US port authority to remove Saudi statue at Ground Zero

By Umar Farooq

WASHINGTON (AA) - An art exhibit featuring a giant candy sculpture wrapped in the Saudi Arabian flag will be relocated later this week after being on display on the grounds of the World Trade Center, according to multiple reports.

The exhibit will be removed due to growing complaints by victims groups of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks over the presence of the sculpture near the site of the attacks, of which a majority of the terrorists involved were Saudi citizens.

The nine-foot tall candy statue was commissioned as part of an exhibit for the G-20 summit in 2011 and sponsored by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

The exhibit, titled "Candy Flags", features 20 candy-shaped sculptures of flags of the G-20 countries and after being displayed in 25 countries was moved to the grounds of the World Trade Center last week.

"I personally think the Saudi 'flag' candy display shows very poor judgment and a lack of empathy on the part of the Port Authority," Terry Strada, chair of the group 9/11 Families & Survivors United for Justice Against Terrorism, told Buzzfeed News.

Strada's group had earlier successfully petitioned to allow Saudi Arabia to be sued for its citizens' roles in the September 11 attacks.

Instead of removing just the Saudi statue, the Port Authority decided to relocate the entire exhibit to John F. Kennedy International Airport.

"We have been in contact with the 9/11 Memorial and various stakeholders, and in full collaboration with the artist will relocate the exhibit from its current location," a spokesperson for the organization told the New York Observer magazine Monday.

"We believe this solution respects the unique sensitivities of the site and preserves the artistic integrity of the exhibit."