The Turkish Peace Association and the International Peace Council held a huge festival in Antakya on Sunday to express solidarity with Syria in the face of the plot to which it was exposed.
The event was attended by social figures and MPs in addition to huge numbers of citizens.
The participants hailed the Syrian leadership and people, stressing that Syria is resisting the international imperialism and defending its independence and sovereignty.
They said that the future of the region should be determined only by its peoples, adding that the region’s peoples will foil the conspiracy against Syria.
The festival included popular songs by Turkish band and famous Turkish singers.
5000 Bürger der Provinz Hatay sagen Nein zur Aggression gegen Syrien!
Die Menschen der Region Hatay verteidigen
die nationale Souveränität des syrischen Volkes, ihrer Freunde und
Nachbarn. Populäre Rockstars, Sänger und Musiker,Schauspieler wie
Yasar Aydin, Edip Akbayram, Metin Coslem unterstützen die Sache des
Volkes hier, und Lokalpolitiker schließen sich dem klaren Votum der
Menschen an. Stoppt die Aggression gegen Syrien! Wir wollen in
Frieden mit unseren Nachbarn leben! Zieht die Patriot-Raketen zurück,
sie dienen diesem Frieden nicht! Wir brauchen offene Grenzen! Wir
wollen, dass der Handel wieder floriert, wir wollen syrische
Touristen, Nachbarn, Freunde, Verwandte bei uns willkommen heißen,
wie eh und je. Wir wollen die Transportwege offen sehen, die uns mit
Nordafrika verbinden!
Adel Omar, Oppositionspolitiker,
Repräsentant der syrischen Kommunistischen Partei, Anwalt und
Journalist, sagt unter der jubelnden Zustimmung eines überwiegend
jungen Publikums: Man macht keine Revolution mit der Nato!! Er trägt
ein Che Guevara Käpi, das ihm ein ermordeter Freund hinterlassen
hat.
Adel Omar ist Patriot. Er ist jung,
großgewachsen, charmant und gebildet. Deutsch hat er am
Goethe-Institut in Damaskus gelernt. Heute verteidigt er seine
Heimat mit Kopf und Herz gegen die ausländischen Aggressoren. Er
weiß, dass er dabei sein Leben aufs Spiel setzt. Dieser Krieg ist
anders. Er wird nicht an offenen Fronten, sondern heimtükisch
geführt. Heckenschützen besetzen die Häuser und nehmen die
Einwohner als Geiseln. Die syrische Armee, die Polizei haben wenig
Chancen die Täter zu verfolgen ohne zivile Opfer zu verursachen.
Damit kalkulieren die gedungen Mörder.
Abels Weg nach Antakya führte über
den Umweg Beirut und Istanbul. Der direkte Wege über seinen
Heimatort jenseits der türkischen Grenze ist ihm versperrt. Seine
eindringliche Botschaft heißt: Wir brauchen keine humanitäre Hilfe.
Unser Mitttel und unser Mut reichen aus, um uns zu verteidigen, um
uns schützend vor unsere Regierung, vor unser Staatswesen zu
stellen. Wir brauchen eure politische Solidarität, euer Verständnis
für unsere Situation. Eure Stellungnahme gegen die wirklichen
Aggressoren.
Mein Land ist einer äußerst
gefährlichen und raffinierten Aggression ausgesetzt, erklärt er
später in Interviews mit lokalen Instanzen, Parlamentariern, mit
Bürgermeistern in der Region. Unsere Souveränität, unsere
Unabhängigkeit, unsere territoriale Integrität ist bedroht. Uns
wird sogar der Status als Rechtssubjekt streitig gemacht. Wir
können nicht einmal völkerrechtlich Klage erheben. Wir werden
wirtschaftlich stranguliert. Die Freiheit und Würde unseres Volkes
ist bedroht. Die Akteure des anschwellenden Guerrilla-Feldzugs gegen
unser Land haben erst heute früh einen Bombenanschlag auf unseren
Premierminister verübt. Sein Sicherheitsmann ist dabei umgekommen.
Inzwischen sterben täglich bis zu 500 Märtyer. Verantwortlich dafür
sind der US-Imperialismus im Bunde mit dem zionistischen Israel und
der EU. Diese imperialistischen Akteure finden Unterstützung durch
reaktionäre arabische Regimes, durch die Türkei, dem loyalen Arm
der Nato in der Region. Dieser Krieg ist kein Bürgerkrieg. Es ist
kein Krieg den Syrer untereinander ausfechten. Nein! Unter
trügerischen, fadenscheinigen Parolen wie “Förderung von
Menschenrechten” und der bösartigen Parole “Befreiung des
syrischen Volkes von ihrem Dikator” wird eine Aggression gegen
unser Volk betrieben und ein schwarzer Propagandafeldzug gegen
unseren Präsidenten geführt. Deswegen ist jetzt nicht der Moment
unseren Staatschef zu kritisieren. Musste man ihm in der
Vergangenheit auch politische Fehler ankreiden, muss man immer noch
fordern, dass die Korruption bekämpft wird und dass unbelastete
Minister in die Regierung aufgenommen werden, so war doch Präsident
Bashar al-Assad nie ein Diktator oder Mörder. Nehmt solche
Anschuldigungen aus euren Solidaritätsparolen! Sie sind falsch und
helfen nicht den Menschen in Syrien. Adel wurde jubelnd von den
Tausenden Konzertbesuchern begrüßt und jubelnder Beifall folgte
seiner Rede. Adel hat bereits drei Bombenanschläge überlebt, die
von Muslimbrüdern auf ihn verübt wurden. Er gilt den Kontras als
Zielscheibe, weil er sich heute im Ausland schützend vor seine
Regierung stellt und Zeugnis ablegt über das verhängnisvolle
Wirken sogenannter Rebellen. Adel ist fassungslos darüber, dass die
Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung ihren guten Namen dafür missbraucht, auf
einer Konferenz in Düsseldorf einen Verterter der Muslimbrüder zu
Wort kommen zu lassen und ihm Raum gibt, Waffen für deren
frevelhaftes Tun einzufordern. Alles andere als Revolutionäre
seien diese Mordgesellen, die ihm und seinen Landsleuten nach dem
Leben trachten, ihr Eigentum stehlen, ihre Häuser in die Luft jagen.
Diese Burschen seien konterrevolutionäre Banden, vom Ausland
gedungene Mörder. Keinerlei progressive Symbolik, kein menschliches
Vorgehen kennzeichne ihre Methoden. Ein Foto dieser Art “Guerrila”
in der Jungen Welt vom 15. April empört ihn wie der ganze Bericht
auf Seite 3 dieser sich links und alternativ gebenden Zeitung.
Tränen stehen ihm bei der Lektüre in den Augen. Der junge Mann,
dessen Familie bereits aus Syrien vor den Kontras geflüchtet ist,
während er in Damaskus weiterhin mutig stand hält und sein Leben
riskiert, ist fassungslos ob der von deutschen Linken dargebotenen
Begriffslosigkeit.
Soccorro Gomez, ehemalige
Justizministerin im Amazonasstaat Brasiliens, heute Vorsitzende des
Weltfriedensrates, erklärt unterdessen: Die Aggresion gegen Syrien
ist ein Angriff auf die ganze Region. Antakkya bildete vormals eine
zentrale Transportachse zum Nahen Osten bis nach Nordafrika. Das
Transportwesen dieser zweitwichtigsten Handelsroute für die Türkei
liegt jetzt darnieder, die übrige Industrie auch, da die “Rebellen”
die Grenze kontrollieren und die ganze Region terrorisieren. Der
heimtückische Angriff auf Syrien gilt letzlich der ganzen
menschlichen Gemeinschaft, meint die erfahrene indigene Politikerin.
Die Welt muss im Eigeninteresse ihre Stimme erheben. Das gleiche
Vorgehen wie in Syrien, kann und wird, wenn unwidersprochen, einem
missliebigen Land nach dem anderen widerfahren. Dieser Gefahr müssen
die friedliebenden Völker gemeinsam Einhalt gebieten. Kenntnisse
darüber, was wirklich in Syrien dieser Tage geschieht, ist die
Grundvorrausetzung für den erforderlichen Aufschrei gegenüber dem
heimtückischen Feldzug gegen das immer wieder kolonisierte Land
unterstreicht Frau Gomez. Eine starke ausländische Vertretung von
Friedenskräften, die herzlich willkommen war, wird dafür Sorge
tragen, dass zumindest das Wissen in die Welt hinausgeht. Asiatische
und russische Medien berichteten schon breit über die Tage lange
Konferenz, deren Abschluss und Höhepunkt das Konzert in der Provinz
Hatay bildete. In Istanbul war sie am 25. April im Nazim Hikmet
Kultur-Zentrum eröffnet worden. Zahlreiche freiwillige, meist
jugendliche Helfer unterstützten die türkischen Organisatoren der
Friedensgesellschaft und den Weltfriedensrat als Schirmherrn bei
ihrer großartigen Arbeit. Besuche bei Vertretern von
Gewerkschaften, Ständekammern der Anwälte und der Ärzte in der 20
Milionenstadt Istanbul und Begegnungen mit Parlamentariern und
Bürgermeistern gehörten mit zum umfangreichen Programm. Die
Aufgeschlossenheit dieser Kreise gegenüber dem vorgetragenen
Anliegen war bemerkenswert. Konsensfähig ist demnach die Parole:
Es lebe die wirkliche
Völkerverständigung und die echte anti-imperialistische
Solidarität!
Modeled on the Saddam Hussein WMD narrative, the propaganda ploy concerning the alleged threat of Syria’s chemical weapons has been building up over several months.
The Western media suggests –in chorus and without evidence– that a “frustrated” and “desperate” president Bashar al Assad is planning to use deadly chemical weapons against his own people. Last week, U.S. officials revealed to NBC News that “Syria’s military has loaded nerve-gas chemicals into bombs and are awaiting final orders from al-Assad”.
Western governments are now accusing Syria of planning a diabolical scheme on the orders of the Syrian head of State. Meanwhile, the media hype has gone into full gear. Fake reports on Syria’s WMD are funneled into the news chain, reminiscent of the months leading up to the March 2003 invasion of Iraq.
The evolving media consensus is that “the regime of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad appears to be entering its twilight” and that the “international community” has a responsibility to come to the rescue of the Syrian people to prevent the occurrence of a humanitarian disaster.
“…Fears are growing in the West that Syria will unleash chemical weapons in a last-ditch act of desperation”
Recent reports that the embattled government of Syria has begun preparations for the use of chemical weapons [against the Syrian people] . After two years of civil war and more than 40,000 deaths, events in Syria may be heading to a bloody crescendo. (WBUR, December 11, 2012)
Syria versus Iraq
Antiwar critics have largely underscored the similarities with the Iraq WMD ploy, which consisted in accusing the government of Saddam Hussein of possessing Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). The alleged WMD threat was then used as a justification to invade Iraq in March 2003.
The WMD Iraq ploy was subsequently acknowledged in the wake of the invasion as an outright fabrication, with president George W. Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair actually recognizing that it was a “big mistake”. In a recent statement Nobel Peace Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu called for ‘lying’ Blair and Bush to face trial in the Hague`s International Criminal Court
The Syria WMD saga is in marked contrast to that of Iraq. The objective is not to” justify” an all out humanitarian war on Syria, using chemical weapons as a pretext.
An examination of allied military planning as well as the nature of US-NATO support to the opposition forces suggests a different course of action to that adopted in relation to Iraq (2003) and Libya (2011).
The purpose is indeed to demonize Bashar Al Assad but the objective at this stage is not the conduct of an all out “shock and awe” war on Syria, involving a full fledged air campaign. Such an action would, under present conditions, be a highly risky undertaking. Syria has advanced air defense capabilities, equipped with Russian Iskander missiles (see image) as well as significant ground forces. A Western military operation could also lead to a response from Russia, which has a naval base at the port city of Tartus in Southern Syria.
Moreover, Iranian forces from its revolutionary guards corps (IRGC) are present on the ground in Syria; Russian military advisers are involved in the training of the Syrian military.
The Pechora-2M is a surface-to-air anti-aircraft short-range missile system designed for destruction of aircraft, cruise missiles, assault helicopters and other air targets at ground, low and medium altitudes.
Ground to air defense Russian Pechora 2M deployed to Syria
Non-Conventional Warfare
At this juncture, despite US-NATO military superiority, an all out military operation, for the reasons mentioned above, is not contemplated.
Non-conventional warfare remains the chosen avenue. Reports confirm that NATO-led military operations would be largely in support of rebel forces, its command structure, communications systems, recruitment, training, the transfer to rebel forces of more advanced weapons. Part of this undertaking including the training of rebels is being carried by private mercenary companies.
A limited and selective air campaign in support of the rebels, using Syria’s chemical weapons bunker stockpiles as a pretext could be contemplated, but even this would be a risky undertaking given Syria’s air defense capabilities.
What was on the drawing board of a recent “Semi-Secret” Meeting in London, hosted by General Sir David Julian Richards, head of Britain’s Defense Staff is a coordinated military agenda characterised by “air and naval support, plus military training for the opposition”.
The thrust of this London gathering behind closed doors (reported on December 10, 2012) was to support a unified military command structure of opposition forces designed to “unify insurgent ranks” fighting government forces. In practice, this will require a renewed influx of mercenaries under the supervision of Western special forces which are already on the ground inside Syria.
Staging a Humanitarian Disaster?
The training component of US-NATO action is of crucial importance. How does it relate to the Syria ‘chemical weapons’ issue?
The Western military alliance does not contemplate at this stage an all out war in response to Syria’s possession of chemical weapons. What is contemplated is the need to train the opposition rebels in the handling of chemical weapons.
This specialized training program which was confirmed is already ongoing, implemented with the support of specialized private mercenary and security companies on contract to the Pentagon:
“The United States and some European allies are using defense contractors to train Syrian rebels on how to secure chemical weapons stockpiles in Syria, a senior U.S. official and several senior diplomats told CNN Sunday. ( CNN Report, December 9, 2012)
What is unfolding is a diabolical scenario –which is an integral part of military planning– namely a situation where opposition terrorists advised by Western defense contractors are actually in possession of chemical weapons.
This is not a rebel training exercise in non-proliferation. While president Obama states that “you will be held accountable” if “you” (meaning the Syrian government) use chemical weapons, what is contemplated as part of this covert operation is the possession of chemical weapons by the US-NATO sponsored terrorists, namely “by our” Al Qaeda affiliated operatives, including the Al Nusra Front (see image on right), which constitutes the most effective Western financed and trained fighting group, largely integrated by foreign mercenaries. In a bitter twist, Jabhat al-Nusra, a US sponsored “intelligence asset”, was recently put on the State Department’s list of terrorist organizations.
The West claims that it is coming to the rescue of the Syrian people, whose lives are allegedly threatened by Bashar Al Assad. The truth of the matter is that the Western military alliance is not only supporting the terrorists, including the Al Nusra Front, it is also making chemical weapons available to its proxy “opposition” rebel forces.
The next phase of this diabolical scenario is that the chemical weapons could be used by the US-NATO recruited “opposition” terrorists against civilians, which could potentially lead an entire nation into a humanitarian disaster.
The broader issue is: who is a threat to the Syrian people? The Syrian government of Bashar al Assad or the US-NATO-Israel military alliance which is recruting and training “opposition” terrorist forces.
The Syria Chemical Weapons Pretext: Background
The Syria Chemical Weapons Saga was launched last Summer. In early August, the Pentagon announced that it would send “small teams of special operations troops” into Syria with a view to destroying Syria’s Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). These teams would in turn be supported by “precision air strikes”, namely air raids. An all out aerial attack was not contemplated. According to the Pentagon, the precision strikes were intended to “destroy the chemical weapons without dispersing them in the air”, a highly risky undertaking…
Ironically, at the outset of this diabolical plan, the US special forces incursion and air operation were not to be directed against the Syrian regime. In fact quite the opposite. The stated intent of the operation was to protect civilians against “opposition” rebels, rather than government forces.
No accusations were directed against President Bashar al Assad to the effect that he was underhandedly conniving to use WMD against Syrian civilians. According to the Pentagon, the operation was to ensure that Syria’s WMDs, which allegedly “are left unguarded” in military bunkers around the country do not fall in the hands of opposition jihadist rebels who are fighting government forces:
Pentagon planners are more focused on protecting or destroying any Syrian stockpiles that are left unguarded and at risk [of] falling into the hands of rebel fighters or militias aligned with Al Qaeda, Hezbollah or other militant groups. ( U.S. has plans in place to secure Syria chemical arms – latimes.com, August 22, 2012
What the Pentagon was saying in August, was that these WMD could fall in the hands of the “pro-democracy” freedom fighters recruited and financed by several of America’s close allies including Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, in liaison with Washington and NATO headquarters in Brussels.
In essence, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta was refuting his own lies. In August he acknowledged the terrorist threat, now he is accusing Bashar Al Assad. Tacitly acknowledged by Washington, the majority of the Syrian freedom fighters are not only foreign mercenaries, they also belong to extremist Islamist groups, which are on the State Department’s list of terrorist organizations.
Israel is a partner in the Syria chemical weapons operation in liaison with NATO and the Pentagon.
Training Terrorists in the Use of Chemical Weapons
If the Obama administration were genuinely concerned in preventing these chemical weapons from falling “in the wrong hands” (as suggested by the Pentagon in August), why then are they now training “opposition rebels” –largely composed of Salafist and Al Qaeda affiliated fighters– to gain control over government stockpiles of chemical weapons?
The training [in chemical weapons], which is taking place in Jordan and Turkey, involves how to monitor and secure stockpiles and handle weapons sites and materials, according to the sources. Some of the contractors are on the ground in Syria working with the rebels to monitor some of the sites, according to one of the officials.
The nationality of the trainers was not disclosed, though the officials cautioned against assuming all are American. (CNN, December 09, 2012)
While the news report does not confirm the identity of the defense contractors, the official statements suggest a close contractual relationship to the Pentagon:
The US decision to hire unaccountable defense contractors to train Syrian rebels to handle stockpiles of chemical weapons seems dangerously irresponsible in the extreme, especially considering how inept Washington has so far been at making sure only trustworthy, secular rebels – to the extent they exist – receive their aid and the weapons that allies in the Gulf Arab states have been providing.
It also feeds accusations that the Syrian Foreign Ministry recently made that the US is working to frame the Syrian regime as having used or prepared for chemical warfare.
“What raises concerns about this news circulated by the media is our serious fear that some of the countries backing terrorism and terrorists might provide the armed terrorist groups with chemical weapons and claim that it was the Syrian government that used the weapons,” the letters said.”( John Glaser, Us Defense Contractors Training Syrian Rebels, Antiwar.com, December 10, 2012, See also CNN Report, December 9, 2012)
The central question is: what is the nature of this gruesome covert operation? Is the purpose of the US-NATO led operation to “prevent” or “encourage” the use of chemical weapons by the Free Syrian Army (FSA)?
The above report confirms that the US and NATO are training terrorists in the use of chemical weapons. Does this type of specialized training require the actual handling of toxic chemicals? In other words, is the Western military alliance, through its appointed defense contractors, making chemical weapons available to terrorists for training purposes?
Knowing that the Syrian insurgency is in large part made up of jihadists and Al Qaeda affiliated formations, this is hardly a means to “preventing” the actual use of chemical weapons against civilians. Moreover, amply documented, many of the “opposition” rebels who are receiving training in chemical weapons, have committed countless atrocities directed against Syrian civilians, including the massacres in Houla:
“Terrorist groups may resort to using chemical weapons against the Syrian people… after having gained control of a toxic chlorine factory [in Aleppo],” the foreign ministry said Saturday.” (Press TV, December 8, 2012)
It should be noted that the use of chemical weapons by opposition forces does not require that the rebels actually secure control over government stockpiles. Chemical weapons could easily be made available –from Western stockpiles– to the defense contractors involved in the specialized chemical weapons training programs.
Needless to say, the chemical weapons training and the involvement of private mercenary outfits on contract to NATO and the Pentagon, increase the risk; they create conditions which favor the use of chemical weapons by opposition forces, thereby potentially triggering a nationwide humanitarian disaster.
The US-NATO coalition has clarified at its “semi-secret” meeting in London (reported on December 10), however, that it does not contemplate “boots on the ground”. The special forces will be working with the opposition insurgency against government forces.
In the absence of an all out US-NATO military operation, the focus is on non-conventional warfare. In this context, one of several diabolical “options on the table” would be to create conditions whereby chemical weapons “fall in the hands” of the terrorists thereby potentially triggering a nationwide humanitarian disaster.
While this option, were it to be carried out, would not require a US-NATO military intervention, the humanitarian catastrophe would set the stage for the collapse of the Syrian government, namely the long sought objective of “regime change”.
The Libya or Iraq model is not an option. The strategic choice of the Western military alliance points towards the possible staging of a humanitarian catastrophe?
In the logic of war propaganda and media disinformation, the deaths of civilians resulting from the use of chemical weapons would be blamed on President Bashar Al Assad, with a view to enforcing subsequent actions by the US-NATO military alliance.
We are not suggesting that this option will inevitably be carried out. What we are saying is that the option of chemical weapons in the hands of the rebels which could potentially trigger a humanitarian disaster is on the US-NATO drawing board.
How can we ensure that this gruesome and diabolical option be thwarted and definitively shelved?
The issue must be brought into the open. Public opinion must be mobilized against the US-NATO-Israel led war.
Denounce the Déjà VuWMD lies.
Challenge the mainstream media consensus.
Reveal and refute the lies and fabrications concerning Syria’s chemical weapons program.
Spread the word, far and wide,
Bring the issue to the forefront of public debate, Confront the war criminals in high office.1744
Michel Chossudovsky is an award-winning author, Professor of Economics (emeritus) at the University of Ottawa, Founder and Director of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG), Montreal and Editor of the globalresearch.ca website. He is the author of The Globalization of Poverty and The New World Order (2003) and America’s “War on Terrorism”(2005). His most recent book is entitled Towards a World War III Scenario: The Dangers of Nuclear War (2011). He is also a contributor to the Encyclopaedia Britannica. His writings have been published in more than twenty languages. He can be reached at crgeditor@yahoo.com
Now that Barack Obama is firmly ensconced in office, re-elected for a second term, it appears that the hounds of hell are desperately barking for some action on Syria. Frustrated by the successful efforts of the Syrian government to turn…
The US and some of its European allies “are using defense contractors to train Syrian rebels on how to secure chemical weapons stockpiles in Syria,” according to “a senior US official and several senior diplomats,” CNN reports. The US-funded training…
The Obama administration and the corporate media have cited unspecified “intelligence” about the movement of chemical weapons to issue new threats of direct i
vor dem Verwaltungsgericht Freiburg, Freitag, 3.5.13, 9h30
Am Freitag, 3.5.13 um 9h30 findet vor dem Verwaltungsgericht Freiburg die mündliche Verhandlung in der Verwaltungsrechtssache Cafe Palestine Freiburg e. V. gegen Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg wegen Anmietung eines Hörsaales statt. Im November 2012 hatte Cafe Palestine Freiburg e. V. Klage wegen Feststellung gegen die Universität Freiburg beim Verwaltungsgericht Freiburg eingereicht. Anlass der Klage war das diskriminierende Vorgehen der Universität Freiburg gegen Cafe Palestine Freiburg e. V. (Pressemitteilungen in arabischer, deutscher, englischer, französischer und hebräischer Sprache im Anhang)
Ort der Verhandlung: Verwaltungsgericht Freiburg Habsburger Str. 103 5. OG, Sitzungssaal VII (Zi.-Nr. 528)
Wir bedanken uns ganz herzlich bei allen UnterstützerInnen im In- und Ausland, die uns durch Emails, Veröffentlichung auf Webseiten und Protestschreiben an die Universität ihre Solidarität gezeigt haben!
Nachfolgend finden Sie nur einen von vielen Briefen, die wir erhalten haben. Ihre Unterstützung ermutigt uns sehr. DANKE! Ihr Cafe Palestine Freiburg e. V.
Solidarität:
Liebe Frau Dr. Weber,
nachdem ich in der Badischen Zeitung las, dass Sie bzw. das Café Palestine um selbstverständliche Rechte wieder einmal gerichtlich kämpfen müssen, möchte ich Ihnen gern ein Zeichen der Solidarität geben. Es ist empörend, wie Ihre wertvolle Aufklärungsarbeit über die Menschenrechtslage in Palästina behindert und diffamiert wird - man möchte den "langen Arm", der da immer wieder agiert, doch einmal zu Gesicht bekommen - das verspreche ich mir von der Klärung durch das Verwaltungsgericht.
Der Universität gegenüber habe ich mein Unverständnis und meinen Protest zum Ausdruck gebracht.
Ich konnte mich auf zwei Ihrer großen Foren persönlich davon überzeugen, dass an den im Vorfeld gestreuten Antisemitismusvorwürfen nichts dran war, sondern nur berechtigte Kritik an der Politik des Staates Israel skandalisiert und mundtot gemacht werden sollte.
Sie sollen wissen, dass Sie nach der erfolgreichen Veranstaltung mit den Religionslehrern im Ernst-Lange-Haus der Evangelischen Kirche weiterhin gern willkommen sind - uns ist am offenen Diskurs mündiger Bürger gelegen.
Ich grüße Sie herzlich
Ihr
Manfred JeubEvang. Schuldekan Freiburg
Ernst-Lange-Haus
Habsburgerstr. 2
79104 Freiburg
Tel.: 0761/7086324
Mail: schuldekan@t-online.de
Motto of the University of Freiburg, "Die Wahrheit wird euch frei machen" (The Truth Will Set You Free – John 8,32) University Building, West Side
THE TRUTH WILL SET US FREE?
I was brought up in a country that believed itself to be open and tolerant. Indeed after the Second World War Germany undertook to transform guilt into responsibility.
For me, it was always clear that our commitment to those "inviolable and inalienable human rights(1)" as well as freedom of speech (2), were the most precious values and lessons to be drawn from our problematic past. This is why, three months ago, I was dismayed to discover that Freiburg University, one of our oldest German universities, banned an event hosting renowned Paris University Professor Christophe Oberlin who was scheduled to talk about plastic surgery in Gaza.
Freiburg University hosts all kinds of political events, especially and regularly events organized by notorious Israeli Hasbara outlets such as the German Israeli Society and the Zionist Anti-Deutsche. And, if this is not enough, invitations to German Israeli Society events are often publicised by the university, its official bodies and its departments.
But for some reason, for Freiburg University, freedom of speech and tolerance seems to end when it comes to the plight of the Palestinian people. The same university, which provides a platform for the German Israeli Society and the Zionist Anti-Deutschewill not provide a platform for Freiburg Cafe Palestine – a humanitarian non-political organization dedicated to the suffering of the Palestinian. In fact, the same university banned Cafe Palestine’s event hosting a prestigious French academic.
The official motto of the university,‘The Truth Will Set You Free’ isengraved in shiny gold letters above one of the university's entrances, yet the university itself is clearly terrified of the truth being told within its walls.
We have decided to raise the issue at the Administrative Court, in the hope that this might lead the university to reflect on, and admit to its dreadful decision. But what if Cafe Palestine loses this court case? Well, then we would have to consider it as a crucial learning experience from which we would have learned that powerful elements within our society have changed their attitude towards truth, freedom, tolerance, universal justice and intellectual exchange. And, if this should prove to be the case, than the sooner we all face up to this change, the better.
And for me, I surely would have to reassess my own attitude towards the education of my three German-Palestinian children. I would have to think very seriously about teaching them that they had better remain silent, not only about the suffering of their own Palestinian people, but also about injustice and human rights in general.
(1) Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany, Article 1, 2
(2) Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany, Article 5
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This is not a rebel training exercise in non-proliferation. While president Obama states that “you will be held accountable” if “you” (meaning the Syrian government) use chemical weapons, what is contemplated as part of this covert operation is the possession of chemical weapons by the US-NATO sponsored terrorists, namely “by our” Al Qaeda affiliated operatives, including the Al Nusra Front (see image on right), which constitutes the most effective Western financed and trained fighting group, largely integrated by foreign mercenaries. In a bitter twist, Jabhat al-Nusra, a US sponsored “intelligence asset”, was recently put on the State Department’s list of terrorist organizations.
