In brief
- On April 26 the German Bundestag (parliament) is to debate two bills presented by the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) which commemorate the liberation of Germany from fascism and remember Jewish victims of the Nazi regime. The first draft proposes a Day of Remembrance on May 8 to commemorate the liberation of Europe from Nazism and the end of the second world war.
Gregor Gysi, member of parliament and PDS leader, stated that a remembrance day at this time each year could help in condemning arms build-ups and war mongering, and avert nationalism, racism and anti-Semitism. The second bill proposes January 27, the day Auschwitz was liberated by Soviet troops, as another Day of Remembrance.
- On May 5 — the 14th anniversary of Irish political prisoner Bobby Sands' death from a hunger strike — former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher is to be a guest speaker at a $500 a plate dinner in North Carolina, USA. The dinner is part of an investment conference, which Thatcher is to address on the topic of investing in northern Ireland. Corporations to be represented at the event include Shell Oil, Phillips Petroleum, Sea/Land, Glaxo and Sara Lee.