Bonner Querschnitte Bonn Profiles – Press Reports
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BonnerQ uerschnitte Bonn Profiles – Press Reports Phone: +49 4106 804806 · Fax: +49 4106 804807 Email: [email protected]· http://www.bucer.de/bq.html Released for free complete or partial reproduction. A joint platform for the following Bonn organi- zations on the basis of the Evangelical Alliance: Business Coalition of the World Evangelical Alliance (Bonn, BQ 665 – No. 47/2020 Hamburg) Commission for Religious Freedom of the German and the Cottbus Declaration on GDR Forced Labor of Austrian EvangelicalAlliance www.ead.de/akref September 13, 2020: “Serious injustice has Culture and Science Publ. (VKW) been done to these people” www.vkwonline.com Department of Theological Concerns of the World (Bonn, 16.10.2020) The Union of Victims’ Associations of Communist Tyranny e.V. Evangelical Alliance (UOKG), the Human Rights Center Cottbus (MRZ), the International Society for Human www.worldevangelicals.org/ Rights (IGFM) and the Memorial Foundation Victims of Communism (VIC) organized a pdf/TN-47-1-Jan-2018.pdf tribunal on “Forced Labor in Political Prison in the GDR”. The top-class international jury Giving Hands –International listened to expert lectures for two days and interviewed 14 witnesses. In the end the jury Charity www.gebende-haende.de wrote the “Cottbus Declaration on GDR Forced Labor”. International Institute for Islamic Studies (IIIS) of the World Thomas Schirrmacher, President of the International Council of the International Society Evangelical Alliance for Human Rights, summarized his experience to the press: “Almost all applications for www.islaminstitute.net recognition of post-trau- International Institute for Religious matic disorders resulting Freedom (IIRF) of the World from forced labor have been Evangelical Alliance (International Headquarter, EU-Office Brüssel) and are still being rejected, www.iirf.eu and many former political International Information Centre prisoners of the GDR are in for Religious Freedom Germany despair. The slowness, e.V. (IIRF-D) (Tübingen) www.iirf-d.de even lameness, with which Martin Bucer Seminary (Bonn, the authorities handle these Linz, Zürich, Prague, Tirana, São applications is frightening, Paulo, Helsinki, Istanbul, Delhi) even contemptuous of hu- www.bucer.org manity. The most important missiotop – Evangelical Forum for Missions, Cultures and Religions passage in this statement is (German Evangelical Alliance) therefore, in my opinion, the www.missiotop.org demand for a reversal of the Office of Intrafaith and Interfaith burden of proof in the case Relations of the World Evangelical of illnesses resulting from Alliance forced labor and typical of Theological Commission ofthe European Evangelical Alliance prison.” www.europeanea.org Dieter Dombrowski, Federal Chairman of the Union of Victims’ Associations of Commu- Theological Commission of nist Tyranny (UOKG), welcomed the Cottbus’ Declaration with the words: “It is important the World Evangelical Alliance www.worldevangelicals.org/tc/ that in the 30th year of German Unity the exploitation of political prisoners through forced UN Bonn liaison for inter-religious labor is not forgotten. Many of the former forced laborers have retained severe physical concerns of WEA WEA Sustainability Center Bonner Querschnitte Bonn Profiles – Press Reports www.wea-sc.org Text & Technology: World Evangelical Alliance – Titus Vogt (ViSdP) Office Bonn Vorderer Kamp 52a, D-25479 Ellerau SOS World (Brussels) Phone: +49 4106 804806 www.sosworld.be/page-daccueil/ Fax: +49 4106 804807 Email:[email protected] This text is licensed under the Creative Commons license (by-nc-sa). page 1 BonnerQ uerschnitte Bonn Profiles – Press Reports and psychological damage. A joint platform for the following Bonn organi- The jury was unanimous in zations on the basis of the its advice and its demands. Evangelical Alliance: These people have suffered Business Coalition of the World grave injustice and they Evangelical Alliance (Bonn, need help and support.” Hamburg) Commission for Religious Dr. Susanne Kill, since 1999 Freedom of the German and the head of the “Corporate His- Austrian EvangelicalAlliance www.ead.de/akref tory / Historical Collection” at DB AG (the German rail- Culture and Science Publ. (VKW) www.vkwonline.com way) and author of the book “Die Reichsbahn und der Department of Theological Concerns of the World Strafvollzug in der DDR” Evangelical Alliance spoke about “Prisoner www.worldevangelicals.org/ Forced Labor for the German During a plenary session © BQ/Martin Warnecke pdf/TN-47-1-Jan-2018.pdf Reichsbahn of the GDR – His- Giving Hands –International Charity torical Research and Remembrance Policy”. Further lectures on “Forced Labor of Political www.gebende-haende.de Prisoners in the SED Dictatorship” were given by Dr. Jan Philipp Wölbern, University of International Institute for Islamic Postdam and specialist for the prisoner release between GDR and FRG, and Dr. Christian Studies (IIIS) of the World Sachse. Further contributions were made by Maria Nooke, Brandenburg’s representative Evangelical Alliance for coming to terms with the consequences of the communist dictatorship, and Birgit www.islaminstitute.net Neumann-Becker, Saxony-Anhalt’s representative for coming to terms with the SED International Institute for Religious Freedom (IIRF) of the World dictatorship. Birgit Neumann-Becker also presented the touring exhibition of the state of Evangelical Alliance (International Saxony-Anhalt, which had been set up in Cottbus and can be ordered. Headquarter, EU-Office Brüssel) www.iirf.eu The jury was made up of: International Information Centre for Religious Freedom Germany • Dr. Matthias Bath, former public prosecutor in Berlin 1988–2017, former political e.V. (IIRF-D) (Tübingen) prisoner www.iirf-d.de Martin Bucer Seminary (Bonn, • Peter Heidt, MdB, Chairman of the FDP parliamentary group in the Committee Linz, Zürich, Prague, Tirana, São for Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid in the German Federal Parliament Paulo, Helsinki, Istanbul, Delhi) www.bucer.org • Prof. Dr. Huige Li, Deputy Director of the Institute for Pharmacology at the missiotop – Evangelical Forum for University Medical Center Mainz, born in China Missions, Cultures and Religions (German Evangelical Alliance) • Bada Nam, Secretary General of the human rights organization PSCORE, South www.missiotop.org Korea Office of Intrafaith and Interfaith Relations of the World Evangelical • Vladimir Novitsky, attorney from Moscow, Chairman of the International Society Alliance for Human Rights (IGFM), Russia Section Theological Commission ofthe European Evangelical Alliance • Carla Ottmann, deputy federal chairwoman of the UOKG, former political www.europeanea.org prisoners in Hoheneck, honorary judge at the Social Court of Berlin Theological Commission of • Dr. Klára Pinerová, historian, Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes of the the World Evangelical Alliance www.worldevangelicals.org/tc/ Czech Republic, in Prague UN Bonn liaison for inter-religious concerns of WEA WEA Sustainability Center Bonner Querschnitte Bonn Profiles – Press Reports www.wea-sc.org Text & Technology: World Evangelical Alliance – Titus Vogt (ViSdP) Office Bonn Vorderer Kamp 52a, D-25479 Ellerau SOS World (Brussels) Phone: +49 4106 804806 www.sosworld.be/page-daccueil/ Fax: +49 4106 804807 Email:[email protected] This text is licensed under the Creative Commons license (by-nc-sa). page 2 BonnerQ uerschnitte Bonn Profiles – Press Reports • Prof. Dr. Dr. Thomas Schirrmacher, President of the International Council of the A joint platform for the following Bonn organi- International Society for Human Rights, expert on human trafficking zations on the basis of the • Marion Smith, CEO of Victims of Communism, Memorial Foundation, US Evangelical Alliance: Congress Business Coalition of the World Evangelical Alliance (Bonn, • Arnold Vaatz, MdB, since 2002 Deputy Chairman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary Hamburg) group in the German Federal Parliament, former GDR civil rights activist, lead Commission for Religious the re-establishment of the Free State of Saxony Freedom of the German and the Austrian EvangelicalAlliance www.ead.de/akref Cottbus Declaration on GDR Forced Labor Culture and Science Publ. (VKW) From September 13, 2020 (preliminary translation) www.vkwonline.com Department of Theological From September 11th to 13th, 2020, a tribunal on the subject of “Forced Labor in Political Concerns of the World Custody in the GDR” took place in the Cottbus Human Rights Center, the former East Evangelical Alliance www.worldevangelicals.org/ German penal institution Cottbus, at the invitation of the Union of Victims’ Associations pdf/TN-47-1-Jan-2018.pdf of Communist Tyranny (UOKG). Giving Hands –International Charity An international jury was www.gebende-haende.de faced with the task of deter- International Institute for Islamic mining “whether character- Studies (IIIS) of the World istics of forbidden forced Evangelical Alliance www.islaminstitute.net labor and exploitation ac- cording to internationally International Institute for Religious Freedom (IIRF) of the World recognized definitions” were Evangelical Alliance (International fulfilled in relation to political Headquarter, EU-Office Brüssel) prisoners of the SED dicta- www.iirf.eu torship. International Information Centre for Religious Freedom Germany e.V. (IIRF-D) (Tübingen) The jury heard several spe- www.iirf-d.de cialist lectures on the defini- Martin Bucer Seminary (Bonn, tion of forced labor, its Linz, Zürich, Prague, Tirana, São prohibition under interna-