ADC Requests Clarification on Detention of U.S. Resident Travelers

ADC Requests Clarification on Detention of U.S. Resident Travelers

Washington, DC | www.adc.org | September 1, 2010 – The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) expresses concern over the handling of a matter involving two United States residents of Yemeni descent who were detained in the Netherlands. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officers alerted Dutch authorities of the travelers after finding “suspicious objects” in the luggage of one of the passengers, which led to the detention.   The United States Government found no reasons to charge either individual with any crime, and the Dutch authorities have now released the travelers. 

ADC recognizes the importance of National Security; however, the protection of our Nation must not come at the expense of basic freedoms.  Government law enforcement officers must not use ethnic or racial profiling.  Further, the National media also must avoid using profiling, and must exercise restraint and responsible professionalism in their work.  Many news agencies made false assumptions and jumped to conclusions about the two travelers, including labeling them as “terrorists” and “terror suspects.”  ADC Michigan Regional Director, Mr. Imad Hamad, stated, “This type of language, especially  when not true, has a negative effect on an individual, his friends and his family, along with the Arab and Muslim American communities as a whole.”

ADC requests a clarification and explanation from DHS as to whether the national origin of these two passengers played a role in notifying Dutch authorities and in the subsequent detentions.  ADC further requests an explanation of the “flight pattern” criteria, adopted this past April as part of the new Transportation Security Administration (TSA) guidelines, that may have been applied under these circumstances.  It is readily apparent from this and other incidents that such guidelines are having a disparate impact on the Arab and Muslim American communities; and it appears, without question, that the final destination of these two individuals played a role in their detention. 

ADC in the News:

• New York Times: Terrorist Ties Doubted in Amsterdam Arrests
• Detroit Free Press: Q&A: Making sense of terror scare
• My Eyewitness News: Memphis Man Questioned On Terror Suspicion

The Opinion Makers: Debate, Discussion and Analysis on the Israeli assault on the Flotilla of boats seeking the break the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip

Columnists Ali Younes and Ray Hanania discuss and debate the controversy surrounding the Israeli assault on the flotilla of boats seeking to bring food and medicine to the 1.5 million besieged civilians living in the Israeli occupied Gaza Strip which resulted in the murder of nine civilians killed by Israeli storm troopers who dropped in on the boats in the dead of night from attack helicopters.

The world is calling for an independent investigation but Israel insists on conducting the investigation themselves. View this episode of the weekly online video program "The Opinion Makers" at:

http://vimeo.com/user3471011/videos

Or get more information at the web site

www.TheOpinionMakers.com

end

06-10-09 Violence will not derail US Withdrawal schedule from Iraq

Minister Al-Bolani: “Timeline of U.S. Withdrawal Process Will Not Be Affected By Terrorist Operations”
Announces Plans for New Wide-Scale Iraqi Security Operations in Basra; 500,000 Iraqi Police Forces Scheduled to Deploy across the Country

BAGHDAD, IRAQ (June 10, 2009)— Signaling that the half a million Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) are ready and eager to assume full control over much of Iraq’s security on June 30th, Iraq’s Minister of Interior Jawad Al-Bolani announced today that it is preparing for new wide-scale security operations in the southern Basra Province.

The security operations, which will launch in the near future, will be led by the Ministry of Interior’s (MoI) ISF, in coordination with Basra’s Security Committee. The plans will comprise just one of several such operations planned throughout Iraq by the MoI in the coming months, as the Ministry’s staff of 500,000 prepares to assume sole control of much of the country's cities, towns and villages.

“The new security initiative in Basra is a testament to the strength and preparation of our security forces, who have been aggressively combating terrorism and corruption in our country for quite some time,” Interior Minister Jawad Al-Bolani said. “We are grateful for the support of our allies, but we are eager for a new chapter in Iraq’s sovereignty to begin. Iraqis are ready to take our nation back. Terrorists will not affect the timeline of U.S. withdrawal and the resumption once again of Iraqis protecting Iraqis.

Following the June 30th withdrawal of U.S. forces, the MoI has assigned the Iraqi Police to take charge of security in most of the country's major population centers, including 70% of Baghdad. The Ministry of Interior will be fully responsible for the security in seven provinces, and the remaining eight will be the joint responsibility of MoI and the Ministry of Defense. The Iraq Army, under the Ministry of Defense, will support the police in the provinces based on Iraq's three main cities of Baghdad, Basra and Mosul, in the predominantly Sunni Arab western province of Al-Anbar, in Diyala and Salaheddin provinces north of the capital and in Karbala to its south.

The ISF will also gradually take responsibility for patrolling the country's 3,600 kilometers of borders, where 700 observation posts have been erected.

The Ministry of Interior has recently instituted a training program that has moved Iraq toward the goal of police primacy, where the Iraqi police maintain primary responsibility for security in the cities. As the United States prepares to withdraw its troops, the ISF presence is seen as crucial to the stability within each city.

For media inquiries on the Iraqi Ministry of Interior, please contact:
Email: IraqMOImedia@gmail.com
Phone: +1-212-486-7070

About the Iraqi Ministry of Interior

With 500,000 employees, the Ministry of the Interior (MoI) is the largest employer in Iraq, and coordinates, maintains and commands a growing variety of police and security-related forces, including the Iraqi Police Service, the National Police, the Department of Border Enforcement and the National Information and Investigations Agency. Jawad al-Bolani has served as Iraq's Interior Minister since his appointment in June 2006.

PETE SEEGER joins panel at Arab American National Museum

NEWS

Contact: Kim Silarski
313.624.0206
ksilarski@accesscommunity.org



IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PETE SEEGER DISCUSSES PROFILING AND ACTIVISM IN FEBRUARY 1 PANEL DISCUSSION AT AANM

Dearborn, MI (January 15, 2009) – Folk music legend and political activist Pete Seeger is set to take part in a panel discussion on the practice of profiling at the Arab American National Museum (AANM) from 1-2:30 p.m. Sunday, February 1.

The panel discussion, which is free and open to the public, is presented in conjunction with the current AANM exhibition A Yemeni Community: Photographs from the 1970s by Milton Rogovin, on display through July 5, 2009 in the AANM's Lower Level Gallery.

Entitled Rise-Up: Activism Through the Arts, Profiling from McCarthyism to the Present, the event unites Seeger with Michigan-based activists Ismael Ahmed and Dr. Gloria House and from Chicago, Mark Rogovin; Dr. Francis Shor moderates. Participant biographies appear below.

Profiling refers to the data surveillance technique employed by institutions such as law enforcement in which aspects such as race, ethnic origin or political activism are used to identify potential criminal offenders or security threats, often resulting in the disproportionate investigation of people of color.

There is no charge to attend this event; no RSVP is required. Seating is first-come, first-served; seating capacity in the Museum’s Lower Level Auditorium is 156. Call 313.582.2266 for further information.


Panelists

Pete Seeger is a musician, singer/songwriter, folklorist, labor activist, environmentalist and peace advocate. He has issued some 100 records, written and collaborated on numerous radical songbooks, articles and banjo manuals. In 1955, Seeger was subpoenaed by the House Un-American Activities Committee and became one of the few witnesses called that year who did not invoke the Fifth Amendment. In a dramatic appearance before the committee, Seeger claimed that to discuss his political views and associates violated his First Amendment rights. Read more about Seeger HERE.

Ismael Ahmed is a human rights activist, music promoter and the current director of the Michigan Department of Human Services. In 1974, he co-founded the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS) and served as its executive director from 1983-2007. Ahmed created the Concert of Colors, the largest free diversity music festival in the U.S., which marked its 16th anniversary in 2008.

Dr. Gloria House is a community activist, educator and poet who is a professor of humanities and African American studies at the University of Michigan - Dearborn. She has been involved in human rights causes since her student days at UC Berkley and her years as field secretary for the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee in Lowndes County, Alabama in the 1960s.

Mark Rogovin is an artist and community activist who worked with Mexican muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros on his last mural, The March of Humanity. In 1981, Rogovin co-founded the Peace Museum and was its director for four years. He now heads the Rogovin Collection with its mission to promote the educational use of the social documentary photography of his father, Milton Rogovin.

Dr. Francis Shor (moderator) is professor of history at Wayne State University and a longtime human rights activist involved with numerous peace and justice groups including the Michigan Coalition for Human Rights.

The Arab American National Museum documents, preserves, celebrates, and educates the public on the history, life, culture, and contributions of Arab Americans. We serve as a resource to enhance knowledge and understanding about Arab Americans and their presence in this country. The Arab American National Museum is a project of ACCESS, a Dearborn, Michigan-based nonprofit human services and cultural organization. Learn more at www.arabamericanmuseum.org and www.accesscommunity.org.

The Arab American National Museum is a proud Affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. Read about the Affiliations program at http://affiliations.si.edu.

The Museum is located at 13624 Michigan Avenue, Dearborn, MI, 48126. Museum hours: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday; noon-5 p.m. Sunday. Closed Monday, Tuesday; Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. Admission is $6 for adults; $3 for students, seniors and children 6-12; ages 5 and under, free. Call 313.582.2266 for further information.

###


***********************
Kim Silarski
Communications