Earlier this morning, the International Freedom Center (IFC) sent out a letter addressed to Stefan Pryor, President of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC). This letter comes on the heels of an ultimatum from New York Congressmen Vito J. Fossella, John E. Sweeney, and Peter T. King:

Next week, Congress is in recess in observance of Independence Day. It is our belief that the LMDC should use that time to refocus the IFC to reflect on the events of September 11th, 2001 and the tremendous sacrifice and loss that we suffered as a nation. We very much hope that this matter can be resolved before Congress returns to Washington on July 11th.

If at that time the LMDC can not prepare a more fitting exhibition, we will be forced to seek appropriate legislative actions and remedies to redress the situation. We thank you for your attention to this important issue and look forward to hearing from you soon.

Today’s statement by the IFC does nothing to answer the demands of over 29,000 people that have signed our petition, including over 1,500 9/11 family members. Nor does it answer the ultimatum from three Congressmen from New York.

Family member groups have responded to the IFC today:

Fourteen Major 9/11 Family Organizations Object to IFC’s Latest Ploy

The organizers of the International Freedom Center (IFC) have demonstrated once again that they do not understand the American people and what they expect in a Memorial commemorating September 11. It is dishonest and despicable to use the 9/11 artifacts and 9/11 heroes as window dressing to mislead the public into believing that the IFC is connected to the events of that day. The IFC is attempting to hijack space that is desperately needed to accommodate the almost 10 million visitors each year who will be making a pilgrimage to sacred ground to pay their respects at the WTC Memorial. The IFC’s actions are unconscionable.

So long as there is but one square inch housing dialogue, debates, artistic impressions, or exhibits about extraneous historical events, the IFC is inappropriate and a slap in the face to the victims, their families, and everyone affected by the Sept. 11th attacks. Furthermore, the organizers of the IFC have evidenced by their actions, statements and by these attempts that they are not trustworthy partners on the WTC site.

September 11th Families are calling on President Bush and Congress to intervene to stop the IFC and investigate how American taxpayer dollars are being spent on the memorial and redevelopment plans and establish better accountability controls. The families are also appealing to the American people to go to www.takebackthememorial.org and sign the petition to support their position and reach out to their Congressmen and Senators to let them know this memorial is not just a “New York issue” – it belongs to the American people.

Make no mistake, there is no place for the IFC on the WTC site. No distractions will make the stories of loss, generosity, and hope any stronger than the stories directly related to Sept. 11 2001 and Feb. 26 1993.

The 9/11 Memorial must stand alone.

This is your memorial, America - it’s time to take a stand. Help us take it back by signing the petition today. Then, use the CALL TO ACTION CONTACTS on the right-sidebar to write letters and comments to the individuals and organizations listed and make your voice heard.

Together, we can ensure that the 9/11 memorial site is used to honor 9/11’s victims and heroes, and nothing else.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 6th, 2005 at 3:58 pm and is filed under Take Back the Memorial. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings on individual posts are currently closed. Please visit the Guest Book.