ZGram - 8/7/2003 - "Take note of Sunday's Zundel demonstration"

[zgrams at zgrams.zundelsite.org]

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

August 7, 2003

Good Morning from the Zundelsite:

Last night I had a long call from Paul Fromm, Ernst's legal 
representative on location.  Paul wanted me to know that Ernst wants 
me to be sure he is not being physically mistreated.  Do I feel 
reassured?  Maybe.  Maybe a little.  Apparently the picture that 
upset me so - that showed Ernst with a large, red bruise on his face 
and ear and blood and blisters on his lips - was taken not where he 
is now but back in February, through a window, as he was being hauled 
in chains from one prison to another.  I was told that sometimes 
reporters enhance such photographs. 

Also, Ernst has told me many times that the supervisors in his 
current prison, and in most of the others where he was kept before, 
do try to make his life a little more human, a little more bearable - 
but they are working under the constraints of a repressive, brutal 
prison atmosphere where violent criminals cannot be trusted with a 
chair because in their rage they might hurl it at a guard who only 
does his duty.  Such prisoners cannot be given a pillow because they 
might stuff it into a toilet and create a stinking mess some lowly 
guard, who has no choice either, then has to clean up.  They cannot 
be given a pen because it might become a stabbing weapon or even a 
suicide tool.  They cannot be given a toothbrush because 
you-fill-in-the-blanks if you care.  So it's kept on the floor in the 
hall. 

All that may well be true.  I am sure it is true.  That still leaves 
open the question:  What is Ernst Zundel doing in that environment? 
Is there no recourse to force a decision on bail?  Why is Ernst not 
allowed to wave a greeting at an old friend who has supported his 
struggle for forty years out of his own financially marginal 
existence? What has Ernst done to have to be subjected to strip 
searches, after a hearing he was forced to attend to be insulted 
non-stop by his hissing enemies, where he is surrounded by law 
enforcement personnel who won't even permit him to talk to a lawyer 
who had traveled thousands of miles to give testimony of Ernst's 
lawful behavior in the U.S., of Ernst's obeying all the bureaucratic 
rules, of doing absolutely everything according to the book? Did you 
read that in the National Post?  Of course not!

There's nothing that will justify that kind of degrading treatment! 
It is unworthy of a country that still claims to be civilized!

Last night I also found out that there is a hotel in Toronto that's 
being used for detainees of questionable immigration status.  Is life 
more tolerable there?  Were Ernst to be transferred to that place, 
might he be allowed to sleep in a bed for a chance, instead of on a 
concrete slab only covered with a thin mattress?  Might the food be 
better at breakfast than what he is currently fed through a slot in 
the door that consists of two pieces of dry toast - no butter, no jam 
- and a small plastic pouch of milk for an equally small portion of 
cereal and a small styrofoam cup of over-sweetened "coffee" a rat 
wouldn't touch?

I have no reason to think the supervisors of such a prison actually 
approve of the way Ernst has to cope.  Ernst has said many kind 
things about them, to me and to others.  He says that these men do 
their duty, according to their job descriptions.  They may have no 
options.  They genuinely may not know what to do with a non-criminal 
dissident and may even endanger their jobs of they allow exceptions 
to inhuman treatment of a non-violent political prisoner.  But can 
they not go somewhere to talk to someone in authority and say:  "This 
man does not belong here!  This place is killing him!"?  Is there a 
reason why they cannot testify on Ernst's behalf that a prison filled 
to the seams with violent criminals should not be used as a political 
vendetta dumping ground for a lone activist who has never done 
anything criminal in 40 years of living in a country?  Would an Open 
Letter of Protest by prison authorities to a national paper - let's 
say, the National Post - even get published?  Would anybody like to 
bet?

I am a big believer in spreading precise thoughts in quotes that have 
come down to us from previous generations.  Here's one such David 
Thoreau quote that fits the occasion:  "There are a thousand hacking 
at the branches to one who is striking at its roots." 

The word is now out, and no one is fooled.  Ernst struck at the roots 
that is supporting evil.  He dismantled the Holocaust Hoax via 
forensic evidence.  Hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, all over 
the world now know that.  So do the Wiesenthalers and their ilk.  I 
wouldn't want to walk around in  Wiesenthaler shoes. 

There will be another "Free Zundel" demonstration this Sunday.  If 
you can be there, be there.  If not, send a message that can be read 
aloud - for the cause, for the record and for our archives.

Here are specifics of this demo:

[START]

Dear Free Speech Supporter:

	The Canadian Association for Free Expression is holding a 
demonstration outside the Metro West Detention Centre (111 Disco 
Drive) in Etobicoke on Sunday, August 10, at 1:00 p.m. The purpose of 
the demonstration is to demand humane treatment for political 
prisoner Ernst Zundel. He's kept in solitary confinement without a 
pillow, a chair, pen, post-it notes, hardcover books or highlighters. 
His personal toiletries are kept in a public hall outside his cell.

	Federal Judge Pierre Blais said last week: "Even in mediaeval 
times, prisoners were allowed to use pen and paper. I also have 
respect for Mr. Zundel. He is not a criminal. He is entitled to a 
little bit of flexibility."

	The strip searches, the denial of regular phone calls, 
sometimes the denial of the use of a razor, all of these humiliations 
are efforts to break Ernst Zundel and to punish him for his ideas.

	If we believe in freedom, we must protest!

	Please read my report on the sickening treatment Ernst must 
endure. He has a lump in his chest and has been denied his herbal 
medications. His first medical examination last week was a x-ray of 
his lungs. The test was utterly useless for examining the lump that 
has grown beneath his sternum.

	I'm asking for an hour of your time, whether you're 19 or 79. 
Ernst has given 6 months! We each enjoy freedom and much physical 
comfort. Ernst sickens inside a jail without a pillow, without proper 
medication.

	Let's protest and stand with him.

	Let's let Ernst and the world know by our presence that he is 
NOT forgotten. A number of free speech groups from across the 
province will be joining us.

	The demo will be at 2:00 p.m., (but let's say 1:30)   Sunday, 
August 10, 2003, at the Metro West Detention Centre (111 Disco Road). 
Call the prison for the best directions: 416-675-1806

	Bring the old Red Ensign flag, if you have one. If you're an 
American, bring the U.S. flag or the battle flag of the Confederacy.

	Our slogans will be "Ernst Zundel, Political Prisoner"; "Free 
Zundel"; "No Secret Trials". You can make up posters with these 
slogans. (...)

E-mail me or phone 905-8997-7221, if you need further information.

	If you live out of town or cannot attend, why not send a 
short message of support. It will be read at the protest. Our June 1 
protest brought in more than 50 letters of support, including ones 
for six foreign countries and 10 U.S. states.

 
		Paul Fromm
 
		Director
CANADIAN ASSOCIATION FOR FREE EXPRESSION

[END]