UANI Applauds New York City Hotels for Refusing to Host Ahmadinejad and Iranian Delegation During UN General Assembly

   

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 23, 2012 Contact: Nathan Carleton, press@uani.com  Phone: (212) 554-3296   UANI Applauds New York City Hotels for Refusing to Host Ahmadinejad and Iranian Delegation During UN General Assembly New York, NY - On Thursday, United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) applauded the San Carlos Hotel, the Loews Regency Hotel, and Preferred Hotel Group for refusing to accommodate Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his delegation this year during September's UN General Assembly session. Earlier this month, UANI called on these and other Manhattan hotels to deny accommodations to Ahmadinejad, the leader of a criminal regime allied with terrorist groups including al-Qaida who has called the 9/11 attacks a "big lie."   Since then, all three have pledged to UANI that they will not host him or the Iranian delegation. Preferred Hotel Group includes a dozen New York hotels, such as the Trump SoHo New York, Trump International Hotel & Tower New York, the Kitano New York, the Sherry-Netherland, and the Lombardy. Said UANI CEO, Ambassador Mark D. Wallace: We applaud the San Carlos Hotel, the Loews Regency Hotel, and Preferred Hotel Group for refusing to host Ahmadinejad and his delegation. Ahmadinejad is the leader of a criminal regime that has called for America's destruction, and no responsible New York City business should accommodate him. We are thankful to see that some businesses have values and standards that they are not willing to compromise for dollars. We call on all Manhattan hotels to deny accommodations to Ahmadinejad, and let him see that he and his vitriol are not welcome in this city. Last year, UANI led a campaign against the Warwick Hotel during Ahmadinejad's stay, highlighting the Warwick's irresponsible decision to accommodate him. UANI's protest and advocacy activities resulted in a tremendous amount of bad publicity for the Warwick, and were featured in media outlets including CBS New York, AFP, NBC New York, CNN, The Atlantic, Huffington Post, The Daily Caller, CBS Radio, and the New York Post. UANI is this year calling on the Warwick and all New York City hotels to not repeat the same mistake of hosting the leader of a criminal regime and accepting its money. UANI hopes that Ahmadinejad will receive the powerful message of being fully denied accommodation in New York City, and be forced to stay at his mission to the UN, just as some other world leaders do. In 2010 UANI successfully isolated Ahmadinejad to the only hotel that would accept him, the Hilton Manhattan East, after the InterContinental made the decision not to accommodate the Iranian delegation. UANI launched a boycott of all Hilton Hotels properties and held a rally outside of the hotel. Responding to UANI pressure, the Hilton Manhattan East decided not to accommodate Ahmadinejad for the 2011 UNGA. In the first year of the Hotels Campaign in 2009, UANI and its supporters successfully urged The New York Helmsley Hotel, Gotham Hall and Essex House to refuse to host Ahmadinejad, thereby denying him a platform for his hateful rhetoric. Instead, Ahmadinejad was effectively quarantined to the InterContinental The Barclay. Click here to read UANI's July 30, 2012 letter to New York City hotels. Click here to tell the Warwick New York Hotel not to host Ahmadinejad. Click here to learn more about UANI's 2011 hotel campaign. Click here to read Ambassador Wallace's October 2011 Op-Ed, "Rolling out the red carpet for Ahmadinejad." Click here to learn more about UANI's Hotels Campaigns. ###                                                                         United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) is a program of the American Coalition Against Nuclear Iran, Inc., a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran should concern every American and be unacceptable to the community of nations. Since 1979 the Iranian regime, most recently under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's leadership, has demonstrated increasingly threatening behavior and rhetoric toward the US and the West. Iran continues to defy the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the United Nations in their attempts to monitor its nuclear activities. A number of Arab states have warned that Iran's development of nuclear weapons poses a threat to Middle East stability and could provoke a regional nuclear arms race. In short, the prospect of a nuclear armed Iran is a danger to world peace. United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) is a non-partisan, broad-based coalition that is united in a commitment to prevent Iran from fulfilling its ambition to become a regional super-power possessing nuclear weapons.  UANI is an issue-based coalition in which each coalition member will have its own interests as well as the collective goal of advancing an Iran free of nuclear weapons. The Objectives of United Against a Nuclear Iran Inform the public about the nature of the Iranian regime, including its desire and intent to possess nuclear weapons, as well as Iran's role as a state sponsor of global terrorism, and a major violator of human rights at home and abroad; Heighten awareness nationally and internationally about the danger that a nuclear armed Iran poses to the region and the world; Mobilize public support, utilize media outreach, and persuade our elected leaders to voice a robust and united American opposition to a nuclear Iran; Lay the groundwork for effective US policies in coordination with European and other allies; Persuade the regime in Tehran to desist from its quest for nuclear weapons, while striving not to punish the Iranian people, and; Promote efforts that focus on vigorous national and international, social, economic, political and diplomatic measures. UANI is led by an advisory board of outstanding national figures representing all sectors of our country.

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