On the 65th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz extermination camp, Israeli President Shimon Peres implored German lawmakers to continue trying to bring Holocaust perpetrators to justice. Speaking before the German parliament, Peres also reminded his audience of the dangers posed by Iran.
Security at the German parliament, the Bundestag, was tighter than normal on Wednesday as Israeli President Shimon Peres addressed gathered lawmakers on the 65th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
Speaking in Hebrew, Peres, 86, implored Germany to do everything in its power to track down those remaining perpetrators of the Holocaust and bring them to justice.
"In the state of Israel, and across the world," Peres said in his 35-minute-long speech, "survivors of the Holocaust are gradually departing from the world of the living. ... At the same time, men and women who took part in the most odious activity on earth -- that of genocide -- still live on German and European soil and in other parts of the world. My request of you is: Please do everything to bring them to justice." ( Read the full text of his speech here.)
Peres was the third Israeli head of state to address the Bundestag, following Ezer Weizman and Mosche Katzav. His speech was preceded by remarks by Bundestag President Norbert Lammert, who underlined Germany's unique responsibility when it comes to dangers faced by the state of Israel. "On issues where Israel's right to exist is threatened," he said, "Germany cannot be neutral. Some things can be negotiated; the existence of Israel is not one of those things."
Dangers from Tehran
Currently, there are two suspects on trial in Germany for their alleged involvement in Holocaust-related atrocities. John Demjanjuk, 89, stands accused of having been an SS guard at the Sobibor death camp and has been charged with aiding in the murder of 29,000 people. Heinrich Boere, 88, has been charged with killing three innocent Dutch civilians as an SS assassin.
Peres' visit comes just 10 days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the rest of the Israeli cabinet visited Berlin for talks with their German counterparts. And just as Iran's alleged nuclear weapons program played a central role in talks between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Netanyahu, Peres also devoted part of his talk to the dangers emanating from Tehran.
"This regime is a danger to the entire world," Peres said, in reference to the Iranian government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. "We reject a fanatic regime, which contradicts the United Nations Charter. A regime which threatens destruction, accompanied by nuclear plants and missiles and who activates terror in its country and other countries."
'Tantalizing Month'
On Tuesday, Peres and Merkel met to talk about ongoing tensions with Iran. "Time is running out," Merkel told reporters afterward. She said that it was time to consider additional international sanctions against Iran and said that February would be a "tantalizing month." France will hold the rotating chair of the United Nations Security Council in February and will likely address the issue of sanctions against Iran.
The Central Council of Jews in Germany released a statement on the occasion of Holocaust Remembrance Day on Wednesday pointing to the ongoing presence of neo-Nazis in Germany. "It is unacceptable that, 65 years after the end of the National Socialist reign of horror, right extremists continue to distribute neo-Nazi propaganda and attempt, with their perfidious tactics, to abuse our guaranteed freedoms and undermine democracy," the statement read.
source: http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,674392,00.html
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