January 18 , 2002- Vol. III,
#3
RALLY FOR CIVIL
RIGHTS DRAWS CLOSE TO 50 CO-SPONSORS
Martin Luther King
III, Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), and Rev. Al Sharpton are among
the speakers gathering in Washington, D.C. for a rally and
town hall at the Convention Center on Saturday, January 19th
beginning at noon “to explore how Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
would face today’s challenges to civil liberties.” Part of the
national observance of the MLK holiday, the rally is supported
by a broad coalition including organizations representing:
Arab Americans and American Muslims, civil liberties and civic
leadership groups, Hispanics, Asians, African Americans, Jews,
Armenians, and others. Presentations by various speakers will
be followed by discussions with the audience on strategies for
protecting civil rights in light of recent anti-terrorism
legislation and Justice Department orders.
SEN.
LIEBERMAN ADDRESSES TERRORISM, RELATIONS WITH ISLAMIC
COUNTRIES
Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-CT), back from a
tour of Central Asia, spoke on topics ranging from the U.S.
role in Central Asia to combating global terrorism. He said
that “we must launch a long-term geopolitical and ideological
initiative…to combat the despotism, poverty and isolation that
terrorists exploit. If we do not help Islamic nations
affirmatively choose the path of progress and peaceful
coexistence…, the conditions… will spawn many more and even
more worse threats…” Lieberman supports greater dialogue with
Muslim governments, and criticizes the Palestinian leadership,
“We must…demand that the Palestinian Authority end its
tolerance for, and in some cases, sponsorship of terrorism, or
our relations with the Authority will also sadly end.” On
Iraq, he repeated the common refrain that “…this war against
terrorism will not be over until Saddam Hussein is removed
from power in Iraq.” Despite his calls for greater dialogue,
he mis-identified “jihad” as “the virtue-less cycle of
violence and repression and revenge”, and did not address how
US foreign policy could be an impediment in promoting U.S.
values abroad. On ending the Palestinian conflict, he said
that “the most we can hope for is an end to the immediate
cycle of violence and hopefully a return, according to the
Mitchell plan, to negotiations between both sides. And I’ll do
anything I can to help make that happen.” He promised more
details in forthcoming speeches, and they will be eagerly
awaited.
REBUILDING ANNOUNCED FOR DESTROYED
PALESTINIAN HOMES; DEBATE CONTINUES
After an IDF force
bulldozed dozens of Palestinian houses in Rafah, near Gaza,
Israeli officials could not agree on whether or not some of
the homes were occupied nor the basis for their destruction.
Most international response was negative, and the excesses of
the IDF were noted by a number of military and civilian
commentators. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced that
its president, Sheikh Zayed al-Nahyan had directed its Red
Crescent Society [Red Cross] to make arrangements for the
reconstruction of the homes. Israeli Defense Minister Benjami
Ben-Eliezer indicated that he supports dismantling some
isolated Jewish communities in the Palestinian territories
even as the Interior Ministry noted that most of the increases
in settlement growth in the occupied territories in 2001 took
place in three ultra-Orthodox settlements, those least likely
to agree with the Defense Minister’s assessment. It is not
known if the congressional delegation headed by Minority
Leader Richard Gephardt (D-MO) raised the settlements issue
with Israeli leaders during their visit this week in which
they cited unhappiness with Yasser Arafat’s efforts against
terrorism as a reason for not meeting with him. Gephardt
refrained from criticizing Israel’s tightening of the closures
around Palestinian cities as a result of the recent wave of
shootings, according to the Jerusalem Post. Earlier in the
week, members of a House Intelligence subcommittee on
terrorism did meet with Chairman Arafat and other leaders to
discuss their efforts.
ARAB STUDENTS TO MEET IN
WASHINGTON, HEAR FROM ADMINISTRATION AND CONGRESS
AAI is
coordinating meetings for the Union of Arab Student
Associations with members of Congress, the Administration,
federal agencies, NGO’s and Arab American and Muslim
organizations. The annual event is especially important in
light of recent confusion about new regulations for student
visas.
Where would you like to
go?
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