Indain Express 17.12.2009
Want lease for American Center, civic inspectors welcome: Consul
The US Consul General on Wednesday said the issue of a municipal lease for the American Center, and the alleged denial of permission for an inspection of the premises, have arisen out of an “unfortunate misunderstanding” and that the consulate was open to a check and keen to sign the lease.
A day after reports of angry civic leaders demanding reconsideration of the sub-lease to the Center, Consul General Paul Folmsbee said it “was an unfortunate misunderstanding. The American Center is a public building and only partly diplomatic. There is no reason why anyone should be denied access to the building.”
The lease has expired but civic leaders who sought to inspect the premises said they were refused permission for “security reasons”. The team wanted to finalise the agreement on a sub-lease after the expiry of the original lease.
Folmsbee said the lease issue and inspection “never came up during my recent meeting with the BMC commissioner” and the issue had arisen from “some kind of bizarre misunderstanding. We are interested in getting the lease signed. The letter came in and got confused. We have contacted the BMC again about the check. They are welcome anytime.”
Corporator Manoj Kotak said, “It is a victory of Mumbaikars and the BMC. The Center should be open to everyone as the land belongs to the civic body.”
Disruption
Folmsbee’s press conference was disrupted by activists demanding release of IIT alumnus Vikram Buddhi, jailed for five years by an American court for allegedly posting hate messages against former President George W Bush. The activists, belonging to Awami Bharat, hurled pamphlets and shouted slogans. “It is quite interesting that they did not want to listen to what others have to say,” said Folmsbee.
