The Zundelsite - National Post interview re Amnesty Internation


National Post interview re Amnesty International

June 18, 2003

ZGram - Where Truth is Destiny: Now more than ever!

Regarding that full page ad for which I collected some very nice pledges until PayPal cancelled my account: The ad was approved, then dis-approved - approved again, then dis-approved - and now approved for the third time to run in a large metropolitan paper on Sunday.

Keep fingers and toes crossed!

After it has actually appeared, I hope to collect from those of you who pledged - and maybe even from those of you who didn't? Like so much else we do - it's not just an ad, it's a story!

I hope to be able to tell you more on Monday.

In the meantime, I am waiting for one of my attorneys to come back from a trip to see if we should do something with Amnesty International's libelous statement that Ernst Zundel is in prison in Canada because of "hate" speech. If Amnesty International had done even the most superficial research instead of yelping right along with Canada's lapdog media, they would have discovered that Ernst is in prison because - get this once and for all and let it sink in! - he missed an interview with immigration authorities which, as it turned out, was never even scheduled!

For that, he now has to wear the orange jump suit of serial murderers and rapists - if that isn't a case of the grossest human rights violation in a so-called "democratic" country that a decent, law-abiding person might imagine, I can't imagine what might be!

As if clear-headed people don't see through THAT charade!

Tomorrow I will run a cross-section of the letters in response to my request to write to Amnesty International and give them a piece of your mind since they don't seem to have one of their own. Today I'll just run by you a brief interview I did with a Canadian journalist via email:

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To the attention of Ingrid Rimland:

I am a reporter with the National Post, a large, daily newspaper based in Toronto, Canada.

I am interested in speaking with you today (Monday, June 16) regarding Amnesty International's statement on the case of your husband, Ernst Zundel. I would very much appreciate a quick call. I can be reached at (416) 383-2388, and, please, feel free to call collect.

Thank you for your consideration, --- Adrian Humphreys National reporter National Post --- 300-1450 Don Mills Road, Toronto, ON, Canada, M3B 3R5 --- (416) 383.2388 (vox) (416) 383.2305 (fax) ahumphreys@nationalpost.com http://www.nationalpost.com ---

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My reply:

Why don't you call Ernst at the prison directly and see if they will let the media do an interview - I bet you a dime that they won't! - or send me a few questions which I will try to answer?

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Questions submitted and my replies:

National Post:

Why do you think Amnesty International has declined to intervene in your husband's case?

Ingrid:

It is my understanding that AI at headquarters decided some years ago that historical revisionists weren't worthy of protection and weren't persecuted or prosecuted - or if they were, it was their own fault. Double-check at http://www.zundelsite.org/english/debate/faurisson_beaten.html and http://www.zundelsite.org/english/debate/victims/index.html if in doubt what's being done to historical revisionists.

Amnesty International did what politically correct courts do - they took "judicial notice" that the Holocaust was essentially what Hollywood told the world it was. An intellectually honest outfit professing to champion free speech ought to have at least investigated the scientific facts behind so-called "hate speech" - since science does not lie, not even for a "Nazi". But Amnesty International is not an honest organization - it is a Marxist front, in many people's eyes.

National Post: -

Did you ever seriously expect assistance from Amnesty International in regards to your husband's case?- If not, why seek it?

Ingrid:

Well, hope springs eternal, doesn't it? Besides, why are you writing this article? Would you have bothered, had Zundel supporters not pressured Amnesty International all over the world to stop playing coy and live up to its mission statement?

National Post:

Now that Amnesty International has declined to call for Ernst's release -- and in fact, they seem to be pushing for a continuation of the investigation into his activities -- what is your response to their statement?

Ingrid:

What activities? His activities have been investigated for decades in Canada, and nothing "hateful" has ever been found. There is nothing to investigate any more. Further "investigations" will make Jewish lawyers richer and Canadian taxpayers poorer. Is that what Canada wants?

National Post:

An earlier post -- from you, I believe, on the Zundelsite -- suggests a double standard is being applied to Ernst's case vis-a-vis other cases that Amnesty International has trumpeted. Could you please elaborate on this? What comparisons do you draw between Ernst's case and others that Amnesty International champions?

Ingrid:

Well, think of Nelson Mandela. Certainly violence attached to that man and his supporters. Even the government of Canada admits that Ernst Zundel is not, and has never been, a violent man.

National Post:

Had they decided otherwise, and issued a call for his release, do you think it would have had any impact on the Canadian officials?

Ingrid:

One never knows. Sometimes a government is grateful for a fig leaf, after it has painted itself in a corner and stands there, naked, for all the world to see.

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Here is what the National Post published, some of it lifted from previous ZGrams:

[START]

Amnesty refuses to support campaign for Zundel's release

In Toronto jail: Not 'a prisoner of conscience,' says human rights body

Adrian Humphreys National Post

Tuesday, June 17, 200

Under pressure from supporters of Holocaust denier Ernst Zundel to denounce his imprisonment, Amnesty International has instead issued a policy statement declaring it has no concerns over his incarceration.

"Amnesty International does not consider Ernst Zundel to be a prisoner of conscience and is not calling for his release," says a statement issued by the London-based International Secretariat of Amnesty International.

"Amnesty International has reminded the Canadian government that numerous allegations of possible commission of hate crimes have been made against Ernst Zundel, largely stemming from his position with respect to the Holocaust.

"Those allegations must be investigated, leading to charges if borne out by the evidence," says the statement.

The policy was drafted last week in response to a growing number of queries about the case.

Mr. Zundel's supporters have been lobbying Amnesty International -- the world's foremost human rights organization -- to join the campaign against his detention by the Canadian government.

Mr. Zundel is in jail in Toronto pending a Federal Court review of the government's declaration that he is a threat to national security, an order requiring removal to his native Germany where he faces charges of inciting hatred.

"Amnesty International does not adopt persons who are imprisoned for 'hate speech' as prisoners of conscience," Amnesty International's statement says.

Mr. Zundel's supporters lashed out at the organization over its decision.

"Amnesty International is not an honest organization -- it is a Marxist front, in many people's eyes," said Ingrid Rimland, Mr. Zundel's wife, in an interview with the National Post conducted through e-mail.

"[Amnesty International] did what politically correct courts do -- they took 'judicial notice' that the Holocaust was essentially what Hollywood told the world it was."

Ms. Rimland accused the organization of having a double standard, one that champions the cause of Nelson Mandela, the former president of South African who was imprisoned under the Apartheid regime, but turns its back on Mr. Zundel.

In an e-mail to Mr. Zundel's supporters, she said of Amnesty International: "The minions pimping for the Canadian Holocaust Lobby are beginning to paint themselves nicely into a corner. They are a non-profit organization, flying under false flags -- and ever more Zundel watchers world-wide are speculating that they are a Fifth Column Zionist front."

Alex Neve, Secretary-General of the Canadian branch of Amnesty International, said his group has no hidden agenda or ulterior motives.

"Amnesty International stands for one thing and one thing only and that is the protection of human rights," Mr. Neve said.

"When it comes to freedom of expression, there are some legitimate limits and inciting people to hatred is one such limit," he said.

Amnesty International's policy on the case reiterated, however, its concerns over the security certificate process under which Mr. Zundel was detained.

The government's declaration ended his claim for refugee status after he was deported here from the United States.

Although not a Canadian citizen, Mr. Zundel lived for decades in Canada.

"We think refugee systems should be open," Mr. Neve said.

"The minute we allow politicians to have any kind of role in deciding who gets access to the refugee systems and who does not, we just know from around the world that is bad news for genuine refugees," he said.

The government said in court that Mr. Zundel is the figurehead or patriarch of the white supremacist ideology and that violence is a tool the movement uses.

Mr. Zundel, testifying earlier on his own behalf, denied allegations that he is involved in violence or advocates violence.

The judicial review of the security certificate against him continues next month.

ahumphreys@nationalpost.com