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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 4, 2003)
Jailed for Justice A chain-link fence erected after 9/11 keeps citizens out of the Fort Benning Army Base, which houses the School of the Americas. Local peace activist arrested at S.O.A. protest. “F ence so high, but we can get over it, oh rock-a my soul,” sang Eugene peace activist ,Peg Morton as she was arrested on Sunday, Nov. 23 for engaging in civil disobedience by entering the Fort Benning Army Base in Fort Benning, Ga. She was charged with criminal trespass, a federal offense. Because she’s been arrested and charged with the same of- fense before, Morton, 73, faces up to six months in jail and a $5,000 fine for her act. Her trial is scheduled for Jan. 26 in Columbus, Ga. During the weekend of Nov. 23rd, ap- proximately 10,000 protesters, including eight others from Eugene and Roseburg, gathered to protest the mission of the military school housed at Fort Benning. Formerly known as the School of the Americas (SOA), it’s now called the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation — a name change enacted in 2001 and meant to appease congressional and public dissent — yet its work is the same: to train Latin American sol- diers in assassination, torture, combat, counter-insurgency and counter-narcotics. Every year in November protesters gather at the base to mark the anniversary of the 1989 murder of five Jesuit priests, a woman colleague and her daughter who were mur- dered by SOA graduates in Argentina. Among the SOA’s nearly 60,000 gradu- ates are Manuel Noriega and Omar Torrijos of Panama, Leopoldo Galtieri and Roberto Viola of Argentina, Juan Velasco Alvarado of Peru, Guillermo Rodriguez of Ecuador, and Hugo Banzer Suarez of Bolivia. Lower-level SOA graduates have partici- pated in human rights abuses that include the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero and the El Mozote Massacre of 900 civilians. On Sunday, Nov. 23, protesters formed a procession carrying crosses and flowers, calling out names of those massacred and conducting a mock funeral, with Morton among those mourning over the corpses. “A group of us knelt among them and prayed,” says Morton. TONY MCELFRESH The group then decorated the chain-link fence — erected after 9/11 — that marks the bound- ary of the army base. “We prayed there and walked on … we believe the fence is block- ing the truth of Peg Morton what really is happening … and many of us walked around, climbed under or went over it. Our supporters cheered and clapped,” says Morton. The protesters sang “We shall overcome,” were handcuffed, led to a bus and transported to a processing center on the base. More than 40 were charged with criminal trespass and taken to jail. Bail was posted at $1,000. “It was up $500 from last year, and I only had $500 with me,” says Morton. Members of SOA Watch, an independent organization located near Fort Benning that is working to close the school, gave free legal representation to arrested protesters and arranged bail money for them. Morton, a retired social worker, says she was willing to cross the line for a second time, even knowing she could face hard time. “I was moved to choose arrest after re- flecting on the suffering and fear I encoun- tered among residents during past trips to Guatemala,” she says, adding, “I’m a Quaker and a solidarity activist, and this protest is a creative, courageous, nonviolent movement out of the Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. tradition. It’s important to me that it’s both nonviolent and forceful — or forcefully non- violent— not passive.” Although Morton was reflecting on the stories she heard from survivors of abuses in Guatemala at the time of her arrest, she did not despair. “As the procession continued and I gazed at the oncoming rows of people, my weeping TED TAYLOR BY ARIA SELIGMANN ‘This protest is a creative, courageous, nonviolent movement …it’s both nonviolent and forceful.’ –Peg Morton became weeping of hope. I realized, deep in- side, the strength and love in this mass of peo- ple, only a few of the millions around the world who are working, praying and march- ing for peace,” she says. Joining Morton in protest were students, clergy, labor groups, veterans, human rights and social and global justice groups. Other local protesters included Sister John Backenstos, SNJM, of McKenzie Bridge, Lorrie Agost of Roseburg, Leanne Agost Miller, Russell Benedict, Shauna Farabaugh, Tony McElfresh, Jonah McElfresh and Matt Hornback. Morton says if sent to prison, she will use her time there to collect the stories of incar- cerated women. If she must do community service instead, she will concentrate her ef- forts in the Whiteaker neighborhood. The threat of punishment does not dis- suade Morton from her cause. “My action is nothing compared to those seeking justice in Latin America,” she says. “We must stop the suffering — we must close the School of the Americas.” ew LOOKIN’ FORWARD AT DOWNTOWN F IRST F RIDAY A RTWALK 790 Willamette Street 4:30-8:30 • December 5th D ROP IN & C OMMENT ON : Downtown Plan Update Urban Renewal Plan Amendments Central Area Transportation Study (CATS) 10 DECEMBER 4, 2003
