Two seemingly dissimilar ethnic groups came together Wednesdayafternoon to remember the internment of Japanese-Americans 50 yearsago.

Executive Order #9066 was signed by Franklin Delano Roosevelt onFeb. 19, 1942 and led to the rounding up of 120,000 West CoastJapanese-Americans and relocated them to internment camps acrossthe nation.

This year, many Arab-Americans are attending “Day ofRemembrance” events with Japanese-Americans to commemorate the pastand draw parallels between U.S. domestic policy following World WarII and Sept. 11.

At De Anza’s “Day of Remembrance,” Fred Korematsu described hisexperience with the U.S. Supreme Court following his refusal toobey Roosevelt’s Executive Order. The Supreme Court struck down hisappeal for civil justice, and Korematsu spent the duration of thewar in federal prison on charges of spying. Forty years later, hiscase was reopened, and he received a full pardon. President Clintonawarded Korematsu the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1998, thehighest distinction that can be granted to a U.S. citizen.

The 84-year-old Korematsu was met with a standing ovation at theevent.

“All my life, I’ve been an American. I was born in this country.And if the United States went to war, I’d want to participatetoo-because I’m an American,” Korematsu said.

He initially signed up for military duty but was denied entrytwice for a physical disability. After the Executive Order wasissued, Korematsu refused to comply. He was arrested in May 1942and found guilty of violating the Civilian Exclusion Order.Korematsu appealed to the Supreme Court, saying his FourteenthAmendment rights to equal protection of the law had beenviolated.

He said to the group of 50 students, “If you think something inyour mind is right, then go for it.”

Maha ElGenaidi, president of Islamic Networks Group, is doingjust that. She speaks out against violations of civil rightsoccurring in the United States against Muslim Americans followingSept. 11. ElGenaidi drew many parallels between the anti-Arabbacklash today and anti-Japanese attitudes in the past.

“Much like what the Japanese-Americans were experiencing [after]Pearl Harbor, Muslims today are pretty much vilified in America’spopular culture,” ElGenaidi said. “A lot of the images that we getof Muslims are that they are terrorists, extremists,fundamentalists … people who are intolerant of other religions[and] have a backward culture.”

ElGenaidi’s greatest concern lies with the recent signing of theUSA PATRIOT Act and its curbing of basic civil liberties. Ininterviews with Arab-Americans that had been detained andquestioned following Sept. 11, she said she heard of prisonersdenied legal counsel, medical attention and access tonecessities.

The issue of security versus civil liberties was an electrictopic in the audience, climaxing when mathematics instructor ScottPeterson said the human rights described in the Constitution didnot apply to non-citizens.

Richard Honda, an attorney and the executive director of theAsian Law Alliance, said that the protections in the Constitutionapplied to all humans, regardless of ethnicity.

Honda said, “Courts and justices really need to not allow thegovernment to have these sweeping pronouncements, to curbnon-citizen liberties without really uncovering the facts. Thegovernment has to present a strong case against a specific personrather than engage in these kind of over-inclusive roundups anddetentions.”

“Are we seeing history repeat itself?” he asked. “Or will thewords of the Pledge of Allegiance ring true – and will we haveliberty and justice for all?”