US PRESIDENT Barack Obama issued a dramatic apology couple of days ago, saying he had been wrong to accuse Massachusetts police sergeant James Crowley of “acting stupidly” in arresting a black Harvard professor.
The incident at the centre of the storm happened a week ago, when Prof Gates arrived home from a trip abroad to find his door jammed. Trying to force it open he was seen by a neighbour, who called the police. A white police sergeant arrested a black Professor and it created a ‘tornado-type 5’.
“I want to make clear that in my choice of words I think I unfortunately gave an impression I was maligning the Cambridge police department and Sergeant Crowley specifically,” said Obama.
His remarks came after the controversial arrest of black Harvard professor Howard Gates triggered an explosive debate on race across the United State
Obama had earlier said that he stood by his comments that the arrest was wrong. But as pressure mounted through the day, the president broke off his engagements to phone the officer to apologise.
“I just had a conversation with Sgt Crowley, and I have to tell you that as I said yesterday, my impression of him was that he was an outstanding police officer and a good man and I told him that,” said Mr Obama.
To silence his critics on this uproar of racism, Obama invited Professor Gates and Sergeant Crowly to White House where they sipped beer in the presence of VP Joe Biden. They chatted for a while over mugs of beer watched by press and media. It was a private discussion and the public was allowed to see the photos and video footage only.
The Indian leaders, ruling and opposition, should take a leaf out of Obama’s ‘Beer Summit’ and learn to ‘nip the evil in the bud’ for the larger interest of the country.
Ravi Matah