JACKSON - Bush tells him no re Vieques discussion

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Current News : One Thread

NYPost

W. NIXES VIEQUES TALK WITH JACKSON

By BRIAN BLOMQUIST and MARIA ALVAREZ

June 23, 2001 -- President Bush yesterday snubbed the Rev. Jesse Jackson after the civil-rights leader sought a White House meeting to protest the bombing on Vieques and the treatment of his jailed wife.

Not only did the White House flatly reject Jackson's request for a powwow, but officials also insisted his wife, Jackie, is being treated just fine by Puerto Rican authorities.

A session with Bush would have given Jackson a big boost at a time when his stature has been tarnished by the revelation that he had fathered a love child, and as the Rev. Al Sharpton has been trying to upstage him.

Democratic political strategist Harrison Hickman said he wasn't "surprised" that Bush blew off Jackson's request for a get-together.

"The Bush people have made the calculation that Bush benefits from standing up to Jackson," Hickman said.

Meanwhile, Jackson says his wife has been unjustly put "in the hole," solitary confinement, for refusing to be strip-searched at the prison where she is serving time for protesting the Vieques bombing.

Bush's spokesman insisted that's not the case.

"The Justice Department has assured us that the Rev. Jackson's wife was being treated appropriately," said Scott McClellan.

Jackson told The Post he was undeterred by Bush's rebuff.

"There are a thousand people who are ready to go to jail to protest the bombings in Vieques and the unjust treatment of those arrested," he said.

"My wife is a political prisoner, not a common criminal," added Jackson, who visited her yesterday.

"She risked arrest with an act of disobedience in the name of God to stop the bombing in Vieques. Now she is being put in the hole because she refuses to be strip-searched like a common criminal."

Bush announced two weeks ago that the base on Vieques would be closed in 2003, angering some pro-defense Republicans.

The Navy has been using Vieques as a target range for 61 years.

-- Anonymous, June 23, 2001


Moderation questions? read the FAQ