Doug Collins —

@ get this straight ®

ALL WITCH hunts are bad, but witch hunts funded by the State are worse, especially when they spring from rumor, false news, and speculation. And that !s what happened in the Inquiry into Nazi War Criminals, which brought down

Pretty disappointing for the hearties who got all this going, if you ask me, but even more disap- pointing for the taxpayers who have to pay for this inquiry. It is possible, too, that the thing will

9 - Wednesday, March 18, 1987 = North Shore News

Fresh Water

Tiger Prawn Dinner]

Broiled with or without garlic

SPECIAL °4095

Qo”

+- Soa Mates

J] = Seafood Restaurant

its report a few days ago. Judging from the headlines, one might think that the inquiry Was a success, ‘War Criminals | Report Praised.’” ‘War Crimes “Suspects To Be Charged,"’ etc. In fact it was a‘flop.. We were told that thousands of war criminals were roaming the Canadian land- scape, but the inquiry hus raised no more than a corporal's guard of “suspecis’’.

The investigation cost millions of dollars and caused great bit- terness among Ukrainian- Canadians, the main target group. It was also another cxample of Jewish pressure-group politics.

It had its genesis when Sol Litt-

“man of the Nazi-hunting Simon Wiesenthal Centre woke up one day in Toronto and decided that Dr. Joseph Mengele the notorious

“Angel of Death” had been in”

“Canada under the name of Joseph ‘Menke.

The Wiesenthal Centre has committed some real boo-boos, including a false denunciation that cost the Vancouver Sun a lot of bitcks in a libel suit. But Litt-

, Man. was ‘very sure of this one. 7,Documents in the U.S., he stated,

leave no doubt that Mengele, us-"

ing ‘an assumed name, applied for admission to: Canada in late May or early June, 1962:”

Ottawa set up the inquiry over two-years age to get. Littman &

Co. off its back. But even before.

its hearings began, it was shown that Mengele had never set foot in this country. By that time, though, the inquiry had been broadened and went ahead anyway.

The Wicsenthal-Littman efforts were spotted with farce. Littman announced that there were 3,000 war criminals nesting here. Were they hiding under false names in the post office? He didn’t say. But the clever fellow claimed he had been able to trace a tot of former officers of the Ukrainian Galicia SS Division by using the Toronto phone book and checking socix! insurance numbers. Meanwhile, the great Wiesenthal himself con- sulted the stars and claimed there were 6,000 war criminals in Canada.

In the end only 926 cases were looked into, including a harmless couple ‘‘bearing a German name who lived under the protection of two black dogs and offered old European furniture for sale. '’ Of that total, accusations against 698 people were dismissed. Charges should be brought against 20, said the commission, and another 218

“cases” would - warrant further investigation:

The Galiciz Division | that fought with, the Germans was found to have committed no war crimes and the commission recon- firmed that Mengele had never set foot on Canadian soil.

Community centre | comes under attack

PROPOSALS FOR a new Lynn Valley Community Centre -became a centre of concern for area residents, district staff ‘and ‘the. planned -centre’s applicants at Monday’ s public ‘hearing before North: Vancouver District Council. | .

“District planning. ‘staff has char: acterized ‘the: latest architectural . building design as “ageressive and “cold.” .

Municipal planner. Kai Kreuchen -.told the hearing the basic style was ‘more suitable to the urban. quality “of: Lynn Valley Centre than the “neighborhood it is meant to serve. ‘The building invites abuse,’ he d.. ; ,

- “But neighbors living next door “tosthe centre are more. worried

: about the centre not adequately

“addressing the needs of the area’s ith. “Vve ‘fought for this building,

“for 2%. years and now I - find‘

“myself in a position of having to

“oppose ‘this plan,’’ said Michael Edwards, president of the Lynn

‘alley Community Association

OVEN).

. “Edwards -was upset by the lack

7 single-use’ dedication of a por- “t on of. the new centre strictly asa “permanent ‘home base’’ for local

‘teens. The North Vancouver Rec- eation Commission wants multi- use dedication to cover the various * programs serving facility users.

“2 f!We'’re setting out again to put he teens back out on the streets — jack to'7-Eleven.” This is out. and

ut. discrimination against the

eens of Lynn Valley,’’ charged adwards.

LVCA treasurer Steve Edmonds “said earlier-plans had identified. a "specific teen lounge. ‘‘Somewhere in the process the plans were changed. We need a strong drop-in

By MICHAEL BECKER News Reporter

centre. Teens are. under a lot of pressure these days:”*

But North | Vancouver Recre- ation .Commission chairman Wayne Schulstad ‘told council a multi-purpose teen lounge set up‘at the William Griffin Centre :is working well. ‘During programm- ing stages we. decided it’s best ‘for all members of the community to: not specifically dedicate a room as a teen room only,”” he said. ~ Some neighbors living near the existing centre fear a larger centre” will mean more problems spillinz onto their streets.

‘*It’s basically a good

neighborhood, but I’ve had pro-’

blems, and I’ve only lived there a month,’’ said Alexander Boynton. “Our trash cans are knocked over by teens driving by. My neighbor recently came out with a baseball bat and asked me to pick up some bricks.’’°

John Farrell put it bluntly: ‘Kids are running rampant up there throwing beer bottles at cars

until 5 a.m. I’m getting a little.

cheesed-off. As a taxpayer I’m asking for God's sake that you do something.’’

But said Mayor Marilyn Baker! “The ‘problem is not connected with the hall. The building is not

“some wonderful cure.’

The’ rezoning bylaw returns for consideration at the next scheduled regular meeting of council.

turn out to be a 100 per cent fizz N. Vancouver in that no one may ever be con-

victed, But it does serve the

political purposes of the Littman

group.

Litnan and Co. five not shrunk from trying to obtain evidence from the USSR, either, even though the Soviets themselves have been guilty of committing dreadful crimes. There were the vast excesses of the Stalin era, for instance, and the murder of thousands of Poles in the Katyn massacre,

Most incongruous of all is that Littman has accused Edmonton MP William) Lesick of anti- Semitism. He bases this on Lesick's statement that the Ukrai-

998 Marine Dr. 980- 1 9 1 3

Op ore all drapery and upholstery fabrics. 1000's of designer fabrics to choose

from.

“fe

Vertical Blinds

Minis - Macros

Pleated Shades

WHY WAIT 6 WEEKS! ; Locally made in 2 weeks ~ with lifetime warranty

“AL 926-8819 WF wrcniors

west Vancouver

“nians have suffered more than the

Jews and that the latter do not have ‘a Simon-pure’’ record where crimes against humanity are concerned. But if Lesick’s statement was anti-Semitic, Litt- man’s posture has been equally anti-Ukrainian.

War criminals -- real ones, that is, and not old couples who own black dogs -- should be put through the ringer. But let’s not confuse the requirements . of pressure politics with the pursuit of crime.

WHEN ONLY THE BEST WILL DO...

SERVING THE NORTH SHORE

1441 Clyde Ave.,

7 It’s So Easy Convenient Parking | Free Gardening Advice ‘Let us load your car Dolomite Lime contains | 1 99 Calcium & Magnesium oe

Secondary Plant Foods. 20 Kg Bag. each”

Sweeten Sour. Soil

Moss Killer’. ‘Special

1- Boost Moss Killer

All 3 ; 20 ka bags for

ro 182 1492

. < 12% SW WES VAN FLORIST

1821 Marine Dr., 922-4171 ~

Thuj a occidentalis, ‘Smaragd’ Ideal for : Hedging. to 48” wo. .

3 to9

West Vancouver _ 922-3968 ..