Associated Press, 17.07.2001
Hunger Strikers Protest German Child Custody Rules By Stephen Graham
BERLIN (AP) - Desperate to see more of their children, parents from France and South Africa pledged Saturday
to continue a hunger strike to force German authorities to give ground in
international custody battles. Five French citizens, including one grandmother, and a South African are drinking only water
with sugar in a protest highlighting issues that also have strained German-U.S.
relationships. "We're protesting for the right to see our children, for
their right to have both parents," said Olivier Karrer,
at a rally Saturday also attended by about 50 German parents near Berlin's landmark Gedaechtniskirche church. The group began
their fast Wednesday and plan to protest daily in Berlin's Alexanderplatz square. Three German fathers joined the
hunger strike Saturday. Karrer, who lives in France, said a German
court unfairly denied him custody of his son after he and partner separated
three years ago. He says he has been allowed only minimal contact since with
the boy, now 7. His complaints echo those of dozens of estranged parents from
the United States and France in recent years
that German justice is stacked against them. In particular, delays in bringing
custody cases to court mean that children, including those who may have been
illegally taken from their homes in other countries, grow accustomed to Germany. That, in turn,
has been cited by courts as a reason not to award custody to a parent living
elsewhere. German and U.S. officials set up a working group on trans-Atlantic
custody questions after former President Bill Clinton raised U.S. concerns with
Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder in June last year. German officials insist they
cannot interfere with decisions taken by the courts. "The important thing is that parents in these often tragic cases
know the authorities are doing what they can" to make sure parents get the
access they are entitled to, said Thomas Weber, a spokesman for the German
Justice Ministry. Hunger strikers such as Michael Hickman, a 48-year-old
environmental consultant from Durban, South Africa, said they hoped
the involvement of German parents in Saturday's protest will help bring more
far-reaching change. "What laws there are, are not even enforced by the
judges," said Hickman who says legal wrangles have denied him regular
access to his two young sons for more than five years. German parents
demonstrating Saturday said they had similar grievances. Hans Meyer, a
50-year-old financial adviser from Braunschweig, said
he hoped that the protest also would break a stereotype of fathers not facing
up to their responsibilities. "Maybe the kids will see us on TV and
realize that we care, that we won't just accept this."