Phil Graham on Thu, 15 Jun 2000 16:03:12 +0200 (CEST) |
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[Nettime-bold] Fwd: Letter to Thomas Klestil |
>X-Mailer: Novell GroupWise Internet Agent 5.5.3.1 >Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2000 08:59:54 -0400 >From: "Richard Mitten" <mittenr@wwic.si.edu> >Cc: <phil.graham@mailbox.uq.edu.au> >Subject: Letter to Thomas Klestil > >Please find below the text of the open letter sent to Austrian President >Thomas Klestil, which appeared as a full-page ad in Der Standard, >Thursday, June 15, 2000. Please feel free to distribute this as widely as >possible. > >His Excellency >Dr. Thomas Klestil >President of Austria > >Dear Mr. President, > >We are writing to you to express our grave concern about the recent >conviction of Univ.-Prof. Dr. Anton Pelinka for defamation of character >because of a statement he had made to a foreign television station one >year ago about Jörg Haider, recently retired FPÖ national chairman and >current Landeshauptmann of Carinthia. We were not surprised, nor >particularly worried, to learn that Haider had brought yet another lawsuit >for an alleged defamation of character: this is his right, and has become >his habit. What we do consider extremely troubling is the willingness of >an Austrian judge to countenance such a transparent attempt by Haider to >use the courts to intimidate his political critics. The verdict thus not >only aims to silence Professor Pelinka by threatening his livelihood, but, >if not forcefully opposed, it threatens to limit freedom of speech, and >therefore political debate, in Austria at a time when it is most needed. >Many Austrian citizens, and friends of Austria abroad, have expressed >their concerns about possible dangers to democratic freedoms in Austria >since the Austrian People's Party agreed to form a coalition with Haider's >Freedom Party last February. We consider Pelinka's conviction to be a >serious warning sign that should not be taken lightly. We urge you to >speak out, and to use your constitutional prerogatives and the moral >authority of your office to the fullest extent, not only to defend >Professor Pelinka, but also to help preserve the broadest possible scope >for political criticism of public officials. > >As you doubtless have already heard, on May 1, 1999, the Italian >television station RAI broadcast a report on Haider's political career. >Among those interviewed for the program was University of Innsbruck >political scientist Anton Pelinka, an internationally renowned and widely >respected authority on Austrian and European affairs. During the course of >the interview he gave RAI, Pelinka stated, among other things, "In his >career, Haider has repeatedly made statements which amount to trivializing >National Socialism. Once he described death camps as penal camps. On the >whole, Haider is responsible for making certain National Socialist >positions and certain National Socialist remarks more politically acceptable." > >For having made this statement, Pelinka was convicted by a court in Vienna >of having defamed Haider's character, and fined ATS 60,000.00. While this >is not an exorbitant sum, it does not include court costs or lawyers' >fees. Yet the size of the fine is the least significant aspect of this case. > >It is virtually certain that Pelinka's recent conviction (like so many >before it), will be overturned by the European Court of Human Rights in >Strasbourg, if it is not dismissed on appeal by an Austrian court, which >we hope it will be. Not infrequently, indeed, Austrian judges do come down >squarely on the side of more open political debate. For example, in a >similar suit Haider had brought against Austrian Green politician Peter >Pilz for having described Haider as the "ideological foster father of >right-wing extremism," the court found in favor of Pilz's right to express >this view. Nevertheless, all such cases involve significant expense for >the defendants (a consideration of no consequence for Haider, who is >independently wealthy), and the appeals process can take years to run its >course. > >We recognize that Haider is not the first, nor the only, Austrian public >official to make use of the courts to silence political criticism. It was >condemnable when Former Chancellor Bruno Kreisky sued Peter Michael >Lingens of Profil (subsequently overturned by the European Court of Human >Rights), and it was equally reprehensible when former President Kurt >Waldheim initiated criminal proceedings against then Weltwoche editor >Hanspeter Born (subsequently withdrawn by Waldheim himself). For this >reason we are encouraged by your recent decision not to authorize a >criminal prosecution against the leader of the Vienna FPÖ, Hilmar Kabas, >for allegedly having insulted you in a particularly crude way. Though from >the press reports we have seen there was strong evidence suggesting that >Kabas had made the statement in question, and hence a conviction seemed >highly likely, you demurred, letting it be known that such statements by >themselves adequately expose the political and moral bankruptcy of their >speakers. We agree most readily that in a healthy democracy, the courts >are not the proper place to conduct, nor to adjudicate, political debate, >even when it is considered insulting. > >But while Haider might not be the first to do so, no one has attempted to >use state organs to throttle political criticism more frequently or >deliberately than he. Indeed, another defamation suit brought by Haider >against Pelinka is pending for an interview the latter gave to CNN. >Politicians' ability to limit, or even suppress unwanted critical comment >by means of the defamation and libel laws has always burdened Austria's >democracy. Yet with Haider's party now in the government, and with Dieter >Böhmdorfer, Haider's former personal lawyer (and the original counsel of >record in the suits brought against Pelinka), currently serving as the >Minister of Justice, the problem has become more acute, and far more >serious. We therefore once again register in the strongest possible terms >our opposition to this recent misuse of the court system for political >purposes, and urge you to do all within your power to preserve the widest >possible arena for political expression in Austria. For it is this quality >above all which distinguishes stable democracies from other less desirable >political systems. > >Sincerely, > >Prof. Dr. David Abraham >University of Miami Law School > >Prof. Dr. Christopher S. Allen >University of Georgia > >Dr. Steven Beller >Independent Historian, Washington, D.C. > >Prof. Dr. Seyla Benhabib >Harvard University > >Prof. Dr. Guenter Bischof >University of New Orleans > >Prof. Dr. John W. Boyer >University of Chicago > >Prof. Dr. Christine Day >University of New Orleans > >Prof. Dr. Istvan Deak >Columbia University > >Prof. Dr. Robert Dupont >University of New Orleans > >Prof. Dr. Geoff Eley >University of Michigan > >Prof. Dr. Thomas C. Ertman >Harvard University > >Prof. Dr. Michael Geyer >University of Chicago > >Prof. Dr. David Good >University of Minnesota > >Prof. Dr. Helmut Gruber >Polytechnic University, New York > >Prof. Dr. Peter Hall >Harvard University > >Prof. Dr. Julia Hell >University of Michigan > >Prof. Dr. Jeffrey Herf >Ohio University > >Prof. Dr. Michael G. Huelshoff >University of New Orleans > >Prof. Dr. Tony R. Judt >New York University > >Prof. Dr. John J. Kulczycki >University of Illinois at Chicago > >Prof. Dr. David Large >Montana State University, Bozeman > >Prof. Dr. Richard S. Levy >University of Illinois at Chicago > >Prof. Dr. Charles Maier >Harvard University > >Prof. Dr. Andrei S. Markovits >University of Michigan > >Prof. Dr. Richard Mitten >Central European University > >Prof. Dr. Johannes von Moltke >University of Michigan > >Prof. Dr. Regina Morantz-Sanchez >University of Michigan > >Dir. Dr. Beth Simone Noveck >Yale University Law School > >Prof. Dr. Peter Pulzer >Oxford University > >Prof. Dr. Anson Rabinbach >Princeton University > >Prof. Dr. Jonathan Steinberg >University of Pennsylvania > >Prof. Dr. Michael Steinberg >Cornell University > >Prof. Dr. George Steinmetz >University of Michigan > >Prof. Dr. Vladimir Tismaneanu >University of Maryland, College Park > >Prof. Dr. Liliane Weissberg >University of Pennsylvania > >Prof. Dr. Steven Whiting >University of Michigan > >Prof. Dr. Jack Zipes >University of Minnesota > > > >Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars >One Woodrow Wilson Plaza >1300 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W. >Washington, D.C. 20523 >Tel: (202) 691-4069 >Fax: (202) 691-4001 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Opinions expressed in this email are my own unless otherwise stated. Phil Graham Lecturer (Communication) Graduate School of Management University of Queensland 617 3381 1083 www.geocities/pw.graham/ www.uq.edu.au/~uqpgraha http://www.angelfire.com/ga3/philgraham/index.html -------------------------------------------------------------------------- _______________________________________________ Nettime-bold mailing list Nettime-bold@nettime.org http://www.nettime.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/nettime-bold