Dozens arrested at Fort Benning protest

COLUMBUS - More than 60 people, including at least five nuns, were arrested for marching onto Fort Benning grounds Sunday during an annual protest of a U.S. military program that trains Latin American soldiers. <br> <br> The demonstration outside the fort&#39;s main gate Sunday was the 13th organized by the group School of the Americas Watch since the Nov. 16, 1989, killings in El Salvador of six Jesuit priests. <br> <br> Some of the assailants had attended the School of the Americas, a Fort Benning-based Army program that was replaced last year by a new institute. Protesters say the change was only cosmetic. <br> <br> ``I don&#39;t want to give up my freedom and I would enjoy peace and justice more, but as a person of faith, I can&#39;t stand back and watch the atrocities,&#39;&#39; Dorothy Pagosa, 48, said as she was being arrested by military police. <br> <br> ``The atrocities that have happened have brought shame on this country,&#39;&#39; she said. <br> <br> As Pagosa and four other nuns were being arrested, other protesters began to march onto the base property, a federal offense that carries up to six months in prison. <br> <br> Demonstrators carried American flags and crosses honoring the alleged victims of the abuses in Latin America. Three protesters carried a mock-coffin draped in black. <br> <br> About 7,000 protesters took part in the protest last year. Twenty-eight later pleaded guilty or were found guilty of trespassing - including three nuns over the age of 67 - and most of them served six-month sentences in federal prison. <br> <br> The Army&#39;s School of the Americas was replaced last year by a new institution operated by the Department of Defense and supervised by an independent 13-member board that includes lawmakers, scholars, diplomats and religious leaders. <br> <br> Officials say the new school, known as the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, still trains Latin American soldiers, but also focuses on civilian and diplomatic affairs. Human rights courses are mandatory. <br> <br> Protest leaders say the change was only cosmetic, and they have promised to continue the demonstrations.

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