(Photos: Linda Panetta)
On September 23, SOA Watch and dozens of religious groups, orders, communities, etc. will hold a lobby day in Washington, DC to close down the SOA/ WHISC. Sponsors include: School of the Americas Watch; NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby; The Leadership Conference of Women Religious; Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns; Institute Leadership Team-Sisters of Mercy of the Americas; Pax Christi USA; Sinsinawa Dominican Peace and Justice Office; Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes; Conference of Major Superiors of Men.
We extend a very special invitation to the women and men who have received sentences for their actions of civil disobedience to close the SOA/ WHISC, and request their presence at a reception to take place on Monday evening, September 22, at NETWORK. We ask that you come to DC to lobby and call upon you to contact your religious communities to ask them to support you in your efforts once again.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Monday, September 22
7pm - Reception, NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby, 801 Pennsylvania Ave, SE, LL03
Tuesday, September 23
9-5pm - Check-in, Methodist Building, 100 Maryland Ave, NE
11am - Press Conference, location TBA
5:30pm - Prayer Service, location TBA
HR 1258 currently has 80 co-sponsors. We are averaging about 10 new co-sponsors each month but need many more. Will your representative be one of the new ones in June?
On March 13, 2003, Representative Jim McGovern (D-MA) and 49 other Representatives introduced a bill to close the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (successor to School of the Americas).
The bill, "The Latin America Military Training Review Act of 2003," repeals authority for the SOA/ WHISC and states that no successor school can be opened for at least 10 months. It also demands the establishment of a joint congressional task force to assess U.S. training of Latin American military.
Find out if your Representative has signed on to the new bill. If not, write them a letter or give them a call. Ask them to support human rights and sign on to HR 1258 now.
KEEP UP THE PRESSURE ON CONGRESS:
1. MEET with your Member of Congress To get a meeting, call the district office closest to you and ask to meet with your Member of Congress this week. If the Member will not be at the office closest to your home, ask to meet with someone who works on foreign affairs.
2. Call your Representative and ask them to co-sponsor HR 1258. Check first to see if are one of 80 representatives who are already co-sponsors and thank them if they have.
Call your Senators and ask them to sponsor legislation to close the SOA/WHISC.
Contact SOA Watch at info@soaw.org to let us know how your meetings and phone calls are going. We'll be counting the emails and checking the web site daily to see how many new co-sponsors we add from this week's calls!
Ask to speak with the staff person responsible for the issue. Give your name and tell her or him that you are a constituent. Be specific about what you want the member to do. Ask what the member's position is on the issue. If the staff person is uncertain, ask the staffer what he/she would recommend to her/his boss. Thank them for their time.
Web sites to find more info: http://congress.org/ (info about various elected officials) http://www.house.gov/ (click on "Member offices") http://www.senate.gov/ (click on "List Senators Alphabetically") http://thomas.loc.gov/ (links to all kinds of info about Congress, including bills)