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Thousands expected at Benning protest

The annual protest against the Fort Benning, Ga., school that trains officers from Latin American countries will take place this weekend in Columbus, Ga.

The demonstration and vigil is in its 18th year and is aimed at ultimately closing down the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, which until 2001 was known as the School of the Americas.

The protesters from a group called School of the Americas Watch complain that many of the foreign military members trained at the school return home to oppress the public as tools of corrupt governments.

Thousands of protesters have been arrested for civil disobedience since the demonstrations began in 1990, contending that the school teaches torture tactics and breeds dictators.

Protesters in recent years have scaled back that tone, however, as many governments in Latin America since the 1990s have changed from military to civilian.

The protest, which draws as many as 20,000 people, will take place at Fort Benning’s front gate beginning Saturday morning, lasting until 5 p.m. and continuing most of the day Sunday.

Meanwhile, a community event designed to show support for the military, known as the God Bless Fort Benning Celebration, will take place simultaneously on several blocks on Broadway Avenue in downtown Columbus.

The God Bless Fort Benning Celebration will include a pancake breakfast, phone banks for basic trainees and static displays including Stryker and Bradley fighting vehicles. The annual event started five years ago and draws people from surrounding areas for a festive atmosphere.

“People from the community can go and talk with soldiers and see some of the displays,” Fort Benning spokeswoman Elsie Jackson said.

The program administered by the Fort Benning school, also called WHINSEC, offers more than 2,000 courses at more than 150 military schools and installations, according to a spokesman at U.S. Southern Command.

The annual number of graduates fluctuates between 700 and 1,000. Students who attend WHINSEC are selected by the host nation, and nominees are vetted by the U.S. Embassy in that country before they are granted visas.

The majority of students come from Colombia, followed by Chile, Honduras, El Salvador, Dominican Republic, Bolivia, Peru and Panama.

Many U.S. field-grade officers, such as foreign area officers and members of the Special Forces, also attend the Spanish-language courses.

Other countries eligible to attend WHINSEC include Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago and Uruguay.