[Vision2020] 08-03-04 Breaking AP: Iraqis on Tour Banned From Memphis City Hall by City Council Chair, Who Cited Security Concerns

Art Deco aka W. Fox deco at moscow.com
Tue Aug 3 17:25:59 PDT 2004


Aug 3, 2004

Iraqis on Tour Banned From Memphis City Hall by City Council Chair, Who Cited
Security Concerns
The Associated Press

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Iraqis visiting on a civil rights tour were barred from
city hall after the city council chairman said it was too dangerous to let them
in.
The seven Iraqi civic and community leaders are in the midst of a three-week
American tour, sponsored by the State Department to learn more about the process
of government. The trip also includes stops in Washington, Los Angeles and
Chicago.

The Iraqis were scheduled to meet with a city council member, but Joe Brown, the
council chair, said he feared the group was dangerous.

"We don't know exactly what's going on. Who knows about the delegation, and has
the FBI been informed?" Brown said. "We must secure and protect all the
employees in that building."

Elisabeth Silverman, the group's host and head of the Memphis Council for
International Visitors, said Brown told her he would "evacuate the building and
bring in the bomb squads" if the group entered.

"They are in charge of setting up processes in their country. They have to
educate themselves about how it works in this country," Silverman said.

Silverman did not immediately respond to a message Tuesday seeking comment, and
it was not clear whether the group had run into trouble elsewhere on their tour.

But the delegates seemed in good spirits Monday, after they were able meet with
Carol Chumney, the city council member, elsewhere. Shahla Waliy, a 31-year-old
native of Baghdad, said she was intrigued by the city's civil rights history.

"I heard there was a kind of majority-minority conflict in Memphis, especially
in history," she said. "We have these smaller provinces, and we have
majority-minority conflicts in these places."

AP-ES-08-03-04 1753EDT

This story can be found at: http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBOW0JKGXD.html



a.. Go Back To The Story
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/vision2020/attachments/20040803/2e79a7e0/attachment.htm


More information about the Vision2020 mailing list