
coming together in Washington D.C. for two days of intensive lobbying
in favor of HR 1217, legislation which would suspend operations at
the SOA/ WHINSEC. Our hope is to grow the amount of cosponsors of HR
1217, and we need YOU to join us as part of these events!

If your representative has not yet signed on as a cosponsor of the
bill, take the time to call her or his DC office by contacting the
Capitol Hill Switchboard (202-224-3121). Visit our legislative
action page and scroll to the bottom to find out if your Member of
Congress is a cosponsor (
<http://www.soaw.org/new/article.php?id=96>http://www.soaw.org/new/article.php?id=96
).

Make your call on JUNE 7th or JUNE 8th. Here is a suggested message
for you to convey:

"Today representatives of human rights organizations, labor unions,
and religious networks are visiting their Members of Congress to urge
them to support HR 1217, the Latin America Military Training Review
Act of 2005. I am calling Congressman/woman ________ to voice my
support for HR 1217, which would suspend and investigate the School
of the Americas, which now uses the acronym WHINSEC. I urge the
Congressman/woman to contact Rep. McGovern's office to become a
cosponsor of this bipartisan bill. This would be one very concrete
step to support human rights and promote peace and justice for the
people of Latin America."

PRISONER OF CONSCIENCE UPDATE

We are happy to announce that imprisoned SOA Watch activist Tom
Maclean was released from FCI Otisville on Friday, June 3, and on
June 10, six more SOA Watch Prisoners of Conscience will be released
from federal prisons! Each was sentenced to three months for their
acts of nonviolent civil disobedience at Fort Benning last November
calling for the closure of the SOA/ WHINSEC.

The six are: Nashua Chantal of Americus, Georgia; Liz Deligio of
Chicago, Illinois; Meagan Doty of Dayton, Ohio; Ron Durham of
Chicago, Illinois; Elizabeth Nadeau of Minneapolis, Minnesota; and
Dan Schwankl of Siler City, North Carolina! These seven human rights
activists are among the more than 180 people who have collectively
served more than 80 years in federal prisons for their opposition to
the School of the Americas.

We join with the communities, families, supporters and SOA Watch
activists around the world in celebrating the witness to truth of
these peacemakers - and their releases from prison!

Four individuals - Brian DeRouen, Alice Gerard, Sr. Lil Mattingly and
Aaron Shuman - remain in prison, completing four and six month
sentences, and two people - Mike Ring and Mary Vaughn - remain on
probation. You can support these peacemakers!

Click here for prison addresses:
<http://www.soaw.org/new/article.php?id=322>http://www.soaw.org/new/article.php?id=322

Click here to learn about other ways to support prisoners:
<http://www.soaw.org/new/article.php?id=129>http://www.soaw.org/new/article.php?id=129


NOVEMBER ORGANIZING PACKETS!

The November Organizing Packet is an incredible resource for you and
your community as you spread the word about the SOA/ WHINSEC and as
you make plans to attend the November 18-20, 2005 Vigil to Close the
SOA at Fort Benning, Georgia.

In it, you'll find information about what to expect at Ft. Benning,
logistical information to assist your trip planning, media,
legislative, fundraising and outreach tips and resources, and flyers
you can reproduce and use in your community.

The packet is now available for downloading in English and Spanish
from the SOA Watch website!

Click here for the English packet:
<http://www.soaw.org/new/article.php?id=1086>http://www.soaw.org/new/article.php?id=1086
Pulsa aquí para el paquete en español:
<http://www.soaw.org/new/article.php?id=1090>http://www.soaw.org/new/article.php?id=1090

To order a package by mail, contact the SOA Watch office at
<mailto:info [at] soaw.org>info [at] soaw.org or at 202-234-3440. We ask for a
$3-4 donation to cover the costs of printing and postage.