April 29


FRANCE:

Ceremony for French homosexuals deported by Nazis

In Strasbourg, French gay and lesbian groups on Sunday laid a wreath in
memory of Nazi victims who were deported to concentration camps for being
homosexual.

The commemoration took place shortly after an official ceremony in
remembrance of all deportees, attended by local dignitaries and
representatives of an association of former camp inmates.

But only two local officials stayed on for the memorial to homosexual
deportees.

Franz Marisa of the Strasbourg Festigays group said they had been pressing
for homosexuals to be recognised in the official commemorations for years.

"Dialogue is progressing and our presence seems to annoy people less and
less, but it hurts us nonetheless to have to hold our tribute without an
official presence," he told AFP.

But a local official for the federation of deportees and camp inmates said
he did not understand why the homosexual groups were dissatisfied."When we
lay a wreath it is in the name of all deportees, whatever the reason for
their persecution," Francois Amoudruz said.

Gay and lesbian associations say just over 200 French were deported by the
Nazi regime because of their sexual orientation, and that few survived.

(source: Agence France-Presse)






USA//NEW YORK:

Holocaust survivors ask why justice has taken so long


The epic litigation between Holocaust survivors and the Swiss banks that
allegedly blocked them from their accounts will reach what could be its
final public hearing at a Brooklyn court today, almost eight years after
the first lawsuit was filed there.


Survivors from New York and Israel are planning a protest outside the
hearing, a stark contrast to the joy of August 1998 when they flocked to
the courthouse to celebrate the news that UBS and Credit Suisse would pay
$1.25bn (698m) to settle the claims against them.

The change of mood demonstrates the bitterness that has built up as Judge
Edward Korman and a team of lawyers and historians have grappled with the
impossible task of doing justice almost 60 years after the second world
war.

To date, just $593.5m has been paid out. The rest is earning interest in a
court-controlled bank account.

Two questions cause bitter disagreement. Why has the pay-out taken so
long, and what should be done with any money left over?

The problem lies in matching claimants to accounts for which little or no
documentation remains. The bulk of the settlement - $800m - was set for
account-holders, as their case was stronger than those of others, such as
victims whose goods were looted and possibly laundered through Swiss
banks. Plaintiff lawyers criticised this figure when it was set by the
court, saying it was unlikely so much could be matched to claimants.

Their doubts appear confirmed. The tribunal under Paul Volcker, former
Federal Reserve chairman, to adjudicate claims to the accounts has
disbursed only $154.4m, to fewer than 2,000 of the 33,496 claims.

In March, Judge Korman accused the banks of "frivolous and offensive
objections" to the distribution process, and of "systematically"
destroying documents, to make it harder for survivors and their heirs to
reclaim their money.

He concluded: "The truth appears to be that the banks fear the
embarrassment that will come from further access to accounts, deeper
probing into their history, and further successful claims by Nazi victims
and their heirs."

The banks reply that they have complied with the conditions set by the
court.

In 2000, the judge accepted that the banks would publish the names of only
21,000 accounts identified by Mr Volcker as "probably" belonging to Nazi
victims, without publishing a further 15,000 accounts "possibly" linked to
the Holocaust.

The banks say the number of "probable" and "possible" accounts was reached
using implausible assumptions, and publishing more names would create
false hopes and further delays.

The banks have unlikely backing from Leo Rechter, head of the National
Association of Child Holocaust Survivors, who said it had been "stupid"
for the court to agree to publish so few names.

He said: "Now all of a sudden they realise that they will not be able to
distribute all the money, and so they are blaming the Swiss. But the Swiss
have stuck to the bargain the court accepted."

Mr Rechter, with other survivors' organisations, says the judge should
admit that less than $800m will be found, and start distributing the
residue to needy survivors now.

However, new research by the tribunal suggests $600m more could still be
matched to claimants - a finding that could ironically enrage survivors,
as it implies there might be no residue.

Others argue that it would be wrong to touch the money until efforts to
track claimants have been exhausted. Randol Schoenberg, a Los Angeles
lawyer for claimants, said those seeking to redistribute the money had a
"Robin Hood character to their goals. They seek to take money that was
held by once wealthy Jews and redistribute it to poor and needy Holocaust
survivors."

On Thursday, the court will hear responses to its proposal to resolve the
impasse, prepared by Judge Korman's "special master", former judge Judah
Gribetz. Since the court launched consultation last October, he has
received more than 100 proposals, ranging from tracing homosexual victims,
to paying for survivors in the former Soviet Union to be circumcised.

Mr Gribetz's closely argued report does not recommend a redistribution of
funds at this stage. If there is a residue, he says, the priority should
be food aid for survivors in the former Soviet Union, who suffer worse
poverty than their counterparts in the US and Israel. It is as good a
response as any to an impossible moral dilemma, but it will not dim the
anger of the protesting survivors.

(source: Financial Times)