British Ian Buckley on The Trials of Ernst Zundel: "God have mercy on mankind!"

[zgrams at zgrams.zundelsite.org]

British Ian Buckley on The Trials of Ernst Zundel:  "God have mercy 
on mankind!"


At the outset, it should be noted that this piece is in no sense a 
substitute for Paul Eisen's excellent and exhaustive "The Holocaust 
Wars." Rather, it is a personal reflection upon the growing lack of 
freedom in the Western world, as illustrated by the story of one man. 
Though it is the story of one man, it applies to us all, as the 
mistreatment once handed down to those handily designated and 
demonized as 'extremists' and 'cultists' is extended more and more to 
ordinary citizens.

Ladies and Gentleman, the New World Order is on your doorstep. Open 
resistance brings down a rain of fire as at Fallujah, while in the 
outer ring of indirect, diffuse oppression, more subtle methods than 
mass murder usually prevail.

'Terror' and fear of 'terror' - which is anyway largely sponsored and 
created by government intelligence agencies - means acquiescence as 
acres of streets in the city of Leeds are sealed off or tanks ring 
Heathrow Airport. Even English country towns are monitored and 
secured, under perpetual watch by veritable forests of security 
cameras on poles.

Indeed it's fortunate that Zundel is still around to face the 
Mannheim trial, when one bears in mind the dismal and sinister fate 
that often befalls very high-profile dissenters when they fall into 
the hands of the injustice system. Such was the case even in the 
Eisenhower era : in this context one thinks of psychologist Wilhelm 
Reich, the originator of the wonderful term 'Hoodlums in Government' 
or HIGs, a phrase which is much more applicable now than in Reich's 
days. Or of Francis Parker Yockey, widely accused of being both 
pro-Communist and pro-Nazi, but more likely a fellow of philosophical 
bent unenamoured of liberal capitalism.

Reading through a selection of  Ernst Zundel's letters from prison, 
you may feel that he has descended as a witness into the dismal and 
deadly underbelly of so-called democracy. Ernst notes the following 
incident during his stay at the Ottawa Detention Center, which he - 
quite justifiably - nicknamed 'Abu Ghraib North' :

'One young Negro died in the cell next to me. Why? He must have had 
some seizure or breathing difficulties. The guards shouted, danced 
around and taunted him. I saw him the day before. He was athletic, 
had good muscle tone like many young Blacks who are in far better 
physical shape than Whites - yet I saw him through my little 8 1/2 by 
11 cell observation window, carried out of his cell limp like a dish 
rag, dumped unto a gurney, electric shock applied to his heart, given 
an injection, given CPR, oxygen - the fellow was dead!'

What is prison, if not a place where society attempts - and fails - 
to hide its true face, its real nature? Are not many of the 'cons' 
little more than victims of a harsh, commercialised and globalized 
environment? The outer jail is 'society', while the inner one is 
prison itself. Over two million Americans are now incarcerated; 
something to think about when you hear those vain and bombastic State 
of the Union addresses.

Ernst again :

'Four big guards came in the afternoon. Ordered me out of my cell 
with my stuff, took me to the corridor, threw my mental cellmate on 
the floor, kicked him, pummelled him 'til he was dragged along the 
halls, bleeding and screaming. Eventually, I was put into the general 
population, which meant three times out of the cell.'

Ernst Zundel's initial arrest came over two years ago, a short while 
before the start of the US-UK assault on Iraq. A posse of immigration 
officials - some of them armed - descended upon his home in rural 
Tennessee. A little excessive, perhaps, when the 'villain' concerned 
is a life-long pacifist and the ostensible charge he faces is a mere 
visa violation! By all normal standards, as his wife Ingrid is an 
American citizen, Zundel should enjoy legal status, and not be 
subject to arbitrary harassment in this way. Incidentally, as a 
pacifist, Ernst Zundel would make quite an unusual 'Nazi'.

After the arrest, he entered into a nether world of leg irons, a cell 
with a perpetually glowing light and a regime of ridiculous, 
pettifogging regulations - such as being forbidden access to Post-it 
notes and marker pens. And all for what?

The ostensible charge in America was a violation of immigration 
rules. In Canada, Zundel was officially some sort of (undefined) 
threat to national security. But in essence, Ernst Zundel is being 
accused of heresy. He has challenged a dogma of the 'Church' and the 
'Empire' prosecutes and persecutes.

We are all different, and have varying political ideals and 
viewpoints. For example, I don't share Zundel's almost instinctive 
anti-Communism. To my mind, there is something to be said for 
Communism when mixed with national patriotism, as seen in Fidel's 
Cuba or the latter years of the USSR. At least such nations provide - 
or did provide - full employment, universal health care, and a sense 
of community.

But for three centuries or more, opinion was sacred. The idea that no 
man or woman should be arrested for their thoughts or beliefs was an 
essential part of a civilised society. But Zundel has endured over 
two years in jail, and faces the possibility of much more jail time, 
solely because of his opinions on the events of World War II. I say 
'solely', but - who knows - maybe his pamphlet "The West, War and 
Islam" also contributed to his arrest as a 'Public Enemy'.

In "The West, War and Islam" he warns that '..distorted viewpoints 
are deliberately being used and often magnified to goad the West into 
a future criminal war against the Islamic world.'

Huh, completely wrong there, Ernst!

Jesting aside, Zundel 'denies' much less than some might imagine, 
saying that: 'It is absolutely true that Jews were incarcerated and 
often treated cruelly. They were seen as the enemy, just as in our 
times the "Nazis" are seen as the enemy of entrenched oligarchies.' 
He just disbelieves in the existence of extermination gas chambers, 
after initiating some first hand research on the matter. Surely the 
normal, rational procedure would be have honest, open debate on this 
subject, and not to suppress one side of the argument. Suspicion must 
always fall on those who attempt to silence their opponents.

One very important statement on the case was made by Dr. Roger 
Dommergue from France, who had this to say to American officials:

'I have known M. Zundel these last 20 years, and as a Jew I felt 
compelled to check what he said and published. I became conscious of 
the fact that he was a most distinguished mind, that he told the 
truth and that I could understand why my all-powerful peers did not 
like him! I feel that a country in which he resides can be proud of 
having him. Please give him back his liberty in the country of 
liberty, and keep away from the totalitarianism of my worst peers who 
think they have all the rights because of their financial and 
political power.'

All true, of course, but Zundel was still railroaded back to Germany, 
after high-level twisting of the law had taken place in both the USA 
and Canada. There his trial began just a week ago, on the 8th 
November, with Zundel's first thoughts just before its start being 
for others : 'This judgment is important for other imprisoned 
idealists / human rights activists - people who struggle for their 
human and civil rights in Germany and beyond!'

The trial itself has an interesting feature in that the defence team 
must weave a delicate ballet, for if they seem to share the heretic's 
views, then they too are subject to arrest. It is like the return of 
Galileo!

However, unlike the deluded American and British dole queue 
conscripts now occupying Iraq, Zundel has one great consolation:

"At least I have the privilege of understanding the forces which took 
hold of me. God have mercy on mankind!"
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