http://www.insidedenver.com/drmn/election/article/0,1299,DRMN_36_1974679,00.html
Group has bone to pick
Hickenlooper fails to clear air with pro-Palestinians
By Kevin Vaughan, Rocky Mountain News
May 20, 2003
Mayoral candidate John Hickenlooper gave a pro-Palestinian group the statement it wanted Monday - but not the answer it was looking for.
Hickenlooper has been at odds with the Colorado Campaign for Middle East Peace since he said he was "horrified" by some of the group's positions and since he was accused of saying the group's Web page had a link to the radical Palestinian group Hamas.
The group had sought a meeting with him. However, citing the demands of campaigning, Hickenlooper decided to draft a statement to the group instead, and it was forwarded to group members on Monday afternoon.
In it, Hickenlooper said he had "never issued public statements linking CCMEP to Hamas. Nor has there ever been anything on my Web site linking CCMEP to Hamas."
He also said a supporter of former mayoral candidate Ari Zavaras had accused the group of being anti-Semitic and attempted to link Hickenlooper to it because he had helped establish the Chinook Fund in 1987, which gave $3,000 to CCMEP last year.
"If CCMEP feels it has been slandered, then we are both victims of the same slander campaign," Hickenlooper said.
He also said his "personal support for the state of Israel continues. While the Middle East is not an issue that is within the purview of the mayor's race or city government, I do fervently hope for a future where Israel and all of its neighbors co-exist in genuine and secure peace for all."
Members of the group were not satisfied.
"I don't feel like the concerns were actually addressed," said Nancy Stohlman. "The gesture was appreciated, but he still is denying making the statement about CCMEP and Hamas."
Another member of the group, Barbara Cohen, said her "personal reaction" was that Hickenlooper had not taken responsibility for his earlier statements.
"He's not accepting accountability for anything, and this is a man who wants to be mayor," she said.
Asked if the campaign wanted to respond, Hickenlooper's spokeswoman, Lindy Eichenbaum Lent, said: "I think John's statement speaks for itself."
|
FAIR
USE NOTICE
|
|
This
site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been
specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such
material available in our efforts to advance understanding of
environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific,
and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use'
of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the
US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the
material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have
expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for
research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml.
If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of
your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the
copyright owner. |