TORONTO, Ont. – The conviction of white supremacist and Holocaust denier Ernst Zundel by a German court yesterday is a victory for human rights according to the Ontario President of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).
“Anyone who distributes or posts hate literature or is a holocaust denier attacks and diminishes all of our human rights, and that is intolerable,” said CUPE Ontario President Sid Ryan. “We applaud the German courts for ensuring that Zundel has been punished and put behind bars.”
Zundel was sentenced to five years in prison in Mannheim Germany where he was deported by the Canadian government in 2005.
“We also applaud the Canadian government for revoking Zundel’s Canadian citizenship, arresting him and deporting him,” said Ryan. “Canadians can be proud that we live within a democratic system that is prepared to take a tough stand against this kind of hate and stand up for human rights.”
CUPE Ontario has always taken a stand to defend human rights in its members’ workplaces in Canada and in solidarity with workers internationally, says Ryan.
For further information, contact: Valerie Dugale, CUPE Communications, 647-225-3685; Sid Ryan, President, CUPE Ontario, 416-209-0066