Friday, June 06, 2003

Death of Juergen Moellemann

I know I am a little late with this but I look around today to see what other nations had to say about the sudden death of the former German politician. It is very interesting to see the differences.
I put together some examples from around the world here:

Expatica, Cairo:
The Arab world has lost a friend, supporter and businessman with the death of former German politician Juergen Moellemann.
Arab politicians and business partners in the Mideast welcomed his critical stance towards Israel, which caused political uproar in Germany last year and eventually led to his downfall.
"As president of the German-Arab society, Moellemann was a great advocate of Arab issues and has done a lot to promote economics", said Peter Goepfrich, head of the German-Arab Chamber of Commerce in Cairo.


Washington Post, Washington, DC:
Juergen Moellemann, 57, a former government minister accused of injecting anti-Semitism into last year's German election campaign and implicated in a party funding scandal, died in a parachute jump June 5 while prosecutors searched his home for evidence of financial wrongdoing.

Deutsch Welle:
Disgraced German politician dies in parachute jump
Juergen Meollemann, one of Germany's most controversial politicians, has fallen to his death in a parachute jump. Police are investigating the incident. His death came within hours of his home in Muenster, in the west of Germany, being raided and searched by prosecutors probing allegations he violated party funding rules. This followed closely on a ruling by the German parliament lifting his immunity from prosecution. He was a leading member of Germany's Free Democrat Party, but he quit in March over charges of anti-Semitism and irregular party funding. Eyewitnesses at the jump near the western town of Marl said Moellemann, an experienced skydiver who had served as a paratrooper in the German army, probably killed himself. Prosecutors had been investigating whether he hid party donations that financed a campaign leaflet criticizing Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

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