Posted on 07/22/2002 11:29:41 PM PDT by kattracks
ASHINGTON, July 22 Leaders of some Arab-American and civil rights group called for the removal today of a conservative member of the United States Commission on Civil Rights after he made comments that the groups say suggested tolerance for interning Arab-Americans in the effort against terrorism.
In response to testimony on reports of widespread civil rights violations against Arab-Americans, Peter N. Kirsanow, a recent appointee to the panel, said, "If there's another terrorist attack, and if it's from a certain ethnic community or certain ethnicities that the terrorists are from, you can forget civil rights in this country."
Referring to a case from 1944, Korematsu v. United States, in which the Supreme Court upheld the right to intern Japanese-Americans in the interest of national security, Mr. Kirsanow ended his comments saying, "I think we will have a return to Korematsu, and I think the best way we can thwart that is to make sure that there is a balance between protecting civil rights, but also protecting safety at the same time."
Mr. Kirsanow, who began by saying he believed in the vigilant protection of civil rights in times of war, said his comments were meant to acknowledge, not condone, possible sentiment after another terrorist attack.
"I am unalterably opposed to even the idea of internment camps," Mr. Kirsanow said in response to the call for his ouster from the eight-member commission that investigates discrimination cases. "The whole premise was to make clear that these attitudes must be roundly condemned and to state that the war on terrorism and the protection of civil rights are not mutually exclusive."
The controversy heated up over the weekend when The Detroit Free Press printed additional comments by Mr. Kirsanow. When a reporter pressed Mr. Kirsanow to clarify his stand, he reportedly responded, "Not too many people will be crying in their beer if there are more detentions, more stops, more profiling."
Imad Hamad, the Midwest regional director for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, who attended the hearing, said he had been receiving calls from Arab-Americans since the comments.
"For someone in his position to even entertain the idea of detention camps," Mr. Hamad said, "it is like he is making it an acceptable debate."
Wade Henderson, the executive director of the Leadership Commission on Civil Rights, a coalition of liberal civil rights organizations, religious groups and unions who was a co-signer of a letter to President Bush today that called for Mr. Kirsanow's ouster, said his comments were "reckless and inflammatory."
A spokesman for the White House said that Mr. Bush was "convinced of Mr. Kirsanow's commitment to ensuring the protection of all Americans' civil rights" and that Mr. Bush would not remove him.
Mr. Kirsanow suggested that enemies might be leading the protest. In May, Mr. Kirsanow, a labor lawyer and chairman of the Center for New Black Leadership, joined the eight-member review panel after months of objections by liberal members.
If there's going to be debate, you bet this is where it starts. Not on the networks.
Uhmm, Peter N. Kirsanow is a Civil Rights Commissioner, hardly an "agent".
His supervisor is the President of the US, who appointed him for a term of 6 years on good behavior.
Mr. Kirsanow said nothing childish --he pointed out that tolerance for the Arab-Islam community will evaporate if there is another attack.
If Imad Hamad of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee wants to dispute that, than Mr. Hamad is living in some alternate fantasy.
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