ZGram - 3/3/2003 - "An anniversary of sorts"

[irimland@zundelsite.org]

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

March 3, 2003 - (My father's birthday, 1910, and the day my mother died, 1979)

I so often think about the spiritual legacy that has been given to 
us, the "World War II Transition Generation" to which Ernst and I 
belong, since we are struggling still with the same enemy that 
caused so many wounds to our parents' generation!

This is not the place or time to roll up yet another bloody chapter 
of yet another tragedy that befell those of us who were Germans - 
let me just briefly say that after more than 50 years, I found two 
Russian-born half-sisters who gave me some glimpses of my poor 
father's life. 

He was arrested in 1941, much as my husband was  arrested less than 
four weeks ago in 2003, on the absolute flimsiest of accusations. 
It quite sufficed he was a German and, hence, considered an "enemy" 
to the powers that be.  He was marched away from us at gunpoint, 
along with every German male age 14 and over in our town, and was 
not heard from again until I was already grown, married and with a 
family of my own, then living in Canada and learning to speak 
English.  For years, we all believed that he was dead.  Where I grew 
up, hardly anybody my age had a father. 

He was told upon release from a five-year sentence of hard labor in 
Soviet Russia's gulags, that his family had perished.  He married 
again, named his oldest daughter from this second marriage after me, 
and tried to go on with his life. 

Now, almost half a century later, this half-sister told me a bit 
about my father's fate.  He died on October 13, 1978.  When I told 
my mother in a letter, her response was very odd.  She wrote rather 
calmly, even stoically, that it did not really matter;  she was 
prepared to join him soon.  I  was young then, and knew nothing of 
those deeply felt, searing emotions that can sustain us all our 
lives. 

I must confess that I resented my mother's reply - l loved my 
father;  I wanted her to grieve - and stupidly assumed that she did 
not.  She died five months later - on my father's birthday, 
twenty-five years ago today.

=====

New page. 

This morning I found out why we have had so many Zundelsite 
shutdowns, and why so many of my ZGrams went astray.  We thought it 
was just technical.  Not so.  Here is an email from our server's CEO:

[START]

Hello Ingrid Rimland:

We have been under a lot of pressure just by simply hosting your 
site. We have continually been sent documents from the Canadian 
Human Rights Commission among other parties. We have even consulted 
legal council and held out this long.  However at this point, our 
top level peer providers want us to remove it to ovoid risk of 
retaliation on the network.   We believe in the freedom of speech 
and expression and is the only reason we didn't put the site down on 
the first contact several months ago.

We are going to move you site to another server on another network 
which will give you at least another week to decide what you want to 
do from here out.

Regards:

Marcus N. Barnes
CEO & President

[END]

My reply follows:

Dear Mr. Barnes -

this is the first time that I even found out that you, too, have 
been under political siege from Ernst's political enemies in Canada. 
This is very important for us to know.

In 1996, the Zundelsite was under similar attack.  Webcom was our 
server at that time, and the CEO held out valiantly.  In fact, my 
hat was off to him, since he disagreed with our stance, but felt 
that freedom of speech was more important than his personal feelings.

I cannot tell you how I appreciate that you held the fort under 
similar free speech assault.

I will contact some help to see if we can find another server.  One 
week should be enough.

Can you please send me ALL the documentation you have on this free 
speech encroachment?  I  have some friends in the cyber world who 
helped me in 1996, and perhaps this can be used to  help preserve 
freedom of speech on the Net in America, the last bastion of the 
free world.

Ingrid Rimland

=====

A word about the Petition:  When I last checked, we had gathered 742 
signatures.  Our enemies got into it as well and spread some of 
their unsual, unbelievable filth.  I have seen it so often, but I am 
always amazed at that character trait!  You can ALWAYS tell "who's 
who" by the obscenities.  No Gentile worth his genes writes like 
that or speaks like that!

I hope we can remove these comments before we hand in the signatures 
to the Prime Minister of Canada.  If you haven't yet added your 
name, please consider doing so.  We would like to send this 
petiotion just as soon as we can, and it would be nice if we could 
round it out to 1000 signatures.

The link is at

http://petitionpetition.com/cgi/petition.cgi?id=5230

=====

I talked to Ernst briefly yesterday.  Apparently he is only allowed 
some 10 minutes per day for phone calls, and if he has to contact 
people regarding some legal matters, that leaves no time for me. 
last time, I had maybe 90 seconds.  But he did tell me that he knew 
nothing of another hearing this coming Friday.

  I could not remember who told me, and so I could not tell him for 
sure if this was, indeed, a set hearing.  Now someone sent me these 
two items, no source given:

[START]

                              ANOTHER WEEK IN JAIL FOR ZUNDEL

Thorold, Ontario.-- Ernst Zundel, a holocaust denier who is seeking 
refugee status in Canada, will remain in custody for another week in 
this southern Ontario community.

At a detention review hearing yesterday, lawyers for the federal 
government argued Ottawa has reason to believe Zundel is a security 
concern and should be detained. The hearing was Zundel's second 
since he was turned over to Canadian immigration officials on 
February 19 after being deported from the United States.

Zundel has been in the Niagara Detention Centre since arriving in 
Canada. The Crown and Zundel agreed yesterday that future hearings 
will be open to the public. The next hearing is expected to be held 
Friday. Zundel was arrested February 3 at his Tennessee home for 
overstaying a visitors visa.
The German citizen was returned to Canada because he entered the 
U.S. from Ontario. If Zundel is deported to Germany, he would face 
charges of suspicion of incitement of hate.

The Canadian  Jewish Congress has said allowing public scrutiny of 
his efforts to remain might play right into his hands.

=====


Zundel remains behind bars over security concerns

By GLORIA GALLOWAY
Saturday, March 1, 2003 - Page A2 

Holocaust denier Ernst Zundel will likely spend the next month behind bars
while the government determines whether his presence in the country poses a
threat to the security of Canadians.

"Mr. Zundel is being detained under legislation that allows the ministry to
determine whether he is a risk to national security," Charles Hawkins, the
regional spokesman for Immigration and Refugee Board, said yesterday.

Mr. Zundel argued his own case yesterday against being detained. His
detention is allowed under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and
will be reviewed in 30 days.

It has been reported that the Canadian Security Intelligence Service is
investigating whether Mr. Zundel is a security threat, including whether he
assisted or helped finance violent white-supremacist groups.

He is seeking refugee status since being removed from the United States two
weeks ago out of fear that he will be jailed if he is returned to his
native Germany. During the early 1990s, Mr. Zundel was fined the equivalent
of $9,000 for breaking Germany's antihate laws while he was on a visit to
Munich.

Keith Landy, president of the Canadian Jewish Congress, said that the
decision to detain Mr. Zundel comes as no surprise.

"The security risk that Zundel is being accused of is incitement of hatred
towards an identifiable group," Mr. Landy said. "As one of the most
horrific Holocaust deniers and anti-Semites, it's not surprising that the
government wants to ensure that he doesn't have an easy ride . . ."

=====

I spent all this weekend collecting emails to media, free speech and 
immigration organizations and patriot groups.  I would like to ask 
those of you who are willing to contact these sources with a brief 
letter to write to me requesting this list.  It is quite long, and 
you may have to break it up so as not to be accused of spamming. 

Please write a very brief, preferably one-paragraph note to these 
sources.  I will suggest some titles. 

I may be in touch later on if there is additional news. 

Thank you for your help and for your support in this very difficult 
time.

Ingrid