THE US ARMY School of the Americas has invited a panel of human rights
experts to speak at the school throughout the week, beginning today.
Francois Senechaud, who works for the International Committee of the Red
Cross in Guatemala; Steven Scheebaum, a human rights attorney from Washington
D.C.; and Rabbi Abraham Cooper of the Simon Weisenthal Center and Museum of
Tolerance in Los Angeles, will speak inside Ridgway Hall, Building 35.
Daily lectures will take place from 9 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. The conference
will include a human rights panel discussion from 1-3 p.m. Friday in Room
219. Limited seating is available.
Said school spokesman Nicolas Britto of the events, "We'd like to be able to
show what we do at the school without having to talk about the demonstration
all of the time."
Britto was referring to annual protests by a group known as the School of the
Americas Watch, which annually draws thousands to Fort Benning's front gate
every fall to protest what it says are atrocities committed by the school's
military and law enforcement graduates.
The public is also invited to this week's talks. For information, call
545-1923.