German Defence Minister Rudolph Scharping (from the ruling SPD Government) has replied to our Peter McBride protest letter (German original) in an encouraging manner.

According to lawyer Elke Nill he wrote that he is 'getting informed' and this may take a while. However he has written to the British government asking for an  explanation in this case. The presence of the two soldiers in Germany ought to be the main question forwarded. The PDS party has also replied to our Peter McBride appeal sent to all parties in the Bundestag (German Parliament) and they will be asking for information on the where-abouts of the two soldiers Wright and Fisher during question time in the the Federal Parliament in Berlin. We have reason to beleive that both soldiers are serving in Germany and we have yet to receive answers to our letter concerning this case from the three other political parties in the Bundestag. We have been informed that German Foreign Minister Fischer from the ruling coalition Green Party has been handed an envelope on this case by the Irish Green MEP Patricia McKenna.

The employment of soldiers in the Federal Army (Bundeswehr) who have commited serious crimes or who are members of neo-nazi organisations is a major discussion in legal and political circles in Germany at the moment. We are intending to send Minister Scharping and all Defence Political Speakers in the Bundestag, translations of the Irish Foreign Ministers speech made recently and the unanimous resolution made in the Irish Parliament condemning the re-employent of the two sentenced soldiers.

1st of December 2000- International day of solidarity for the McBride family - activities in Germany.

On Friday the 1st of December 2000 we joined protesters around the world demonstrating against the shameful treatment of the McBride family in the North of Ireland by the British army and Government.

A delegation from various German/Irish solidarity groups, members of amnesty international and Medico International met at the British General Consulate in Frankfurt to submit a protest letter to the Consul, Mr.Callway. A member of this delegation was allowed through the tight security for a meeting with the Consul which lasted 20 minutes. A protest letter was then handed over demanding that Mark Wright and James Fisher be discharged from the British Army and a bilingual documentation of Peter McBride's case was also given to the Consul. In Berlin a protest letter was handed in to the British Embassy.

Parallel to these activities a letter was sent to the German Minister of Defence from the German lawyer Elke Nill in the name of German/Irish solidarity groups.