Danish Minister of Parliament Soren Sondergaard and a group of torture survivors from around the world who have obatined politcal asylum in Denmark are filing a complaint with the Danish Police against Israeli Ambassador-Designate to Denmark Carmi Gillon.
Carmi Gillon is the former director of The Shin Bet General Security Service who was forced to resign as director due to The Shin Bet’s failure to protect assasinated Prime Minster Yitzhak Rabin.
In a one hour interview, MP Sondergaard outlined the legal basis for arresting Gillon for suspicion of violating The United Nations Convention on Torture.
MP Sondergaard stated, ”When Gillon arrives at Copenhagen International Airport, he should not be recieved according to the protocols of the Danish Foreign Ministry for recieving a new ambassador.
Gillon should be arrested, charged and put on trial in Denmark pursuant to Article 6 of The UN Convention on Torture.
Article 6 of The UN Convention on Torture clearly states that any signatory country to the Convention should arrest any individual if there is a reasonable and well founded suspicion that the invididual has violated the UN Convention on Torture.
Article 6 states that the arresting country should try the suspect or extradite the suspect to another signatory country if the suspect is wanted by another signatory country for suspicion of violating the UN Convention on Torture.”
MP Sondergaard continued, ”If Denmark fails to arrest Carmi Gillon upon his arrival in Denmark, Denmark will be reneging on its obligations as a signatory country to The UN Convention on Torture.”
MPs from across the political spectrum from Denmark’s Parliament have been criticizing Israel’s appointment of Gillon as Ambassador to Denmark after Gillon made public remarks to the media earlier this week in Israel calling for The Shin Bet to start using ”moderate physical pressure” again.
The practice was banned by the Israeli Supreme Court last year.
MP Sondergaard explained, ”The UN Committee on Torture has evaluated The Shin Bet methods that Gillon calls ’moderate physical pressure’ and has determined that they violate The UN Convention on Torture.”
”I also wish to point out that this issue not about The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.
This about Denmark fufilling its obligations as a signatory to The UN Convention on Torture. This is the issue at hand here.
That is why the torture survivors who will be making the complaint to police with me against Gillon will be from all over all the world and not just Palestinian torture victims.
If Argentina were to send an ambassador who was part of the military ’junta’ that ran ’The Dirty War’ in the 1970’s and 1980’s there is no question that Denmark would find that individual unfit to serve as ambassador.”
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Amenesty International estimates that Argentina tortured and murdered approximately 30,000 middle-class ”subversives” during ”The Dirty War.”
Approximately 4,000 of the vicitms are believed to have been Argentine Jews.
It is widely believed that ex-Nazi war criminals residing in Argentina particpated in the tortures carried out during ”The Dirty War.”
The Israeli Government and The Simon Wiesenthal Center totally ignored ”The Dirty War” and the Jewish victims of it.
In fact, during ”The Dirty War,” Israel was reportedly negotiating multi-billion dollar weapons deals with Argentina.
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”I very much want an ambassador here in Denmark to represent Israel. Diplomatic and economic relations between Denmark and Israel and a friendship between our people is very imortatnt to me,” MP Sondergaard explained.
”But as a Minster of Parliament, I cannot stand idly by while Denmark accepts any ambassador from any country when that ambassador has so flagrantly violated The UN Convention on Torture.
Gillon continues to say that what he calls ’moderate physical pressure’ is acceptable. The UN has determined that this is torture.”
MP Sondergaard went on to explain that on 10 June, The Israeli Foreign Ministry announced the appointment of Gillon as the new ambassador to Denmark.
MP Sondergaard further explained that on or around 17 June and 18 June, The Committee Against Torture in Israel and B’Tselem issued press releases saying that Gillon was unfit to represent Israel abroad as an ambassador.
It was at this point that MP Sondergaard made an inquiry to the Danish Foreign Ministry about whether Denmark could refuse to accept an ambassador from a friendly country.
In early July, MP Sondergaard recieved a written reply from the Danish Foreign Ministry that opined that Denmark does have the right to reject an ambassador under the rules of The Vienna Convention.
Furthermore, The Danish Foreign Ministry advised MP Sondergaard that under The Vienna Convention, Denmark does not have to give a reason for the rejection of an ambassador.
The opinion from the Danish Foreign Ministry was a general opinion and did not pertain specifically to Carmi Gillon.
Denmark’s Foreign Minister, Mogens Lykketott, himself took no position in the report.
In fact, none of the ministers in the current Danish Government have taken a public position against Gillon.
Denmark’s Government has already approved Gillon as the new Israeli ambassador, following the standard protocols for aprroving a new ambassador from a friendly country.
Several MPs, however have criticized the appointment of Gillon as ambassador.
Other MPs have said that The Vienna Convention precludes Denmark from refusing an ambassador.
According to the opinion that MP Sondergaard solicted from the Danish Foreign Ministry, that is not the case.
MP Jens Hald Madsen of the Liberal Party, which is considered right of center on the Danish political spectrum, told Danish National Televsion that ”the appointment of Gillon as ambassador is inappropriate as we are at the forefront of the fight against torture here in Denmark.”
Copenhagen, Denmark is the world headquarters of The International Rehabilition Council for Torture Victims (IRCT), which is a worldwide network of centers to help rehabiliate torture victims, both medically and psychologically.
The IRCT has an affiliated center to help Palestinian torture victims in Gaza City.
http://www.irct.org
The debate over what to do about Gillon looks likely to continue.
MP Sondergaard is scheduled to appear tommorow, 14 July 2001 at 11:00 PM Western European Daylight Time, on Danish National Television’s ”Deadline,” a debate show simliar to CNN’s ”Crossfire.”
Danish National Televsion can be viewed online with written English summaries of their major programs at:
http://www.dr.dk
Two days ago MP Sondergaard was interviewed by Danish National Television in front of the Embassy of Chile to Denmark and pointed out that the arrest of Chilean General Augusto Pinochet in The United Kingdom in 1998 shows that, ”We are entering a new era in the treatment of human rights violaters under international law.”
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While the details of the thousands of ”Marxist subversives” who are believed to have been tortured and executed after General Augusto Pinochet’s 1973 coup remain heavily censored, there are widespread reports that estimate that approximately 1000 Jewish ”Marxist subversives” were kidnapped, tortured and executed in Chile.
There are also reports that ex-Nazi war criminals residing in South America participated in their tortures as was the case later in the 1970’s and the 1980’s in Argentina.
As was the case in Argentina, The State of Israel and The Simon Wiesenthal Center turned a blind eye to the fate of the middle-class Chilean Jews.
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DISCLAIMER:
The information pertaining to the events that occured in Argentina and Chile presented in this article is based on the research of this journalist and other researchers who work with this journalist
The information pertaining to the events that occured in Argentina and Chile do not reflect the politcal views of MP Soren Sondergaard or any other member or representative of Denmark’s Government.
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