Vienna/ Bonn, June 7, 2005/GE
Czech Republic justifies expulsion
Czech Republic justifies expulsion
President Klaus - a slap in the face for Europe
The President of the Federation of the Expelled (Bund der Vertriebenen), Erika Steinbach MdB, made the following decleration in response to a comment made by President Vaclav Klaus to Mlada Fronta Dnes, in which he called the expulsion of 3 million Sudeten Germans a "preventative step to avoid another War" and "the punishment of the guilty":
The latest justification of the expulsion is another slap in the face of Europe. The Czech president has once again proven his disregard for human rights in an interview with Mlada Fronta Dnes.
Anyone who attempts to justify expulsion, in whichever form and for whatever reason, shows his diregard for the human rights standards of the European Union. Such statements cannot be accepted, even if he also acknowledged that there were "a number of terrible acts against Germans which are not accaptable, even if the standards of the time were applied" and that "they cannot be justified".
With his comment that the expulsion was "only effect, not cause" President Klaus has onece again shown that he is unable to understand the criminal intent and circumstances of a mass expulsion. Here the old habit of certain German politicians to play down the expulsion with the formula "effect and cause" continues to backfire. Mr Klaus is hiding behind this same formula and by doing so he is trying to evade the responsibility of his country. It is horrifying how people of responsibility are trying to prevent a country from coming to terms with it's history.
Expulsion has always been and will always be a crime against humanity. Human rights cannot be applied selectively, but they apply to every individual equally. If somebody is unable to accept this and is still using excuses 60 years on, he spreads ideas that certainly do not fit the values of the modern day European Union.
Redaktion, Herausgeber, Medieninhaber:
Sudetendeutsche Landsmannschaft in Österreich (SLÖ)
Bundespressereferat: A-1030 Wien, Steingasse 25
Telefon: 01/ 718 59 19*, Fax: 01/ 718 59 23
E-Mail: pressedienst@sudeten.at