Western Michigan will play host to Erik Prince, founder of Blackwater Worldwide (now called "Xe".) His speech will be at the Tulip Time luncheon Wednesday at Hope College DeVos fieldhouse in Holland, Michigan (his hometown).
Brave soul that he is, he has banned the media from reporting on the event.
One Holland City Councilman is none too pleased.
"To have a kickoff event closed to the media and essentially closed to public scrutiny is totally inconsistent with the spirit of what Tulip Time should be," Holland City Councilman Jay Peters said.
"Blackwater" Author Jeremy Scahill will be in town to speak the same day.
The Associated Press issued their own middle finger to Mr. Prince as well:
"The Associated Press plans to have a story on what Erik Prince says in his speech at the Tulip Time event, whether we’re there or not. Our preference would be to have our own AP reporter in the room, hearing first-hand what he has to say, but we plan to have a story either way," said Charles Hill, bureau chief for the AP in Michigan.
The Michigan Press Association is equally offended:
It's one thing not to give out press credentials, said Robin Herrmann, legal counsel for the Michigan Press Association, but she doesn't know how Tulip Time can prevent those in the audience from talking about what they saw or heard during Prince's speech...
"It's kind of the height of hypocrisy to invite people to an event and say we don't want you to talk about it," she said.
From the press release regarding Mr. Scahill's appearance:
Jeremy Scahill, author of Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army, will speak during Holland’s Tulip Time Festival on May 5, the same day Erik Prince, founder of Blackwater, will address a Tulip Time luncheon. Scahill's talk will be at 7:30 p.m. at the Holland 7 Theater, 500 Waverly Road.
"The Tulip Time festival says Mr. Prince will discuss the 'value-based' lessons of his childhood in Holland," says Scahill. "I believe it is important for people in Holland to hear about the actual values Prince and his company have employed in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan where Blackwater operatives have killed innocent civilians and stolen childhoods." Scahill said he would welcome the opportunity to have a public dialogue with Mr. Prince that evening in Holland.
Scahill’s visit is being hosted by Interfaith Congregation of Holland. Chaplain Bill Freeman says, "Many people reacted negatively to the announcement of Erik Prince’s visit, because, even though Mr. Prince is a native of Holland, the company he founded, Blackwater, renamed Xe, is very controversial. So as a group that believes in being fair and balanced, Interfaith Congregation wanted to give people the chance to hear the other side."
Scahill’s address is free and open to the public.
Contact: Bill Freeman, (616) 796-5598
A few links for your reading pleasure:
Basics on Blackwater:
http://live.thenation.com/...
http://www.blackwaterwatch.com/
Rolling Stone (way back in 2004)
http://www.rollingstone.com/...
Wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
Jeremy Scahill BOOK:
http://blackwaterbook.com/
Jeremy Scahill LECTURE on May 5 in Holland MI:
Hosting Organization:
http://www.interfaithcongregation.org
Rebel Reports Blog:
http://rebelreports.com/...
In Grand Rapids Press:
HL - "Author critical of Blackwater will speak in Holland on same day as company founder Erik Prince"
http://www.mlive.com/...
In Holland Sentinel:
HL - "Blackwater backlash Author of book critical of Blackwater to speak in Holland on day of Erik Prince event"
http://www.hollandsentinel.com/...
Erik Prince Seeks to BAN MEDIA:
Media blackout at Blackwater founder Erik Prince’s Tulip Time talk in Holland
Michigan Press Association: Media present can’t be barred from publishing news coverage
http://www.hollandsentinel.com/...
GR Press on BAN, mentions evening lecture:
http://www.mlive.com/...
Michigan Messenger on two events:
http://michiganmessenger.com/...