Faith In Action and the Peace & Civil LibertiesCommittee Event - Father Roy Bourgeois

Faith In Action and The Peace & Civil LibertiesCommittee present Father Roy Bourgeois,founder of the School of the Americas Watch. OnTuesday, January 8, come to see "The Struggle toClose the School of the Americas." Gather at7 p.m. for the program, which starts at 7:30 p.m.Special guests are Theresa and Blase Bonpane,and Frank Dorrel, with music by Jose-LuisOrozco. There is a suggested donation of $10 atthe door. For more information, call (310) 838-8131 or visit School of the Americas Watch athttp://www.soaw.org

SOAWatch is an independent organizationthat seeks to close the U.S. Army School of theAmericas, under whatever name it is called,through vigils and fasts, demonstrations andnonviolent protest, as well as media, and legislativework. On November 16, 1989, six Jesuitpriests, their co-worker, and her teenage daughterwere massacred in El Salvador. A U.S. CongressionalTask Force reported that those responsiblewere trained at the U.S. Army School of theAmericas (SOA) at Ft. Benning, Georgia. In 1990SOAWatch began in a tiny apartment outside themain gate of Ft. Benning. While starting with asmall group, SOAWatch quickly drew upon theknowledge and experience of many in the U.S.who had worked with the people of Latin Americain the 1970s and '80s.

Today, the SOAWatch movement is a large,diverse, grassroots movement rooted in solidaritywith the people of Latin America. The goal of SOAWatch is to close the SOA and to change U.S. foreignpolicy in Latin America by educating thepublic, lobbying Congress, and participating increative, nonviolent resistance. The Pentagon hasresponded to the growing movement and to Congress'near closure of the SOA with a PR campaignto give the SOA a new image. In an attemptto disassociate the school with its horrific past,the SOA was renamed the Western HemisphereInstitute for Security Cooperation in January of2001.

Attend this event on January 8 to learn moreabout the work of SOAWatch. Park for free in theUCLA garage on 16th Street.