[Note: Nizkor has no connection with any organization listed, and opposes violence as a response to speech. The information about the Martlet case is useful, however.] ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ||| ||| ||| A N T I F A ||| ||| ||| ||| I N F O - B U L L E T I N ||| ||| _____ ||| ||| ||| ||| * News * Analysis * Research * Action * ||| ||| ||| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ***** ||/\|/\|/\|/\|/\|/\|/\|/\|/\|/\|/\|/\|/\|/\|/\|/\|/\|/\|/\||/\|| || * -- SPECIAL - * -- February 11, 1997 -- * - EDITION -- * || ||\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/||\/|| * SPECIAL EDITION * _____ _________________________________________________________________ CANADIAN ANTI-RACISTS UNDER ATTACK! Antifascist Researcher & the Student Press Threatened by Far-Right Canadian `Free Speech' League _________________________________________________________________ CONTENTS: ----- 1. (AFIB) The Christie File: Anatomy of a `Free Speech' Advocate 2. (TM) THE MARTLET: Kristallnact -- Light a Candle to Remember 3. (CUP) CANADIAN UNIVERSITY PRESS: Lawyer Asks Martlet to Retract Editorial 4. (INFO) Anti-Racist Resources ----- _________________________________________________________________ THE CHRISTIE FILE: ANATOMY OF A `FREE SPEECH' ADVOCATE _________________________________________________________________ by a Canadian Correspondent, Antifa Info-Bulletin MONTREAL -- Doug Christie is a hero to Canadian neo-Nazis. The lawyer has made a career out of defending the stars of the racist right in a series of headline-grabbing trials. There is hardly a neo-Nazi leader in Canada who has not been defended by Christie, who styles himself as a simple civil libertarian defending well-meaning racists against "left-wing McCarthyism." Malcolm Ross, the Holocaust-denying author of _Christianity vs. Judeo-Christianity_ ; John Ross Taylor, a leader of Canada's Nazi movement in the 1930s who was active in the racist right until his death just last year; the infamous Ernst Zundel; Imre Finta, who was accused of crimes relating to the deportation of over 8000 Jews during the Holocaust; Tony McAleer, who ran the Canadian Liberty Net in close cooperation with Tom Metzger of White Aryan Resistance; Bill Harcus and Theron Skryba of the Manitoba Knights of the Ku Klux Klan; Murray Gauvreau, an associate of the racist Canadian League of Rights; Rudy Stanko of the Church of the Creator; and, British Holocaust denier David Irving: these are some of the people who Christie has represented over the past ten years. His importance to members of the radical right in Canada is heightened by the fact that most anti-racist organisations in this country still see the courts as being the weapon of choice to silence fascists. As liberals have pushed for hate crimes legislation and the dismissal of teachers who are active in the neo-Nazi movement, legal defense of these bigots has become a priority for Canada's racists. Thus, not only have a variety of groups have been set up to attack what is mistakenly termed a threat to freedom of speech, but a man like Doug Christie - himself sympathetic to many of the beliefs of the far-right - is well-poised to play the role of white knight. While Christie's value as a legal defender for the racist right first became evident in 1984, when he defended Jim Keegstra, a high school teacher in a small Alberta town who for decades had taught his students that the Holocaust was a myth, the federal government was controlled by Jewish-Soviet agents, and that there was a life and death struggle going on between Christianity and an international cabal of Jews. When Keegstra was charged with willfully promoting hatred against Jews it was a logical choice for him to phone up Doug Christie who, although he was not registered to practice law in Alberta, had already met the anti-semitic high school teacher through their activism in Western Canada's tiny separatist movement... In 1980 Christie had set up the Western Canada Concept political party in order to oppose multi-culturalism, official bilingualism, the metric system and "the demise of the Union Jack." (1) The WCC sought to remedy these "ills" through the creation of a separate state for what are presently the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia. A typical right-wing populist formation. while the WCC attracted some grassroots support from Westerners who opposed the Federal Liberal government's economic policies it also became a hotbed of racists. Keegstra became a member (2), as did future Aryan Nations leader Terry Long (3), Aryan Nations associate Jim Harding (4) and droves of like-minded Christian warriors. It was through the WCC that Christie met Keltie Zubko (5), who he quickly became romantically involved with and would eventually marry in 1992. Although the WCC quickly lost any support amongst mainstream voters, it remained a vehicle for the racist right for several years. In 1990, for instance, Terry Long had members of the Final Solution Skinheads provide security at a WCC meeting where Christie was scheduled to speak. One of these, Daryl Rivest, admitted that "The WCC was a political front for the Ku Klux Klan here in Canada." (6) Around the time of Keegstra's trial the anti-semitic school teacher and Christie founded the Canadian Free Speech League. Despite Christie's claims that the organisation merely intends to "oppose censorship" (7) in Canada, it has yet to be active around any of the cases involving the seizure of gay and lesbian reading materials by Canada Customs (a major problem in this country) or any other censorship issue not of immediate concern to the far- right; in fact, it would be fair to say that it is nothing but a support group for racists. Over the past decade the CFSL has organized speaking engagements for British Holocaust denier David Irving (8) and has had its press releases published in the newsletter of the racist Canadian League of Rights (9). KKK leader Gordon Daniel Ray (10), Christie's wife Keltie Zubko (11), Holocaust denier John Ball (12) and Gary Botting (13), a defense witness for Keegstra and Zundel, have all been associated with the CFSL. In an important development Botting, himself a lawyer who represented the League in 1986, left the group denouncing it as "a front for an antisemitic, pro-Nazi agenda." In a letter to Christie dated April 19th, 1996, Botting returned an award that had been presented to him by the CFSL and told Christie that, In the Canadian Free Speech League, the only opinions truly allowed are those which conform to your own. And those opinions, as you well know, are antisemitic and most blatantly pro-Nazi. It is no coincidence that both you and Ernst Zundel usually celebrate your birthdays on April 20, Adolf Hitler's birthday. It is no coincidence that most of the Canadian Free Speech League annual awards ceremonies have been held as close as possible to that date.... The George Orwell Free Speech Award was presented to me by you in 1986 "for outstanding courage in challenging censorship and historical orthodoxy." If I showed courage, I now realize that it was misplaced and misdirected. Believe me, it takes much more courage to admit that I was duped ten years ago. (14) Botting wrote that he doubts Christie knows what free speech really means. Christie's work on behalf of the Eileen and Claus Pressler is a clear indication that this is in fact the case. Eileen Pressler is the founder and leader of the Council for Public Affairs, a group which actively promotes the writings and activities of several of North America's leading racists. According to the Salmon Arm Coalition Against Racism (SACAR), In the May/June 1992 issue of the CPA Digest she refers to Jews as "world-destroyers who have been perfecting their techniques for centuries." In a 1992 publication of the Canadian League of Rights... Pressler has written that the United Nations is the product of a Jewish conspiracy that involved financing the 1917 Soviet revolution and forcing Germany into fighting the Second World War. (15) The CPA has organized speaking engagements for David Irving, Ernst Zundel, James Keegstra, Malcolm Ross, Murray Gauvreau as well as American Holocaust denier Fred Leuchter, homophobic fascist Paul Cameron, and many others (16). Not surprisingly, Doug Christie gave a banquet address at its 1991 Leadership Conference. In 1993 Christie filed suit on behalf of the Presslers' against Dr David Lethbridge, the director of the Salmon Arm Coalition Against Racism. They are suing Lethbridge for "malicious defamation of character" (17) for allegedly spreading rumours in the small community they all live in and for having stated that they run a racist and antisemitic organisation. The Presslers' lawsuit, whether it is successful or not, sends a chill through society far greater than any of the hate crimes legislation Christie has so often bemoaned. SACAR now estimates that the final cost of its legal defense will be more than double the initial estimate of $100 000. And even if the Presslers lose, SACAR's legal fees would only be partially reimbursed. All of this for publicly opposing racist organizing in one's community! And the plaintiffs are being represented by a man who heads a "free speech league"!!! Christie's work defending racists and suing anti-racists, organizing speaking engagements for the likes of David Irving, and running organisations like Western Canada Concept and the Canadian Free Speech League, has indeed made him a hero to fascists across Canada and beyond, too. Kirk Lyons, the racist lawyer for many American neo-nazis, has described him as an "associate" (18) of his organisation CAUSE (stands for: Canada Australia United States Europe). Christie has also been invited to speak at the Institute for Historic Review, a Holocaust denial outfit based in California. He has spoken to a variety of far- right groups, and booklets of his speeches are distributed by Gostick's Canadian League of Rights as well as the racist Citizens for Foreign Aid Reform. When he spoke at an event organized by the latter, its director Paul Fromm - who has himself been a speaker at events organized by neo-Nazi groups like Canada's Heritage Front and the United States' National Alliance - introduced Christie as "my friend, our leader." (19) Given his aggressive style in cross-examination - bringing the racists' victims to tears on more than one occasion - and his outspoken hostility to anti-racists, it is understandable that few outside of the radical right take his claims of being a mere "civil libertarian" seriously. According to a February 1993 investigation into Christie's conduct at the Zundel and Finta trials, the discipline committee of the Law Society of Upper Canada found that Christie's comments showed anti-Jewish bias. According to the discipline committee, his statements were anti-semitic and he has made "common cause" with like-minded "lunatics." (20) There is a great need to watch what Mr Christie is doing and oppose his activities. Due to Canada's hate crimes legislation Christie plays a useful role within this country's racist right. Furthermore, as his suits against SACAR and The Martlet (see below) show, he is capable of making himself a thorn in the side of those who would truly exercise freedom of speech, not by lying about historical events in order to whip up hatred and whitewash fascism, but by speaking the truth and opposing the rehabilitation of Europe's most odious political movement. SACAR needs help meeting the astronomical costs of defending itself against Christie and the Presslers. Make cheques or money orders out to: SALMON ARM COALITION AGAINST RACISM SACAR Defense 1481 Okanagan Avenue NE Salmon Arm, BC V1E 1N5 ----- ENDNOTES 1. W. Kinsella, Web of Hate, Harper Collins, 1994, p. 75 2. Ibid., p. 77 3. Ibid. 4. Ibid., p. 137 5. Ibid., p. 76 6. Ibid., p. 278 7. "B.C. group denies anti-Semitism charge," by Maurice Lucow, Canadian Jewish News April 11th 1991, p. 6 8. "Holocaust author told to leave," by Scott Sutherland, Montreal Gazette, October 31st 1992 9. "Criminal Prosecution of Holocaust Denial," The Canadian Intelligence Service, Vol. 42 - No. 11, November 1992 10. "Candidate did research for Zundel," by Stewart Bell, Vancouver Sun, September 23rd 1991 11. Kinsella op cit., p. 78 12. Bell, op. cit. 13. Ibid. 14. Letter from Gary Botting to Doug Christie, April 19th 1995 15. Lethbridge D., The Council of Public Affairs: a case study, SACAR 1994, pp. 2-3 16. Ibid., pp. 7-9 17. "Fascist sues B.C. anti-racist leader," by Kimball Cariou, People's Voice, February 1994 18. Kinsella op cit., p. 85. While Christie represented David Irving in Canada during the latter's ill-fated 1992 tour, Lyons represented the world-renowned Holocaust denier in the United States ("Irving pourrait etre deporte au Royaume -Uni", Canadian Press November 3rd 1992) 19. "Doug Christie Counsel for the Damned," by Paula Kilig, Canadian Lawyer, November 1990 20. Kinsella op. cit., p. 86 ***** http://kafka.uvic.ca/~martlet/oped.html ----- * THE MARTLET * P.O. Box 3035 University of Victoria Victoria, BC V8W 3P3 Phone (250) 721-8361 e-mail Martlet@UVic.ca ----- _________________________________________________________________ EDITORIAL: KRISTALLNACT -- LIGHT A CANDLE TO REMEMBER _________________________________________________________________ by Martlet Staff November 7, 1996 Fires burned during the Night of Broken Glass 58 years ago and candles will burn in Victoria windows tonight to remember. Tonight, the Jewish (interfaith) community of Victoria will observe the anniversary of Kristallnacht with a public ceremony at the Congregation Emanu-El Synagogue. On the 58th anniversary of one of the most shameful nights in history, we should say once again that we must remember the past or we're doomed to repeat it. It's equally important that we be aware of what is happening in the present to safeguard our society from the dangerous thoughts that prompted the holocaust. >From Victoria, lawyer Doug Christie defends hate-mongers under the auspices of the Free Speech League. Founder of the Western Canada Concept Party, a far right-wing party, Christie has defended such extremists as Jim Keegstra, Ernst Zundel and Robin Blaber. Recently, Christie booked a meeting room in the Victoria Public Library ostensibly in order to promote free speech. Actually, the room was a venue to spread hate being attended by Christie and other extremist thugs. One can imagine the time before the Nazis' rise to power the meetings in basements and beer halls where hate was spread in the guise of political vision. It's easy to write off a small fringe element today as it must have been to write off a clownish little man from Austria in 1930. Eight years later, his government sanctioned the destruction of 1,406 synagogues and prayer houses and over 7,000 Jewish shops, businesses and homes. The police and fire brigades watched and did nothing under government orders. Certainly we can't deny groups the right to meet. But as long as we are a vigilant society and see hate in the light of the public forum, we will always recognize it for what it is. Without complacency, racism can't grow. Kristallnacht is not only a Jewish commemoration. We all share the responsibility of remembrance. It helps us as Canadians pursue our responsibility as citizens to speak out and act before racism begins to spread according to the Victoria Holocaust Remembrance Society. Events during Kristallnacht days include the candle-burning ceremony, a performance of God's Country, a docu-drama about the growing white-supremacist movement in North America and a photographic exhibit called _Fires in the Night_ open at Hillside Mall from Nov 3-12. Be sure to burn a candle in your window facing the street tonight. Remember the flames and broken glass that spread across two countries half a century ago as the flame reflects in your unbroken window. ----- _________________________________________________________________ LAWYER ASKS MARTLET TO RETRACT EDITORIAL _________________________________________________________________ by Martlet Staff January 9, 1997 VICTORIA (CUP) -- A local lawyer is threatening to sue the University of Victoria's student newspaper over printed comments that members of his Canadian Free Speech League are "extremist thugs." Doug Christie has given the Martlet a 30-day deadline to apologize for editorial comments made in its Nov. 7 edition. The Martlet ran the editorial denouncing Christie's group for using the Victoria Public Library as a "venue to spread hate." In a letter addressed to the Martlet, Christie wrote, "I am giving you an opportunity within the next 30 days to write a retraction of those remarks and an apology for any suggestions that myself and the persons in attendance on behalf of the Canadian Free Speech League were engaged in the promotion of hatred." In the letter, Christie also advises the Martlet to "seek legal advice on this point." However, after consulting with legal counsel, Martlet Managing Editor Jess Howard and Editor-in-Chief Andrew Lupton have decided against running an apology, saying the comments fall within the boundaries of fair comment. "The Martlet stands behind its comments about Christie and his Free Speech League," said Lupton. "Our defence in this issue is truth and fair comment. The meeting in question was hosted by Christie's Free Speech League and attended by people who've promoted hate and published racist views in the past." "These people include Doug Collins, who suggested Holocaust deaths were exaggerated in a column he wrote in the North Shore News," said Lupton. Another attendee at the Oct. 26 meeting included Tony McAleer. McAleer operated a telephone chat line that carried hate messages until a human rights tribunal pulled the plug. Christie's client list also includes Ernst Zundel, who in 1985 was found guilty of willfully causing harm to racial harmony after publishing a booklet that claimed the Holocaust was a Jewish hoax. The Victoria lawyer has defended other holocaust deniers such as Malcom Ross, whose books allege the Nazi slaughter of Jews during the Second World War was exaggerated. Christie has a history of launching libel suits, sometimes successfully, sometimes not. In 1984 he was awarded $30,000 in damages for comments published by columnist John Geiger in the Edmonton Sun. In his article, Geiger called Christie and supporters of the Western Canada Concept Party members of a "lunatic fringe" and an "Alberta version of the Klu Klux Klan." In 1985 Christie launched an unsuccessful libel suit against Vancouver radio host Gary Bannerman after the open-line host said: "Doug Christie has aligned himself so many times with these perverted monsters that he has to be viewed as one himself, in my view." A jury found that Bannerman's words were defamatory but constituted fair comment and were used without malice. "I find that ironic that on one hand, Christie claims to be such a staunch defender of free speech, then calls for a retraction when a journalist writes something he doesn't like," Lupton said. ***** _________________________________________________________________ ANTI-RACIST RESOURCES _________________________________________________________________ For more information on antifascist organizing in Canada please contact: * ANTIFA FORUM * P.O Box 6326, Station A Toronto, Ontario M5W 1P7 Canada Publishes: Antifa Forum * * ANTI-RACIST ACTION * ARA Toronto P.O. Box 291, Station B Toronto, Ontario M5T 2T2 Canada Tel: (416) 631-8835 E-Mail: ara@web.net Web: http://www.web.net/~ara Publishes: On The Prowl * ALBERTA ARA Edmonton #29, 10024-82 Avenue Edmonton, Alberta T63 1Z3 Canada * MANITOBA Winnipeg ARA Box 3-905 Corydon Winnipeg, MB R3M 3S3 Canada * ONTARIO ARA Durham P.O. Box 66022 Town Centre Postal Outlet 1355 Kingston Road Pickering, ON L1V 6P7 ARA Niagara 12-111 Fourth Ave., Box 103 (Ridley Square) St. Catherines, ON L2S 3P5 Publishes: True Colors ARA Peterborough Box 25, 197 Hunter St. W. Peterborough, ON K9H 2L1 * * RADIO ANTIFA * News, views, interviews & tunes from the anti-fascist scene Mondays - every other week, 7:30 pm on CKLN, 88.1 FM - the farthest left on the FM dial! * * * * * ANTIFA INFO-BULLETIN (AFIB) 750 La Playa # 730 San Francisco, California 94121 E-Mail: tburghardt@igc.apc.org On PeaceNet visit ANTIFA INFO-BULLETIN on pol.right.antifa or by gopher --> gopher://gopher.igc.apc.org:7021/11/europe On PeaceNet visit BACORR'sconference. For subscription information e-mail Wendi Jones, wjones@igc.org AFIB & BACORR text files can also be found on the following sites: ARM THE SPIRIT WWW:gopher://locust.cic.net:70/11/politics/Arm.The.Spirit/BACORR FTP: ftp.etext.org --> /pub/politics/Arm.The.Spirit/BACORR FTP: ftp.etext.org --> /pub/politics/Arm.The.Spirit/Antifa/Antifa.Info-Bulletin INSTITUTE FOR ALTERNATIVE JOURNALISM (AlterNet) http://www.alternet.org/an/demworks/html gopher://gopher.igc.apc.org:70/00/orgs/alternet +:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+ +: A N T I F A I N F O - B U L L E T I N +: :+ :+ +: NEWS * ANALYSIS * RESEARCH * ACTION +: :+ :+ +: RESISTING FASCISM * BY ALL MEANS NECESSARY! +: +:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+ ----------------------------------------------------------------- Arm The Spirit is an autonomist/anti-imperialist information collective based in Toronto, Canada. Our focus includes a wide variety of material, including political prisoners, national liberation struggles, armed communist resistance, anti-fascism, the fight against patriarchy, and more. We regularly publish our writings, research, and translation materials in our magazine and bulletins called Arm The Spirit. For more information, contact: Arm The Spirit P.O. Box 6326, Stn. A Toronto, Ontario M5W 1P7 Canada E-mail: ats@etext.org WWW: http://burn.ucsd.edu/~ats MRTA Solidarity Page: http://burn.ucsd.edu/~ats/mrta.htm FTP: ftp.etext.org --> /pub/Politics/Arm.The.Spirit ATS-L Archives: http://burn.ucsd.edu/~archive/ats-l ----------------------------------------------------------------- ++++ stop the execution of Mumia Abu-Jamal ++++ ++++ if you agree copy these lines to your sig ++++ ++++ see http://www.xs4all.nl/~tank/spg-l/sigaction.htm ++++
Home ·
Site Map ·
What's New? ·
Search
Nizkor
© The Nizkor Project, 1991-2012
This site is intended for educational purposes to teach about the Holocaust and
to combat hatred.
Any statements or excerpts found on this site are for educational purposes only.
As part of these educational purposes, Nizkor may
include on this website materials, such as excerpts from the writings of racists and antisemites. Far from approving these writings, Nizkor condemns them and
provides them so that its readers can learn the nature and extent of hate and antisemitic discourse. Nizkor urges the readers of these pages to condemn racist
and hate speech in all of its forms and manifestations.