wfn.org | Disciples minister to be jailed for protest at controversial

["Wilma Shuffitt" <WILMAS@oc.disciples.org>]

U.S. military installation
Date: March 19, 1998
Disciples News Service
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Contact: Clifford L. Willis
Email: CWillis@oc.disciples.org
on the web: http//www.disciples.org

98b-18

     INDIANAPOLIS (DNS) -- On March 23 the Rev. Kenneth Kennon of
Tucson, Ariz., begins a six-month stay at Fort Bliss in El Paso, 
Texas. His time there, however, will be anything but joyful.

     Kennon is among 25 persons who were sentenced to federal prison
terms following a peaceful demonstration, Nov. 16, 1997, at the U.S. 
Army School of the Americas. More than 600 persons were arrested during 
the protest. The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) minister pleaded 
"not guilty" to a misdemeanor charge of "unlawful reentry." In addition to 
the six-month prison sentence, he was fined $3,000.

     The Fort Benning, Ga., installation has received widespread 
criticism for its use as a training ground for Latin American military leaders. 
SOA graduates, critics allege, are responsible for widespread human 
rights abuses in several Central and South American locales, including the latest 
incidents in Chiapas, Mexico. 

     In fact, the Nov. 16 protest date marked the anniversary of the 
1989 assassinations of six Jesuit priests and two women at the University 
of Central America in San Salvador. The soldiers charged with those deaths 
reportedly were trained at the School of the Americas.  

     For this reason, Kennon and 2,000 other opponents demonstrated 
at the facility last November, calling for its closure. The School of 
the Americas "is really a political/military school which teaches 
counterinsurgency, doctrine and tactics," according to Kennon, pastor 
of Community Christian  Church, Arizona City.  

     Supporters say the school's graduates are "distributing food to 
the poor, seeing to it that they have health care and interdicting 
drugs." But "that's a lie," said Kennon. His sources report SOA 
alums are involved in  drug trafficking, money laundering, murder 
and torture, and other illegal  activities. "The victims of their 
(the graduates') operation are their own  people."   
  
     "This school was birthed out of the fears of the Cold War" and
"foreign policy that grew out of World War II," Kennon said. That 
policy essentially said, "There should be no moral restraints on what we 
were willing to do to defend ourselves."

     But for Kennon, the "School of the Assassins," as it is known, 
has outlived its usefulness. "The Cold War is over. Justification for 
that facility is long since vanished."

     The irony behind the protestors' convictions and the school's
continued operation is not lost on Kennon. "Justice has been turned 
upside down," he said. "Those who peacefully demonstrate to stop the 
training of assassins are sent to prison, while the assassins and those who
train them go free."

     A supporter recently told Kennon that she heard he was arrested
"because I didn't know where the line was." SOA officials had painted 
a foot-wide white line which "tells you where Columbus (Ga.) ends and 
the military reservation begins," he said. "I knew where the line was. The 
problem  is our government . . .  doesn't know where the moral line is."  
 
     Now, having crossed that line, the Disciples minister is 
reluctant to turn back. "I just can't walk away from this," he said. "I know too 
many victims." 

     Kennon has been involved in Central American issues in Tucson 
since 1980. He helped start the sanctuary movement there and served as 
director of the Tucson Ecumenical Council's task force for Central America. The 
former minister of the city's Broadway Christian Church has "been acquainted 
with hundreds, if not thousands, of refugees who have come through 
Arizona."

     He first took part in demonstrations against the School of the 
Americas in November 1996. "I was outraged that year because 13 of my friends 
had received sentences from two months to six months for simply walking 
onto this open base." They had taken part in a November 1995 rally which drew 
only 25 persons. 

     "There are no gates or sentry posts," Kennon said. "Everyone is welcome 
to come in except those who are against the School of the Americas.
People in favor of it (SOA) have gone on base and made speeches 
supporting it."

     Interestingly enough, opponents of the school gathered out front 
where they conducted orderly, somber protests and were promptly arrested. 
"It's justice turned absolutely upside down!" Kennon exclaimed. "We get six
months and a $3,000 fine for going on the premises."

     In contrast to the 1995 demonstration, "in 1996 there were about 
500 of us who showed up and 60 of us were arrested. Last November there 
were 2,000 of us from almost every state in the nation. We brought 
hundreds of thousands of signatures from citizens calling for closing the 
school." More than 600 were arrested.

     Besides working for the rights of Latin American exiles, Kennon 
is speaking out on his family's behalf. "I have five children and 15
grandchildren. I'm afraid of what they'll face if their elders don't 
speak up clearly."

     Yet, for Kennon, in situations like this, even speaking out is 
often not enough. "It is more than talk. We have to put our bodies where our 
heart is sometimes. We need to give more than lip service to these values of 
human rights."

     Besides the Kennon family, members of Community Christian Church
also are making a sacrifice "at a significant cost to themselves." 
The church "has insisted on my remaining their pastor and compensating me as 
they normally would if I were there," Kennon said.

     The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Arizona and 
friends in the greater Tucson community have been equally supportive. 
Regional Minister Dennis Williams arranged for volunteers to fill the church's 
pulpit during Kennon's absence. 

     The region also established an emergency fund for Kennon and his
wife, Mary Ellen. In addition, community members started a legal 
defense fund to take care of court fees for Kennon and another local 
protestor, Randy Serraglio. It has collected more than $6,000.

     Kennon's biggest concern is for Mary Ellen, his spouse of more 
than 40 years. "I think it is harder for her," he said. Together they 
operate two adult care residential homes. Kenneth takes care of the  
administrative  tasks, while Mary Ellen manages personnel. During his 
absence four volunteers are set to help Mary Ellen run the family business.

     Despite the immense personal sacrifice for their family and the
congregation, Kennon believes this is a struggle worth continuing. 
And he won't rest until the "School of the Assassins" is closed.

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