Vermont forum to protest anti-Arab racism

BURLINGTON, Vt.--Over 80 Vermonters turned out to the Fletcher Free Library to hear a firsthand account of the atrocious acts committed by the U.S. against Arabs and Muslims.

The meeting, "Fighting Anti-Arab Racism," was organized by the International Socialist Organization and endorsed by Iraq Veterans Against the War and Vermonters for a Just Peace in Palestine-Israel, among others.

Laila Al-Arian, the daughter of political prisoner Sami Al-Arian, spoke of her father's commitment to Palestinian issues. Though he "could have lived the American dream, [he] refused to turn his back on his people," she said.

In February 2003, Al-Arian was arrested on trumped up charges of "supporting terrorism." He has been denied bail, held in solitary confinement and even faced a 6-month prohibition on phone calls. When asked how other prisoners treated her father, she replied, "It's not the other prisoners we worry about, it's the guards."

Al-Arian's case is not incidental. "The 'war on terror' demonizes Arabs and Muslims to justify occupation," said Leah Siegel of the International Socialist Organization. The U.S. government, she added, supports "freedom of speech--as long as it defends U.S. interests."

Although Vermont is often portrayed as one of the most progressive states in the nation, the unwillingness of large segments of the antiwar movement to defend Arabs and Muslims has led to a backlash against the Arab-American community. For example, the "Defenders Council of Vermont"--an organization that believes that news channel Al-Jazeera is an "outlet for terrorism"--has fought to keep Al-Jazeera English from renewing its contract with the public cable provider, Burlington Telecom.

Antiwar and antiracist activists have fought back, however, and the meeting concluded with an announcement that Burlington Telecom had signed a contract with Al-Jazeera English.