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01-17-2007, 10:02 AM
Germany Seeks Tougher Hate Crime Laws
Jan 15, 1:06 AM EST
DRESDEN, Germany (AP) -- Germany's justice minister said Sunday her country will push the European Union to adopt tough new rules to criminalize incitement of hatred and acts of racist violence within the 27-nation EU - including denying the Holocaust.
"I am optimistic that over the next six months we will manage to get a result," Birgitte Zypries told reporters on the eve of two-day justice and interior ministers talks in the eastern city of Dresden.
Zypries and German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, who are hosting the meeting, have put the issue on the agenda of the two-day talks and of Germany's six-month EU presidency.
She urged EU nations to agree on new common rules to combat racism and xenophobia within the EU as soon as possible, including the introduction of minimum EU-wide jail terms - which she said should be between one and three years - against those who purposely incite racist violence or hatred, or those who deny the genocide of Jews during World War II.
Efforts two years ago to set minimum jail terms ended in failure, however, after ministers were unable to agree. Several countries, notably Britain, Italy and Denmark, see such tough measures as overstepping the rights of expression under their national laws.
EU nations have been at pains to agree on common rules to combat racism and xenophobia in recent years, amid heightened ethnic and cultural tensions across Europe. EU Justice and Home Affairs Commissioner Franco Frattini said, however, that a compromise could be reached to ensure that personal freedoms were not encroached upon.
"While preserving freedom of expression, I think we have to criminalize concrete incitement," Frattini said. He added that the German proposal, which will be presented in the months to come, would leave it up to member states to decide what racist incidents constituted a punishable crime.
"It means the lengths of terms of prison are to be decided at state level," Frattini said.
Many EU nations already ban denials of the Holocaust including Germany, France, Spain, Austria and Belgium.
Austria last year jailed British writer David Irving for more than a year after he questioned the Holocaust in a book published there.
© 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy.
http://www.columbian.com/news/APStories/AP01152007news93006.cfm
Swastika ban call upsets Hindus
POSTED: 1022 GMT (1822 HKT), January 17, 2007
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LONDON, England (Reuters) -- Hindus in Europe are joining forces to oppose German calls for a law across the European Union banning the display of Nazi symbols, saying the swastika symbolizes peace and not hate.
Hindus in Britain, the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Italy plan to visit each EU member state, European Commission leaders and members of the European Parliament to garner support for a pressure group intended to resist the German move.
Germany plans to use its presidency of the EU to launch an initiative which could lead to common laws across the bloc making it a crime to deny genocide and display Nazi symbols.
"The swastika has been around for 5,000 years as a symbol of peace. This is exactly the opposite of how it was used by Hitler," said Ramesh Kallidai of the Hindu Forum of Britain.
"It is almost like saying that the Klu Klux Klan used burning crosses to terrorize black men, so therefore let us ban the cross. How does that sound to you?"
The European umbrella group of Hindus plans to launch in the European Parliament in May.
The swastika, the symbol of Hitler's Nazi Party, is banned in Germany, which assumed the EU's six-month rotating presidency on Jan. 1. In Hindu tradition, it is one of the religion's most sacred symbols of peace.
Germany, alarmed by a rise in far-right crime, wants to harmonize the rules for punishing offenders in member states.
"In Germany the fight against racism and xenophobia is both an historic duty and a current political concern," Germany's Justice Ministry said, laying out its plans earlier this month.
Kallidai said Germany's initiative was probably well-meaning but there had been no consultations.
"Every time we see a swastika symbol in a Jewish cemetery, that of course must be condemned. But when the symbol is used in a Hindu wedding, people should learn to respect that," he told Reuters.
"In Sanskrit it means May Goodness Prevail. Just because Hitler misused the symbol, abused it and used it to propagate a reign of terror and racism and discrimination, it does not mean that its peaceful use should be banned."
Copyright 2007 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/01/17/hindu.swastika.reut/index.html
"In Germany the fight against racism and xenophobia is both an historic duty and a current political concern," Germany's Justice Ministry said
modern germany is enemy of other white people, modern germany want to push more anti white law to other europe country
Jan 15, 1:06 AM EST
DRESDEN, Germany (AP) -- Germany's justice minister said Sunday her country will push the European Union to adopt tough new rules to criminalize incitement of hatred and acts of racist violence within the 27-nation EU - including denying the Holocaust.
"I am optimistic that over the next six months we will manage to get a result," Birgitte Zypries told reporters on the eve of two-day justice and interior ministers talks in the eastern city of Dresden.
Zypries and German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, who are hosting the meeting, have put the issue on the agenda of the two-day talks and of Germany's six-month EU presidency.
She urged EU nations to agree on new common rules to combat racism and xenophobia within the EU as soon as possible, including the introduction of minimum EU-wide jail terms - which she said should be between one and three years - against those who purposely incite racist violence or hatred, or those who deny the genocide of Jews during World War II.
Efforts two years ago to set minimum jail terms ended in failure, however, after ministers were unable to agree. Several countries, notably Britain, Italy and Denmark, see such tough measures as overstepping the rights of expression under their national laws.
EU nations have been at pains to agree on common rules to combat racism and xenophobia in recent years, amid heightened ethnic and cultural tensions across Europe. EU Justice and Home Affairs Commissioner Franco Frattini said, however, that a compromise could be reached to ensure that personal freedoms were not encroached upon.
"While preserving freedom of expression, I think we have to criminalize concrete incitement," Frattini said. He added that the German proposal, which will be presented in the months to come, would leave it up to member states to decide what racist incidents constituted a punishable crime.
"It means the lengths of terms of prison are to be decided at state level," Frattini said.
Many EU nations already ban denials of the Holocaust including Germany, France, Spain, Austria and Belgium.
Austria last year jailed British writer David Irving for more than a year after he questioned the Holocaust in a book published there.
© 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy.
http://www.columbian.com/news/APStories/AP01152007news93006.cfm
Swastika ban call upsets Hindus
POSTED: 1022 GMT (1822 HKT), January 17, 2007
Adjust font size:
LONDON, England (Reuters) -- Hindus in Europe are joining forces to oppose German calls for a law across the European Union banning the display of Nazi symbols, saying the swastika symbolizes peace and not hate.
Hindus in Britain, the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Italy plan to visit each EU member state, European Commission leaders and members of the European Parliament to garner support for a pressure group intended to resist the German move.
Germany plans to use its presidency of the EU to launch an initiative which could lead to common laws across the bloc making it a crime to deny genocide and display Nazi symbols.
"The swastika has been around for 5,000 years as a symbol of peace. This is exactly the opposite of how it was used by Hitler," said Ramesh Kallidai of the Hindu Forum of Britain.
"It is almost like saying that the Klu Klux Klan used burning crosses to terrorize black men, so therefore let us ban the cross. How does that sound to you?"
The European umbrella group of Hindus plans to launch in the European Parliament in May.
The swastika, the symbol of Hitler's Nazi Party, is banned in Germany, which assumed the EU's six-month rotating presidency on Jan. 1. In Hindu tradition, it is one of the religion's most sacred symbols of peace.
Germany, alarmed by a rise in far-right crime, wants to harmonize the rules for punishing offenders in member states.
"In Germany the fight against racism and xenophobia is both an historic duty and a current political concern," Germany's Justice Ministry said, laying out its plans earlier this month.
Kallidai said Germany's initiative was probably well-meaning but there had been no consultations.
"Every time we see a swastika symbol in a Jewish cemetery, that of course must be condemned. But when the symbol is used in a Hindu wedding, people should learn to respect that," he told Reuters.
"In Sanskrit it means May Goodness Prevail. Just because Hitler misused the symbol, abused it and used it to propagate a reign of terror and racism and discrimination, it does not mean that its peaceful use should be banned."
Copyright 2007 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/01/17/hindu.swastika.reut/index.html
"In Germany the fight against racism and xenophobia is both an historic duty and a current political concern," Germany's Justice Ministry said
modern germany is enemy of other white people, modern germany want to push more anti white law to other europe country