ON THE OTHER HAND “HERE'S, A Remembrance Day thought for you. +The war ended nearly 50 years ~ ago but that’news hasn’t reached a lot of people. They carry on “fighting.” as “They”? are pressure groups like . the Canadian Jewish Congress ~ that have pushed Ottawa into the " pursuit of war criminals, real or - imagined. The legislation permitting this * witch hunt was passed retroac- tively, which in itself is a crime. It also concerned matters that took :. place on another continent, were “not in Canadian jurisdiction, and were not crimes in Canadian law. -If nothing else, the false charges brought against John Demjanjuk should have persuaded us itis - time to cease this nonsense. But ‘ our new Parliament will be just as . “ cowardly as the last. Depend upon it. . ' Demjanjuk was’ ‘Said to have been Ivan the Terrible, a sadistic Ukrainian who co-operated with . the Nazis in the deaths of thou- | sands of Jews in Treblinka con- centration camp, - : ~ He was extradited from the _ U.S. to Israel in 1986, was found : © puilty | in 1988, and sentenced to *! death. But he was released when ‘five Israeli appeal court judges "found unanimously that he was “not the man in question. ’’. He had spent 16 years before * American and Israeli courts, five » of them in solitary confinement, And he would have been hanged . had it not been for the collapse of ‘the U.S.S.R., which led to papers . becoming available showing he was not Ivan, ~ eyes,” -Unsettling Remembrance Day thoughts It was through the efforts of the Office of Special Investigations (OSI) in the U.S. that Demjanjuk lost his citizenship and was ex- tradited, That same OSI is now under investigation for having withheld vital evidence, The Israeli appeal judges had guts, because the mob wanted blood. Demjanjuk’s Jewish defence lawyer had acid thrown in his face. A previous defence lawyer died in mysterious cir- cumstances. When the appeal verdict was announced, the revenge artists “went berserk. They howled that if Demjanjuk wasn’t Ivan the Terrible then he ' was guilty anyway of heaving been a guard in Sobibor, another camp, and should be tried again. Canadian columnist Peter Worthington’s comment was, ‘“‘Myopic zealots are hurting the very cause they supposedly espouse, by behaving as the Nazis did.”’ In the U.S. Pat Buchanan was attacked by Jewish organizations as ‘tan apologist for Nazi war criminals’”’ for having stood up for justice. Demjanjuk’s American lawyer was called a Nazi. All of which reminds me of the attacks on Doug Christie here in Canada for having defended Zundel and Keegstra. After 50 years, “witnesses” are useless. In 1968 I attended a reunion with Americans I had been with during the war for nearly a year. I couldn’t recognize half of them. Five witnesses swore Demjanjuk was Ivan. “T saw his eyes, his murderous said one, . In another U.S. case, 12 witnesses swore that a man named Frank: Walus had been a Nazi SS ‘brigadier responsible for the ‘deaths of thousands, At the last minute, documentary evidence showed that Walus had been 17 years of age at the time and a prisoner of war in Poland. But his life was ruined. He had three heart attacks and legal.costs left him penniiess. In Canada, a jury found Imre Finta not guilty. Heis the Hun- | garian police captain, now 80, accused of rounding up Jews for deportation to Germany. The pressure groups demanded: that the verdict be appealed and . Kim Campbell buckled. The appeal is now in progress. "Queen or _Double size 259 €. Ist, N.Van. (rear entrance) 12-7 p.m. Solid Pine Frame only *388 plus FREE cover and matching pillows CUSTOM DRAPERIES AND VALANCES Labour $8.50 per panei untined, $9.50 lined. CUSTOM BEDSPREADS & COVERS Low low prices on blinds & tracks. For FREE Estimates Cali 987-2966 Serving the North Shore for 23 years But so far none of the few cases brought to court in Canada have led to a conviction. A Canadian judge has even awarded legal costs of $150,000 to Michael Pawlowski, a man against whom charges were dropped.’ All this makes Canadian Nazi- hunter Sol Littman unhappy. | We should have an OSI too, he laments, because that way the - criminal courts are not involved. In the civil courts it would be easier to get the right results. - Why have any prosecutions at all? Why not just point the finger? When the British passed war-: crime legislation in 1990, it was opposed by Britain’s Chief Rabbi and by the Lords. Lord Hailsham’s comment was: “These people want a lynching ¢ party.”’ : Lord Shaweross was the U.K.’s chief prosecutor at Nuremberg and he said: “*Most MPs who favor it were i five years old at the outbreak of | war,’’ adding that the hangings at : Nuremberg did not deter the odious crimes of Idi Amin, Pol Pot or the Khmer Rouge. The Demjanjuk story would make a great movie. Hollywood Cruise SAVE UP TO $1600 per couple “Book BEFORE Fes. 14/94 | 7 days or 10 days CALL TODAY 1126 Lonsdale Ave., N. Van. een OLD Z44 ERNIE CRIST bei Wednesday, November 10, N.VAN. RISTRICT RE-ELECT ing what it is, though, you'll never see it, Fr A personal note, In 1990, in ance, 137 men in my infantry battalion of 600 were killed. Another 75 were severely wound- ed, As lL remember them this week, [ feel that none of them would want revenge. They were not hate merchants. PERN AC ay) PROTECT YOUR THIS WINTER REVITALIZE YOUR CAR’S PAINT & pda THE INTERIOR eete ee EXTERIOR, : MOUNTAIN HWY ESSO | 985-5712 & 988-7720 APPOINTMENT THE NORTH SHORE MUSIC AND ARTS COMMUNITY NEEDS MORE SUPPORT The North Shore Music and Arts Community needs more suppert. This is crue for facilities as well as financial assistance. Are and music have the potential to enrich the lives of our citizens, particularly our youth. Just as sport is an important physical and psychological stimulus for personal development, active participation in art and music can change young people's outlook and provide chem with far greater opportunities. Art has an enhancing effect on social interaction, civic pride, greater economic benefits and lowers crime rates. It is a form of investment in human development chat will reap rich dividends. While the North Shore has made great strides in providing public recreation and boosting community health, there has been relatively little support to encourage the development of the arts and music. For example, support of the North Vancouver Youth Band, miserly co begin with, is even less today than it was in 1989. In 1993 support by the three North Shore Councils for community based arts and music, administered through the North Shore Arts Council, was a meagre 45 cents per capita. Even a proposed 5 cent increase agreed to by the City of North Van was nixed by North Van District Council. Arc in its various manifestations results in economic benefits. Art and music festivals can draw people from far and wide and make their stay memorable. Arc and craft based industries are extremely profitable and labour intensive. Our North Shore Communities are in a unique position to cash in on our truly beautiful.and world- renowned environment, But the effore to reach our potential on the North Shore has been shackled by our failure to recognize this. We must rurn this around. We must promote our cultural and spiritual values. We must also recognize the potential of the arts as a powerful economic factor. In short, more support for the arts is a high priority. Ernie Crist, Councillor, District of North Vancouver FUTURE GENERATIONS WILL JUDGE US BY THE DEGREE OF PRUDENCE AND FORESIGHT WE HAVE DISPLAYED AND NOT BY WHAT IS CONVENIENT FOR THE DAY ON NOVEMBER 20, YOUR VOTE REALLY DOES COUNT