CPTnet
August 3, 1998
Richmond, VA/Binghamton, NY: CPTers demonstrate against the School of the
Americas /Anne Herman released from prison

CPT SPONSORS VIGIL AGAINST THE SOA
by Claire Miller

On July 27, over 65 Mennonites, Catholics, and other concerned citizens
gathered in front of the federal court building in Richmond, Virginia, to call
for the closure of the U.S. Army School of the Americas (SOA) in Fort
Benning, Georgia. The group shared in a period of readings, songs, liturgy
and leafletting, following which ten vigillers attempted to enter the
building. They were arrested as they read in unison an indictment of the U.S.
justice system for its role in overlooking human rights abuses condoned by
the school, while giving unduly long sentences to those who nonviolently
protest its existence.

Graduates of the school are known to have commited some of the worst
atrocities in recent Latin American history, including in Chiapas. Texts used
at the school condone use of torture and assassination to carry out political
purposes.

The Richmond vigil concluded a weekend of preparation, liturgy and
fellowship, and was jointly sponsored by Christian Peacemaker Teams-Richmond,
the Goochland (Va.) Catholic Worker farm, the Richmond Peace Education Cener
and other local peace groups.

Virginia CPTers Wes Hare and Joni Sancken (Richmond), Jan Long
(Blacksburg) and Claire Miller (Norfolk) participated in the vigil.

ANNE HERMAN RELEASED FROM FEDERAL PRISON

by Kathleen Kern

On the same day that the vigil in Richmond took place, Anne Herman was
released from six months in federal prison for trespassing at Fort Benning in
a November 1997 demonstration.

Commenting on the living conditions at the Danbury Federal Correctional
Institute, Herman said, "If it were a homeless shelter, it would be shut down.
I've used outhouses that smelled better than the toilets there." Herman lived
in a basement room about the size of a gymnasium along with 50 other women for
the duration of her prison term.

The prison staff told Herman they would take her to the bus station at 6 AM
the morning of her release. Instead they dropped her off at a gas station at
6:30 pm. A van decorated with yellow ribbons pulled into the gas station.
She asked the people in the van about the ribbons and they told her about a
prisoner who had just finished a six month sentence for trespassing at the
School of the Americas. At that point, Herman introduced herself.

In a telephone conversation, Herman expressed appreciation that CPT has begun
to focus more intensively on closing the School of the Americas. She also
stated that she believed the SOA would be closed down in her lifetime.

"It took from 1848 to 1920 for women to get the vote," she said. "It took
almost as long for the struggle against slavery to succeed. They've only been
working on closing the School of the Americas for eight years."

While in prison, Herman had a grandson born to her youngest daughter. She
expects to attend the christening this week. "I made them [her daughter and
son-in-law] wait until I was out," she said.