COLUMBUS, Ga. -- An annual protest of a Fort Benning institute for military officers from Latin America could be the biggest yet because of opposition to a war with Iraq, according to police and protest leaders.
Columbus officials are readying for 5,000 or more protesters to come to town Nov. 15-17, the weekend chosen to demonstrate against the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, the successor to the U.S. Army's School of the Americas.
Protesters say the American military has trained soldiers in violence to be used in their home countries. The Army insists the school does not teach terrorist tactics.
Columbus police Maj. Julius Graham said anti-war sentiment is strong this year, boosting the protest's attendance.
"You've got anti-war sentiment with the United States' situation involving potential war with Iraq. You've got those individuals -- regardless of whether they're one or 100 -- and the demonstration provides a platform for them as well so they can advance their agenda," he said.
Dozens were arrested at the protest last year.
"We're going to treat them with dignity and treat them fairly, but at the same time we're going to enforce the law like we did last year," said Columbus Mayor Bobby Peters. "They will be arrested again if they want to sit in the middle of the road and block the entrance."
The Rev. Roy Bourgeois, protest leader and founder of School of the Americas Watch, said anti-war sentiment is filling the ranks of the movement and said this year's demonstration could be the organization's largest.
"Iraq is dominating the news and it's bringing more people into our movement," Bourgeois said.
He added that protesters oppose not just the Army school, but also the nation's hawkish approach to Iraq.
"We want to shut down this school, and we will," Bourgeois said. "But it's bigger than this school. We are also out to change this country's foreign policy. This school is an expression of that."
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