FOREIGN AFFAIRS RAISES PASSIONS
By Fred Contrada
The Republican – MassLive.com
ublican/index.ssf?/base/news-13/120729377357130.xm l&coll=1
April 4 2008
MA
NORTHAMPTON – From riots in Tibet to the mess in its own back yard,
the City Council took on a range of issues last night through a series
of resolutions.
The list included resolutions to hold public hearings on the landfill
expansion, withdraw from the "No Place for Hate" campaign, support
fair trade and condemn the Chinese crackdown of protests in Tibet. A
total of 24 people addressed these various issues during the public
comment session prior to the meeting and the council was still voting
on the resolutions at press time.
Some 30 members of the local Tibetan community jammed into council
chambers to support the resolution condemning the actions of the
Chinese government in their homeland and urging the U.S. government
to pressure China to respect the rights of the Tibetan people.
According to published reports, police have arrested hundreds of
people since protests in the capital of Lhasa began last month.
Tibetans abroad, including some in Hampshire County, have demonstrated
in support of their brethren in the weeks since.
Thondup Tsering, a spokesman for the Tibetan Association of Western
Massachusetts, told the council that Tibet is going through the most
critical period in its history.
"We fear that massive massacres are happening inside Tibet," he said.
"As Tibetans, we believe in truth and we want the world to know the
truth of what has happened in Tibet. Tibet now needs your action."
Emotions also ran high over a resolution submitted by the city’s
Human Rights Commission that Northampton rescind its partnership in
the "No Place for Hate" campaign co-sponsored by the Anti Defamation
League. Heather Johnson, the chairwoman of that commission, said the
resolution is a response to the Anti Defamation League’s refusal to
recognize the Armenian genocide.
"We learned that the Anti Defamation League’s position had roots
in Middle East politics and is a result of Turkey’s alliance with
Israel and the United States," said Johnson, noting that 11 other
communities in Massachusetts have withdrawn from the campaign. "The
Human Rights Commission believes it is important to recognize the
truth of the Armenian genocide and not be constrained by international
geo-politics."
Leslie Fraidstern, the president of Congregation B’nai Israel in
Northampton, called the implications of the resolution "scandalous."
"This resolution is a slap at a prominent Jewish organization,"
he said. "No one is denying that the Armenian genocide occurred."
Joseph Blotnick and Jill Higgins of Dewey Court cited their
experiences working in the Dominican Republic as they spoke in
favor of the resolution that Northampton become a "Fair Trade Town,"
supporting products certified as meeting international fair trade
standards. Blotnick described the poverty of cacao farmers in
the Dominican Republic, saying that the price of their product is
manipulated by Wall Street.
More than a dozen people spoke in favor of a resolution that the
council sponsor at least four public forums to solicit comments and
information on the proposed landfill expansion.