A Letter from a Small Country Struggling for the Democratic Rule of Law...

[Guest guest]

To Whom it May Concern,

Dear Sirs and Madams of Austria, this is a letter from individuals belonging

to a small animal-rights NGO in the small country of Nepal, where we are

struggling to build a democracy for all beings, including those without the

ability to vote. Here, we often look to more advanced democracies around the

globe for advice and example on how to build a society based on the rule of

law. When we read about the recent events regarding 278a StGB, Dr. Balluch,

and his small NGO, we are dismayed and confused. How can a legally

registered NGO be held in jail under an anti-terrorist and organized crime

law without proper proof and cause? This is down-right scary for citizens

of Austria - and for the world! How can any rational judicial system make

these charges against Dr. Balluch, then incarcerate the entire organization,

for crimes of others not even related? These are questions raised, and that

until answered, lower the confidence of us all in regards to the rule of

law. How can we trust governments (for the people by the people) when they

behave such? Or is all this talk of justice in Austria just bullocks...and

the proponents of such activity: questionable methods of investigation,

measures, & argumentation, thugs in their own right? Sitting here in our

small country we think so, as from this vantage point it looks like the

government¹s case against the group is bogus, and the enforcement of statute

278a StGB unfair and excessive. But what concern is it of ours you may ask,

as we are just a small animal activist group in the backwater of the world?

We are concerned for all citizens of the world who are trying to protect

animals from the atrocities put on them by humans; when a government is

allowed to act so irresponsibly as in this case, people world over begin to

lose trust in the ability of any organized government to apply the rule of

law fairly. Here, where we are just now creating a new government from what

was once a totalitarian monarchy, we are watching the goings on of other

democratic systems abroad, hoping to glean the best of ways and means. In

the case of Austria and the application of 278a StGB against Dr. Balluch and

other Austrians, we are dismayed, and find this to be an extremely

disappointing example of the rule of law in action. God speed in your effort

to immediately correct this injustice that ultimately concerns us all.

Best Regards,

all the staff & volunteers of AnimalNepal

Kathmandu, Nepal

www.animalnepal.org

animalnepal