US official: Nations must do more to indict Nazis
A leading American prosecutor who works to
bring Nazis war criminals to court on Thursday criticized nations for not doing
all they could to aid in such cases.
“Without doubt it is still possible to
secure a measure of justice in the Nazi cases,” declared Eli Rosenbaum, the US
Justice Department’s director of human rights enforcement, strategy and policy,
at a ceremony commemorating the Holocaust. “In many countries, however, the
political will to do so is not being mustered.”
Rosenbaum was speaking before members of
Congress, local dignitaries, Jewish leaders and officials in an event to mark
Holocaust Remembrance Day organized by the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in
Washington.
“It is enormously important that efforts to
achieve justice be continued,” he maintained.
“Doing so is a moral debt that is owed to
the victims.”
He noted that the passage of time “has in
no way lessened the gravity of the crimes, and the perpetrators ought not be
rewarded for their success in evading detection.”
But he suggested the most important reason
to continue to pursue these cases was that doing sends “an unmistakable
message” to would-be perpetrators: “If you dare to commit atrocity crimes, you
will be pursued however far you run, however long it takes to apprehend you.”
His words underscored the theme of this
year’s event, “Never again: Heeding the warning signs.”
Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren also
addressed the audience, recalling how he accompanied US President Barack Obama
on his recent trip to Israel and laid a wreath on the grave of Theodor Herzl.
“The president’s wreath reaffirmed the
Jewish people’s right to self-determination in our ancient homeland,” Oren
said.
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