Christchurch, NZ, Saturday, July 31, 2004Holocaust denier
kept out of NZ By COLIN ESPINER THE Immigration Service will bar
controversial
Holocaust
revisionist historian David
Irving from entering New Zealand following an
outcry from Jewish groups. The Immigration Service
decided yesterday to refuse Irving entry because of
his deportation from Canada in 1992.
 The
decision goes against the opinion of Foreign
Minister Phil Goff, right, who said
earlier he personally did not believe Irving should
be denied entry unless he had serious criminal
convictions. "In terms of people expressing views
that I vehemently oppose, no, that's a part of a
democracy," Goff said. Irving, branded by his critics as anti-Semitic
and a Holocaust
denier, has been planning a two-week tour of
New Zealand including a highly publicised speech at
the National Press Club in Wellington. His plans
have caused an uproar in the Jewish community,
which has called on the Government to intervene and
ban Irving from entering the country. But it appears such intervention will not be
necessary. A spokeswoman for the Immigration
Service, Kathryn O'Sullivan, told The Press
yesterday that after reviewing the case the service
had decided that Irving would not be allowed to
enter New Zealand even though he holds a British
passport. "Mr Irving is not permitted to enter New Zealand
under the Immigration Act because people who have
been deported from another country are refused
entry," O'Sullivan said. "The law doesn't take into
account why people have been deported but only the
fact that they have been. "At the moment if he
tried to board the plane we've got a new system
called advanced passenger screening which would
detect him when he checked in for his flight."  Jewish
Council president David Zwartz said he was
relieved to hear of the NZIS decision. "I think it
is good that the law is being adhered to." Irving's
visit would have caused the Jewish community
unnecessary grief, Zwartz said. "Irving's views are
offensive and unpleasant to us. We don't need
someone here who is propounding very vigorously
anti-Jewish views."
Irving was to speak about Hitler and
Winston Churchill under the heading "The
problems of writing about World War 2 in a free
society". He had promised not to talk about the
Holocaust, saying on his website that he was not an
expert on the subject. Irving spoke in New Zealand twice during the
1980s and has no serious criminal convictions. But
he was convicted
of violating a German law making it illegal to deny
the existence of the Nazi extermination of Jews and
has been deported
from Canada. He has also been banned from
entering the United States, Italy, South Africa,
and, since 1992, Australia,
despite fighting four legal battles against the
ban. The NZIS's decision saves the Government from
having to make a difficult political call on
whether to admit Irving. Speaking to The
Press before he was aware of the decision, Goff
said: "I have absolutely no time for Irving
as a
pseudo-historian,
but I am not about to advocate censorship of
people's attitudes."At one stage we wouldn't let Mandy Rice
Davis into New Zealand and now we laugh at
that, and rightly so. There are all sorts of
people that will come to this country with views
that I strongly disagree with but one should
always be reluctant to censor the expression of
opinion that we don't like." Green MP Keith Locke said last night the
NZIS decision was a blow to free speech. "His
deportation from Canada is irrelevant, unless we
have just become a Canadian colony. What next: are
we going to ban Salman Rushdie because Iran
doesn't like him?" Irving's only hope is to apply for a special
direction from NZIS but O'Sullivan said these were
usually granted only on humanitarian grounds. No
such application had been made by Irving to
date. Irving, who lost his London home to bankruptcy
after losing a
libel case he took against Penguin Books for
calling him a Holocaust denier, could not be
contacted last night. But on his website Irving
says he will travel to New Zealand despite demands
from "the usual bigots" that his visit be
stopped. Irving says those trying to stop him entering
New Zealand are "enemies of the truth" and that
local Jewish organisations are members of the
US-based Jewish organisation the Anti-Defamation
League. Irving says he has followed recent
events in New Zealand regarding Israel, and
comments: "Prime Minister Helen Clark seems
to have balls." 
Dossier:
attempts by New Zealand Jews to stop David Irving's
2004 visit
 FAQ:
Answers to frequently asked questions about Mr
Irving's visit-
Steven Sedley
writes a letter on Mr Irving and free speech
| The name rings
a bell
| ![[]](../../std/dings/list.gif){kind=small}
write to David
Irving