In a letter sent today to ONE UN General Manager Paul Wong and Wong Hong Ren, CEO of Millennium & Copthorne Hotels, UANI CEO, Ambassador Mark D. Wallace, wrote:
On behalf of United Against Nuclear Iran ("UANI") I am writing to express our concern about the decision of ONE UN New York (formerly known as the Millennium UN Plaza Hotel, of Millennium & Copthorne Hotels) to host Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and the Iranian regime delegation during this month's annual meeting of the [UNGA] ... Certainly the ONE UN is aware that President Rouhani is the public face of a brutal regime that is a sworn enemy of the United States, and which is under strict sanctions by the U.S. government and the international community. As stated in our previous letter to you of August 19, 2013, we believe that no venue or entity in the United States should be doing business with the Iranian regime and its delegation, until the regime has seriously and verifiably altered its dangerous and threatening behavior.
Notwithstanding the optimism in some circles about the prospects for change under President Rouhani, his track record and clear commitment to advancing the interests of the regime, including its nuclear program, raise doubt about the prospect for significant and lasting change in the regime's policies absent continued economic and diplomatic pressure from the international community and private businesses. While Rouhani's rhetoric may be more tempered than that of his predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, he is still a loyal regime insider who enjoys a close personal relationship with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.
(Rouhani: The Ultimate Regime Insider)
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As you know, Iranian regime officials have in the past routinely misused UN events as a platform to broadcast their radical ideology, hateful rhetoric, offensive theories and slurs. ... Such hateful and inciting rhetoric has not been limited to Ahmadinejad. For example, during a May 2013 campaign speech, Rouhani declared to the audience, "Saying 'Death to America' is easy. We need to express 'Death to America' with action. Saying it is easy." Rouhani also referred to Israel as "the great Zionist Satan," in a 2012 address, and as a "wound on the body of the Muslim world" in an August 2013 speech.
Even if President Rouhani's rhetoric at UNGA turns out to be different from his predecessor's, we nevertheless have yet to witness substantive action by the regime to alter the very policies that have led to Iran's international isolation.
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The goal of UANI's campaign is not to harm legitimate businesses. However, because of the threat presented by the Iranian regime, UANI will publicly highlight ONE UN New York and Millennium & Copthorne Hotels's irresponsible decision if you do not take action to refuse accommodation to the Iranian delegation. ...
On August 19, UANI first called on the ONE UN to deny accommodation to Rouhani and his delegation.
Last month,
UANI announced that the Warwick New York hotel would not host Rouhani this year. The Warwick hosted former President Ahmadinejad and his delegation during the 2011 and 2012 UN General Assemby.
UANI led demonstrations inside and outside the Warwick both years, which were covered by dozens of print, radio, and TV news outlets.
UANI has requested a response from ONE UN by September 16, 2013.
Click
here to read UANI's full letter to the ONE UN.
Click
here to tell the ONE UN not to host Rouhani.
Click
here to read UANI's August 19 letter to the ONE UN.
Click
here to view UANI's research report, "Rouhani: The Ultimate Regime Insider."
Click
here to learn more about UANI's Hotels Campaigns.
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