 |
|
|
| Gina Zotti , Staff Writer | 03/12/2004 |
|
|
|
Posted on 03/12/2004 9:51:19 PM PST by calvin sun
Sahas' remark upsets group
|
COATESVILLE -- The Anti-Defamation League issued a letter to Dick Saha expressing its displeasure of his comment comparing the Coatesville City Council to Nazis. The letter was tempered with the acknowledgment that Saha apologized soon thereafter and the hope the gesture will "contribute to the damage you have done." The letter was written by ADL Regional Director Barry Morrison, dated March 9 and addressed to Dick Saha. It explained that the organization takes no stance on the land use issue, but has "very strong feelings about matters where expressions of such great insensitivity occur." "We’re not unaware of the complexity of issues involved here," said Morrison in a phone interview on Thursday. "We’re concerned with the quality of life of the community and how people relate to each other and communicate to each other." But, Dick Saha’s son, Rick Saha, who also compared city council to Nazis, said that he’d rather the ADL stay out of the issue. "This organization, they’re just trying to get involved in something they have no right to be involved in," Rick Saha said. "I don’t even want them to get involved until they’re in my shoes." Rick Saha said Thursday that he had not seen the letter to his father. Dick Saha is currently away on vacation and will not be back in the area until next week. "I don’t want to speak for my father," Rick Saha said, "but as far as I’m concerned, I wasn’t directing those comments to any one council member. I was talking to all the council members." Rick Saha’s name was not included on the apology letter that his father issued to council members and City Manager Paul G. Janssen Jr. "I don’t think I was out of control. That’s the way I felt," Rick Saha said. "If they (the ADL) don’t like it, I’m sorry to them. As far as council members, they’ve treated us rotten for the last five years. I’ve never gotten a ‘sorry’ for anything that happened." Both Dick and Rick Saha were ruled out of order for their comments and actions and were escorted out of the Feb. 23 meeting by police. "I’m sorry, but I don’t care about their feelings. I didn’t come to them. They came to me," Rick Saha said. "If they don’t want to be compared that they’re running, like, a Communist Party, they shouldn’t be acting like it. They’re not doing what the people want ... they’re taking our rights away." Dick Saha is currently in negotiations with the city pertaining to the city’s effort to condemn 42 of the family’s 48 acres of land in Valley. It is to be used for a golf course that will be a part of a $60 million recreation center the city has proposed. The city has said the center is a vital part of the city’s revitalization project. Three amendments to the city’s home rule charter were approved by voters in November. The amendments require the city to get approval by referendum before building a golf course or condemning property outside the city. The amendments are retroactive to 1999, and thus apply to the regional recreation plans and the original condemnation of the Saha land. The ADL letter to Dick Saha continued, "The Anti-Defamation League has worked long and hard to promote positive intergroup relations. Your comments, and the conduct of your son ... certainly do not contribute to this goal." The letter said the comments and actions offended, created divisions and fostered ill will between groups of people. "Furthermore, the Holocaust, as one of the most egregious events in world history, should never be manipulated, misused, or invoked in vain," the letter read. The City of Coatesville is actively involved in the ADL campaign "No Place for Hate." The multiphase project challenges municipalities with spreading the message of understanding and acceptance through their communities along with the message that hate will not be tolerated. "Since we have attached great importance to their ("No Place for Hate") program and its objectives, we don’t see how we can afford to remain silent when something so public happened in the community," Morrison said in the phone interview. |
|
©Daily Local News 2004
|
| Reader Opinions | |||||
|
|||||
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.