WASHINGTONI, 16 October — Many people believe that New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani was wrong to refuse a $10 million gift for the families of victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks from Prince Alwaleed ibn Talal.
Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, D-Georgia, wrote a letter to Prince Alwaleed to explain her dismay over the mayor’s decision. She said she regretted Mayor Giuliani rejection of the $10 million gift over what Mayor Giuliani interpreted as the prince’s suggestion that US policy in the Middle East was partly to blame for the attacks.
Rep. McKinney’s letter said Mayor Giuliani should recognize Prince Alwaleed’s right to offer observations on the Middle East.
"Whether he agreed with you or not," she wrote to Prince Alwaleed, "I think he should have recognized your right to speak and make observations about a part of the world which you know so well."
The congresswoman also commented on Israel’s continued attacks against Palestinians: "Many of us here in the United States have long been concerned about reports o a pattern of excessive, and often indiscriminate, use of lethal force by Israeli security forces in situations where Palestinian demonstrators were unarmed and posed no threat of death or serious injury to the security forces or to others."
