UCLA Incident- Progressive Librarians Guild Proposed Statement

Sent Friday, November 24, 2006 10:20 am
To iskra@earthlink.net
Cc plgnet-l@libr.org , plg-cc
Bcc
Subject Agree. Proposed PLG statement on the UCLA Incident:


Yes, I agree. I think we should send this out ASAP.
Too much time has passed without formal outrage.
--Kathleen de la Pena McCook
----- Original Message -----
From: "iskra@earthlink.net"
Date: Friday, November 24, 2006 10:16 am
Subject: Proposed PLG statement on the UCLA Incident:
To: plgnet-l@libr.org, plg-cc

> I propose that the PLG-CC adopt the following statement:
>
> +++++++++++++++++++++
> The Progressive Librarians Guild PLG) condemns the volent, sadistic
> police abuse of Iranian-American student Mostafa Tabatabainejad at
> the Powell Library of the University of California (UCLA) on
> November 14, 2006.
>
> Caught on video, the assault on Tabatabainejad, is a case of police
> brutality, "racial profiling" and torture. We believe there are no
> circumstances under which such behavior could be sanctioned or
> rationalized given eyewitness accounts, the video, and the
> statements of various parties to the event. No University security
> policy could legitimately sanction this kind of veritable toture
> excruciatingly captured by cell-phone videos the viewing of which
> leaves one stunned by the screams of pain as the student is
> repeatedly electroshocked with a stun-gun in a punishing manner.
>
> As a group of librarians and library workers we are particularly
> appalled that this happened during a supposedly "routine" random
> check of ID cards at the Powell library. There could be few greater
> affronts to the ideal of the library as a sanctuary for peaceful
> study than thinking that security can only be maintained there by
> having brutal police combing the library like this, armed with
> "tasers" and ready to use them at the slightest provocation. This
> kind of intrusive, abusive and violent intimidation destroys the
> real security that the library offers and turns its precincts into
> an Abu Graib with books, a torture chamber where students watch
> agape while someone is dragged off and tortured before their eyes
> as an example of the price of resistance to force. That is the
> lesson that was taught at UCLA.
>
> We condemn in the most unequivocal terms this incident and call for
> all the police to be brought to justice for this attack, for
> charges against Mr. Tabatabainejad to be dropped and for a complete
> public investigation of the circumstances of this grotesque attack.
>
> Mark Rosenzweig
>
>
> iskra@earthlink.net
> EarthLink Revolves Around You.