WASHINGTON, June 7, 2014 (WAFA)
– An Arab American was forcefully removed from a ball game in a US city because
she carried a Palestinian flag, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee
(ADC) said in a statement on Friday.
It said security personnel at the
BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston, Texas, removed by force on June 1 Buthayna
Hammad from her seat solely because she was carrying the red, white, green and
black national flag of Palestine.
ADC said it raised immediate
concern with the BBVA Compass Stadium, the mayor of Houston, the Houston City
Council and the Houston Police Department after the incident came to its
attention by Hammad.
“This disturbing incident
occurred during a football match between Honduras and Israel,” said the ADC
statement. “Hammad was removed from her seat and escorted to a concession area,
where she was detained for over 15 minutes by BBVA Compass Stadium Security.
Hammad was surrounded by security and Houston Police Officers.”
Police told Hammad that she was
removed from the game because the Palestinian flag was “a racial slur,” and it
was “anti-Semitic.”
ADC said it expressed concern
that the BBVA Compass Stadium Security and the Houston Police Department’s
action 'was a major and inexplicable infringement on Hammad’s civil
liberties.”
It said: 'The
characterization of the flag as a 'racial slur' is deeply offensive to Palestinians.
Buchanan's statement marginalizes millions of Palestinian who share a history
and culture. The notion that the flag of Palestine is a 'racial slur' is
discriminatory and has no place in our society.'
It described the actions taken by
the security personnel as 'troubling to nationalistic football fans
worldwide,' adding: 'Wearing various nationalistic flags is a common
practice among football fans and restricting this tradition is an obstruction
of freedom of speech and sports fandom in general.'
ADC demanded an explanation as to
how the flag of Palestine is a ‘racial slur’, and demanded an immediate
clarification to the stadium policy from both the BBVA Stadium security and
Houston Police Department.
M.S.
