Posted on 08/16/2004 1:00:15 AM PDT by Jet Jaguar
TOKYO (AP) - Former world chess champion Bobby Fischer faxed a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and the U.S. Embassy in Japan on Monday demanding that a consular official accept his renunciation of U.S. citizenship, his Japanese lawyer said.
Fischer, wanted in the United States on charges of violating international sanctions on the former Yugoslavia by playing a match there, also plans to marry the president of Japan's chess association, Fischer lawyer Masako Suzuki said.
Fischer has been held in Japan since last month for trying to travel on a revoked U.S. passport, and has appealed a deportation order to the United States. It was not immediately clear whether marriage to a Japanese citizen would complicate deportation proceedings.
In the letter to Powell, Suzuki accused U.S. Embassy officials of refusing to send an official to Fischer's detention center to accept his renunciation of U.S. citizenship. Instead, she said, they have required him to appear at the U.S. Embassy.
A separate statement from Suzuki also said Fischer and Japan Chess Association President Miyoko Watai had signed marriage papers that would be submitted later on Monday.
AP-ES-08-16-04 0316EDT
Extradite then Execute.
Nice try Bob.
right, excuses excuses.
Time to consider mercy. The guy played a game of chess, for goodness sakes. He's been on the lamb, and exhile is a pretty strong punishment to result from an illegal chess game. Would it even be so bad to simply pardon him?
-he's gay?
He should have stuck to chess. Japan is not France.
Talent at chess doesn't necessarily translate into anything else. Everyone can't be Omar Sharif.
Searching for Bobby Fisher's immunity...
I must dissent here. Although I don’t care for Fischer, especially his post-9/11 rants, I can’t see what extraditing him for playing chess in 1992 will accomplish. Especially since he will be the only participant that would be prosecuted. What I hope doesn’t happen, is that he will be used a sacrificial pawn by the Japanese to keep Charles Jenkins, the North Korean defector who is married to a Japanese woman (whom the Japanese do not wish to extradite). Not to mention, being used by a flaky Japanese government to counter lukewarm support for America’s involvement in Iraq. Bobby Fischer has shamed himself, but sending him to prison will not accomplish anything. He certainly shouldn’t be used a sacrifice by Japan to cover there more important misgivings.
I agree. He is a fruitcake, we don't want him. I posted this as a follow up to a previous post.
For christsake...let him go. We have M.Moore who has said and done more harm to this country than B.Fischer.
Da! Fischer is not (How you say?) bad guy. I still like dat bastard. Okay, he a little bit flaky, I admit. Still, not as bad as Khruschev.
(World Champion Spassky attempts to outflank Gary Kasparov. Is checkmated and thrown off of thread.)
This (How you say?) sucks. No?
"I am a Gay Non-American."
Was the use of a chess metaphor intentional, or accidental? Either way, bravo.
Ouch, I didn't catch that en passant...I mean, it's been a long knight and I...er, check, mate!
:)
So lemme get this straight. Jesse Jackass and Calypso Louis can go to Libya and Iraq while they're under sanctions and not be charged by the government. Jimmuh Carter can go to North Korea and negotiate with their government and gets off scotfree. Jane Fonda can commit treason in North Vietnam and got away with it. But they want to charge Bobby Fischer for playing a game of chess?!
Don't you?
And half the FReepers here have got the tar a boilin, the feathers plucked and a good solid rope and a tree limb all picked out.
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