Resistance

GERMAR RUDOLF, RESISTANCE IS OBLIGATORYinfamy of the media to even mention the trials against revisionists, i.e.the victims of terrorism, simultaneously with those against terrorists.The next criterion is the recognition of the inmate as a political prisonerby civil rights organizations. This is problematic for the presentissue, though, as the opinions persecuted by the German authorities aregenerally considered to be right-wing or right-wing radical. Most civilrights organization are traditionally on the political left, however, whichhas historical reasons, as the civil rights movement is by its origin aleft-wing idea rooted in the French revolution. Hence inmates who arecategorized as being on the political right – whether justly or unjustly so– usually face difficulties finding an open ear with leftist organizations.In this context I may draw your attention to a letter of the Germancivil rights organization “International Society for Human Rights”(www.ishr.org/) of 30 October 1996, a copy of which I gave you recently.The ISHR is an organization which had been established, amongother things, because leftist civil rights organizations like Amnesty Internationalhardly showed any inclination to denounce civil rights violationsin Eastern Block countries during the Cold War, especially informer communist East Germany and with regards to German ethnicminorities in other east European countries. Since their formation anddue to their engagement on behalf of political persecutees in the EasternBlock, the ISHR in Germany has itself been attacked regularly by leftistgroup, at times even violently. For several decades now they find themselvessocietally persecuted in Germany.I had received this letter by the ISHR, a copy of which I gave you, asa response to my inquiry, whether the ISHR are in the position to recognizeme as a political persecutee and to support me accordingly. Thethen executive chairman of the ISHR responded to this with the tellingwords:“I believe that the ISHR does not have the energy to see througha trial without suffering damage to itself.”In other words: The ISHR feared to become a victim of societal persecutionitself, should they publicly campaign for freedom of speech forrevisionists as well. How bad does it have to be in a society when evencivil rights organizations are afraid of persecution, should they dare tocampaign for political prisoners?The Italian civil rights organization “Associazione Uomo e Libertá”displayed somewhat more courage, when they informed me in spring of2006 that they had recognized me as a victim of socio-political persecu-112