Sir, - It is with considerable dismay that I read (The Irish Times, November 11th) of the German government's intention to ban the National Democratic Party (NPD), which it accuses of promoting Nazism. Not only does this proposed ban constitute a gross violation of freedom of speech, it distorts the facts.
The NPD has been one of Germany's constitutional political parties since the 1960s. It does not promote fascism or Nazism, but nationalism within a democratic framework. There is no hard evidence linking it to the shameful attacks on foreigners which have occurred in Germany in recent months.
It is surprising that German politicians, who make much of their commitment to democracy, should have such a distorted view of what democracy really means. The Enlightenment thinkers who founded the concept where arguing for total freedom of speech, even when that applied to the most extreme Jacobins and revolutionaries. This was based on the view that where there is repression of freedom of speech, abuse of power will result, whereas where all matters can be debated openly and reasonably, truth and right will prevail. We may think such an exalted view of human reason naive two centuries on, but it is the foundation of the democracy our society is built on. Therefore any infringement on freedom of speech is really an assault on the whole concept of democracy.
Chancellor Schroder and his allies may not like what the NPD says or stands for, but to deny that party its right to exist would be contrary to the wishes of a majority of Germans (58 per cent of whom said in recent poll that it should not be banned). It would also strengthen the hand of other right-wing parties there, such as the Republikaner party, by allowing them to benefit from voters who could no longer vote for the NPD. Is a revived and unified right an outcome Schroder and the Social Democrats would like? I think not. - Yours, etc.,
Brian T. Hickey, Taney Rise, Dundrum, Dublin 14.