From the DW:
“Germany:
Angela Merkel agrees to compensate gay soldiers over discrimination”
Twenty years
after the rights of homosexual servicemen and women in the Bundeswehr were
first protected, the German Cabinet has approved a law that will see those who
faced discrimination receive compensation. Homosexuals who faced discrimination
in the German military before 2000 will have their records cleared and given
financial compensation, the German Cabinet agreed on Wednesday.
The approval
from Chancellor Angela Merkel's Cabinet came two months after Defense Minister
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer issued an official apology for decades of
discrimination and published a study documenting "systematic
discrimination" in the Bundeswehr from 1955 to 2000. "We cannot makes
amends for how these people have suffered, but we want to set an example where
possible," Kramp-Karrenbauer told German media ahead of the Cabinet
announcement.
The legislation
will lift military court verdicts imposed for consensual gay sex with a
symbolic sum of €3,000 ($3,590) in compensation being paid for each of those
verdicts. Those who were dismissed, passed over for promotion or stripped of
responsibility will also be eligible for compensation. The defense ministry
estimates that around 1,000 people will apply.
Financial
damage 'far exceeds' proposed amount Sven Bäring of the Bundeswehr's LGBT+
group, QueerBW, said the body welcome the announcement, but believes the
legislation could go further. "Coming to terms with the injustices
that have occurred is an important step towards an open working atmosphere.
QueerBW therefore welcomes the draft law on rehabilitation," he told DW.
"But there is a need for improvement," he added. "Those
affected were no longer promoted, partially dismissed or deprived of their
pension. The considerable financial damage caused by the German armed forces
significantly exceeds the proposed €3,000. The armed forces must now show
responsibility for this." Chris, a former soldier who was subjected
to medical examinations when he came out as gay in the West German army in the
1980s, also expressed doubts about the compensation payment. "I am
relieved that the good intentions will now be followed by action in the
foreseeable future," he told DW. "But the lump-sum compensation will
not always do justice to the extent of individual injustice. Rehabilitation and
compensation of lost earnings and pension claims would be appropriate."
'Close a
dark chapter' Defense Minister Kramp-Karrenbauer said the legislation will
also cover people who experienced discrimination in the communist East
Germany's National People's Army, which ceased to exist in 1990. Homosexuality
was illegal in Germany until the 1960s and gay servicemen and women in the
armed forces could legally be discriminated against on the grounds of their
sexuality until 2000. The legislation must still be approved in the
Bundestag, the German parliament, where Merkel's center-right CDU and their
coalition partners, the center left Social Democrats hold a majority. Kramp-Karrenbauer
added that she hopes the legislation will "close this dark chapter in the
history of the armed forces."
^ Like most
things regarding compensation this won’t fix the past, but it will be a great
step in making things right. ^
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