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Politics : Don't Blame Me, I Voted For Kerry -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Skywatcher who wrote (73656)	2/23/2006 5:43:44 PM
From: ChinuSFO	Respond to of 81568

From a leading daily newspaper in Pakistan. David Irving’s predicament AT a time when European countries are aggressively defending the right to freedom of speech, the sentencing to three years in prison of British historian David Irving in Austria for speeches he made in 1989 in which he denied the authenticity of the Holocaust, is bound to open a debate on western double standards. Nowhere will this be felt more than the Muslim world still reeling from the aftershock of the Danish cartoons demonizing the Holy Prophet (PBUH), an act that has been defended not just by the editors of the publications that chose to print them but by organizations like the EU which attaches a great deal of importance to the freedom of expression but criminalizes any denial of the Holocaust. Since Mr Irving first questioned the existence of gas chambers and even went so far as to say that Adolf Hitler protected European Jews, he was accused of ignoring access to more documents rebutting his contentions. Mr Irving’s admission of the mistake was, however, ignored by the trial judge, which is where questions of freedom of speech arise. As a result, there are several European voices which are calling for a review of the Holocaust-related period laws. If Europe is sincere about defending its societies’ right to freedom of speech, it must also concede the right to question the veracity of historical experiences, however uncomfortable it may make society feel in some cases. The Holocaust was a tragic event but any study or analysis of it cannot be hampered by laws that do not allow an honest exploration of the events surrounding it. Mr Irving may have been discredited as a Holocaust denier in 2000 but he nonetheless rose to international fame when he was refused the right to lecture on it in several countries. His being banned in countries like Germany and Australia questions the very ideals that these nations profess to uphold. If the Muslim world has to learn to respect ideals that go against its beliefs and convictions, the same must be true of Europeans. People must be allowed to hear all views and come to their own conclusions.