///Rapid Response 06/20/07
Latin America Military Training Review Act of 2007

Congress soon will vote on an amendment to close the School of the Americas/WHINSEC. H.R. 1707, known as the 'Latin America Military Training Review Act of 2007,' was introduced with 71 bipartisan cosponsors and has grown to 105 cosponsors. This legislation would suspend operations at the SOA/ WHINSEC and investigate the history of torture and human rights abuses associated with the school. (You can read the full text of the legislation at http://thomas.loc.gov/)

The School of the Americas has been accused of training members of governments guilty of serious human rights abuses and of advocating techniques that violate accepted international standards, particularly the Geneva Conventions. The school has frequently been charged with supporting regimes in Latin America with a history of employing death squads and otherwise infringing upon human rights, something the school has staunchly denied. (Paragraph source: Wikipedia)

If you support H.R. 1707, contact your member of the House of Representatives with a phone call, e-mail message or fax in support of the legislation.

Please take the time to call the Washington D.C. office of your Representative through the Capitol Hill Switchboard at (202) 224-3121. Ask to speak with the foreign affairs legislative assistant. You can find a list of representatives at http://www.house.gov/ . [Select link to Representatives.]

Feel free to use the following message:

"I am calling Representative ________ to urge her/him to vote YES on H.R. 1707, known as the 'Latin America Military Training Review Act of 2007,'. This bill cuts funding for the School of the Americas/ WHINSEC. New information indicates that WHINSEC has allowed known human rights abusers to instruct and receive training at the school. The governments of Costa Rica, Argentina and Uruguay have made public announcements they will no longer send students to the school, citing the negative image and history of this institution. Voting YES on this bill sends a positive human rights message to Latin America and will help to improve the U.S. image abroad. As an elected official in Washington D.C., I hope you will represent me and vote YES on any bill in the House that would cut funding to the school."

Respectfully,

YOUR NAME HERE

Angela Herrmann,
Director of Web site development
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