CHASING NAZIS – WHAT’S THE POINT ?

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Hi everyone — Peter here with news of todays World have Your Say, on air at 1800 GMT.Today, check out this website because we’re discussing what might turn out to be the final push of OPERATION LAST CHANCE
 

To quote directly from the website: “Operation Last Chance is a campaign to bring remaining Nazi war criminals to justice by offering financial rewards for information leading to their arrest and conviction. To date the initiative has been launched in Germany, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Romania, Austria, Croatia, and Hungary. Operation Last Chance is a joint project of the Simon Wiesenthal Center and Targum Shlishi Foundation.”As of now, one of the men wanted by the Nazi hunters is an 86-year-old Dane, Sorem Kam, who lives in Germany — and rejects the charges.

He was indicted in Denmark for the murder of an anti-Nazi journalist and is accused of deporting hundreds of Jews to concentration camps during German occupation.This man is now 86 years old, so WHAT’S THE POINT ? Should we arrest and deport someone for crimes committed more than 60 years ago? Is it ever too late for justice? Should Sorem Kam and other Nazi war criminals be hunted down ? The Simon Wiesenthal Centre in Jerusalem, is demanding that justice be done – even if it’s better late than never. They’re offering rewards of US $15,000 to anyone with information on the whereabouts of wanted individuals. This is where this debate gets interesting because there is a school of thought which says most of the world’s worst Nazi war criminals live openly anyway, shielded by governments who apparently don’t care, or they’re protected by statutes of limitations.The new campaign was launched in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and next week representatives from the Simon Wiesenthal Centre will be in Europe to name and shame governments, some of them members of the European Union such as Germany, where wanted Nazis (they say) have succeeded in not being caught and / or brought to justice.What do you think ? Does there come a time when long ago is just too long ago? These people are now not just old, they’re very old, so should they be left to live out whatever time they have left ? Or were the crimes so awful, so (yes, this is the right word) evil, that there should never be a limit on when, and where, and how, they are tracked down. These people however were not the masterminds, they were never the decisions makers. They were the drones, the people who followed through on the decisions taken, on-high.

Let us know, and here’s how:

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Operation Last Chance

Leonardo Rocha

Nazi-hunters have announced a new campaign to catch some of the last World War II criminals and have them face justice before dying.

Operation Last Chance will be launched next week by the head of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre in Jerusalem.

One of the men wanted by the Nazi hunters is an 86-year-old Dane, Sorem Kam, who lives in Germany and refutes the charges.

He was indicted in Denmark for the murder of an anti-Nazi journalist and is accused of deporting hundreds of Jews to concentration camps during German occupation. 

But he’s 86 and one could ask: what’s the point?

Should we arrest and deport someone for crimes committed more than 60 years ago? Is it ever too late for justice? Should Sorem Kam and other Nazi war criminals be hunted down?

Let’s hear what you have to say. Post your comments here on the blog.

BAN THE KORAN

Another tought for today is the proposal by a Dutch Member of Parliament to ban the Koran.

I heard it this morning on the BBC’s World Today and just couldn’t believe.  

Geert Wilders is his name. He’s now working on a new film to show that the holy book of Islam incites hatred and should therefore be banned from all bookshops.

He says it encourages people to commit “awful acts”.

Just like Hitler’s Mein Kampf… It was 7:50 in the morning. I put my spoon down, stopped eating my morning porridge and made a note of one of his quotes:

I have no problem with Muslims. I don’t hate people. I have problems with Islam and the fascist Koran.

Geert Wilders, Dutch MP

I know it’s only one politician, known for being very critical of Islam. But it’s quite strong and I wonder if that’s something we should talk about today.

It also happens in The Netherlands, where film maker Theo Van Gogh was killed for much less.

Tell us what you think, post here on the blog.

BIGMOUTH STRIKES AGAIN

Is England losing its identity?

That’s what the former Smiths singer and lyricist Morrissey has been telling the NME magazine.

Other countries have held on to their basic identity yet it seems to me that England was thrown away. If you walk through Knightsbridge on any bland day of the week you won’t hear an English accent. You’ll hear every accent under the sun apart from the British accent.

Morrissey

 His remarks have been labeled as inflammatory and racist.

But the Manchester-born singer, who now lives in Rome, said that was not the intention. “I find racism very silly, almost too silly to discuss.”

Has multiculturalism in Britain (or should I say England?) gone too far? Has England lost its identity? Cosmopolitan, multicultural or just bland, without a soul?

BENGALI IN PLATFORMS

Morrissey and controversy go together. It’s not the first time he’s labelled a racist.

His fans (and I should say at this point I’m one of them) will say people don’t get his sense of humour.

Judge by yourself. This is from is first solo album, Viva Hate, released in 1988:

Bengali in platform
she only wants to embrace your culture
and to be your friend forever
Bengali, Bengali
oh shelve your Western plans
and understand that life is hard enough when you belong here

Morrissey’s Bengali in Platforms

THE TAYLOR OF PAKISTAN

President Pervez Musharraf has switched his army uniform for a black traditional suit (sherwani).

He’s just been sworn in as the new president, one day after resigning as head of the Armed Forces. This follows at least three years of domestic and international pressure.

What does it mean for Pakistan?

Is this the beginning of real democracy in Pakistan? Or just another manouvre by President Musharraf to hold on to power and please his Western allies?

President Musharraf will be addressing the nation in a few hours. Is this something you’d like to talk about?

Send us your views, post here on the blog.

REASON FOR PESSIMISM

On my Tuesday blog post, I asked: “why so much scepticism?”

I was talking about the Annapolis talks, aimed at getting Palestinians and Israelis to talk again under the auspices of the US.

Well, Annapolis is gone and there’s not a mood of optimism.

Robert Fisk, one of the most respected journalists covering the Middle East, says Saudi Arabia has been offering Israel a peace deal for two years.

Pull out of the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967 and all Arab countries will recognize Israel.

But that, he says, was not discussed in Annapolis.

Would you go for such a deal? Would it be enough to bring peace to the Middle East?

And have you changed your views after Annapolis? Are we closer to peace now?