OSCE Warsaw: A Major Victory for Bürgerbewegung Pax Europa

Update: BPE has posted an article (in German) about the decision in the Geus case.

Every now and then someone complains to us by email or in the comments that we’re wasting our time, that all we do is talk-talk while the Islamization of the West proceeds apace. They think that action is needed, not words. Sometimes the type of action is specified, but more often not. In any case, we’re exhorted to get off our pajama-clad butts and do something.

I’ve gotten used to the whinging over the years, and no longer pay much attention to it.

It’s not true, of course: for the past six years a group of dedicated volunteers has been working patiently, tirelessly, quietly, behind the scenes and out of the headlines, learning the ropes and organizing and taking opportunities to act against the massive forces that are arrayed against us.

Seven such volunteers from our distributed network journeyed to Warsaw earlier this month to confront the Islamizers of the West in one of their favorite venues, an international body known as Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The occasion was its annual Human Dimension Implementation Meeting. Two of those volunteers — Liz Schmidt from Germany and Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff from Austria, second from the right and rightmost, respectively, in the above photo — represented Bürgerbewegung Pax Europa (BPE), a German civil-liberties group.

As a direct result of an intervention by BPE at the Warsaw meeting, a “hate speech” prosecution in Germany against Professor Armin Geus was dropped. This proves that private organizations can have a trickle-up effect at HDIM meetings, because official representatives of the participating states are in attendance, and they have to pay attention to the proceedings. The German delegation in Warsaw did exactly that, and the case against Prof. Geus has just been shut down.

This is not just talk: Ms. Schmidt and Ms. Sabaditsch-Wolff have walked the walk. Because of their efforts, Prof. Geus can breathe the air of a free man again — and stop paying lawyers to keep him out of jail for writing his books.

So should we cue up Bob Seger for the occasion? Maybe — but this isn’t a little victory. It’s a major victory.

Here’s the story from the ICLA website:

ICLA Ally Contributes to Victory In Professor Armin Geus Case In Germany

Bürgerbewegung Pax Europa (BPE)

The trial of Prof Armin Geus has been shut down following an intervention at the recent Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) meeting in Warsaw by the German citizens Movement and ICLA ally Bürgerbewegung Pax Europa (BPE).

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has been lobbying to shut down free speech in the West for some time now. It claims that its efforts in this regard are done in the name of religious tolerance. However, the record of religious tolerance in many OIC countries leaves a lot to be desired. Many OCSE countries are guilty of extreme forms of religious oppression. In reality the only guarantee of freedom of religion is freedom of speech itself, exactly the freedom that the OIC wants to curtail. Perhaps the reason that they oppose freedom of expression is because it gets in the way of their own oppression of religious minorities. They would much prefer this freedom of expression to be referred to as blasphemy and those that practice it, heretics.

In the background of OIC hatred towards the concept of Free Speech Professor Geus’ book Die Krankheit des Propheten (“The Illness of the Prophet”) had been reported to the German authorities in the city of Marburg for “Incitement to hatred against peoples”. This complaint was in line with the continuous agitation coming from the OIC itself.

The following is the text of the BPE intervention in Warsaw:

Freedom of expression — Silencing intellectuals

We bring to the attention of the participating States, in particular the German delegation, the case of German professor Armin Geus who a year ago wrote a book called Die Krankheit des Propheten (“The Illness of the Prophet”) and who has been reported to the German authorities in the city of Marburg for “Incitement to hatred against peoples” and “Insulting faiths, religious communities and philosophical associations”. It is obvious that apart from the so-called “political correctness”, there is a campaign to establish “scientific correctness”, which is aimed at stifling the constitutional right to freedom of scientific inquiry, especially when aimed at the foundation of Islam.1

BPE urges Germany not to give in to intimidation and as a result stifle free thought a well as scientific study.

BPE reminds ODIHR of its commitments: “…guaranteeing the freedom of artistic creation […] form[s] part of the human dimension of the CSCE. They consider that independent intellectual […] life is crucial for the maintenance of free societies and democratic institutions.” (Moscow 1991).

BPE encourages ODIHR to implement its commitments regarding these fundamental freedoms.

• gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2012/09/raising-ante.html
  
• www.pi-news.net/2012/09/ermittlungsverfahrengegen-medizinhistoriker/

We hope that the BPE intervention helped achieve this significant outcome which is a victory for all who value and campaign for freedom of speech in the world today. The instigators of the outrageous legal action against Professor Geus remain undeterred and are said to be appealing the decision. It is outrageous that vexatious litigations of this kind are not treated for what they are and dismissed as soon as they begin. ICLA and its allies will be monitoring the situation closely.

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Other coverage of this story: Staatsanwaltschaft Marburg stellt Strafverfahren gegen Medizinhistoriker Prof. Dr. Armin Geus ein (Citizen Times)

Previous posts about the OSCE and the Counterjihad:

2009		Jul		25		A Report on the OSCE Roundtable
		Sep		30		ICLA Tackles Fundamental Freedoms at the OSCE Meeting in Warsaw
		Oct		1		The ICLA Meets the OSCE, Round 2
		Nov		5		The OSCE: Islam and Violence Against Women
				7		Proposed Charter of Muslim Understanding Under Fire At OSCE Meeting in Vienna
				7		“Hate Speech” Accusations at the OSCE Meeting
				8		What is Medica Zenica?
				10		Report on the OSCE Supplementary Human Rights Dimension Meeting
2011		Oct		28		ESW: Liveblogging In Vienna
				28		Steering Public Discourse
				28		Fallacies That Deserve Correction
				29		Towards a “Responsible” Freedom of Speech in Europe
				29		Islamophobia, Islamic Slander, and the OSCE
		Nov		10		The OSCE Fights Racism and Xenophobia in Vienna
				10		When Good Intentions Go Bad
				12		ESW: The ACT! For America Interview at OSCE
				12		OSCE: The murky waters of political correctness
				29		ACT! For America: A Report on the OSCE Meeting in Vienna
2012		Oct		2		OSCE Warsaw: Which Human Rights?
				2		OSCE Warsaw: Apostasy and Its Consequences
				2		OSCE Warsaw: ICLA Demands the Abrogation of the Cairo Declaration
				2		OSCE Warsaw: Join the Brussels Process!
				2		OSCE Warsaw: Islamophobia, Occupation and Slander
				2		OSCE Warsaw: Islam as a Political Ideology
				2		OSCE Warsaw: A Thinly Veiled Threat of Violence
				2		OSCE Warsaw: Define Your Terms!
				2		OSCE Warsaw: Bashing Islamophobia
				3		OSCE Warsaw: The Battle Has Begun
				3		OSCE Warsaw: Tolerance and Non-Discrimination II
				3		OSCE Warsaw: “Hate Crimes”
				3		OSCE Warsaw: Kamal Fahmi on Freedom of Speech
				3		OSCE Warsaw: The ICLA Side Event
				3		OSCE Warsaw: An Advocate for Hamas Representing the U.S. Government
				4		OSCE Warsaw: “Threats Have No Place Here”
				8		OSCE Warsaw: The MPAC Connection
				12		OSCE Warsaw: A Response to Salam al-Marayati
				13		OSCE Warsaw: ICLA Side Event on the Cairo Declaration