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03/31/2004 Archived Entry: "Press release: The Danish Pedophile Association has been dissolved"

Copenhagen, March 21,  2004

Press release:

The Danish Pedophile Association has been dissolved

Today, the Danish Pedophile Association has stopped all activities, including the maintenance of the website www.danpedo.org and www.danpedo.dk.

The background of this decision is a recognition of the unfortunate fact that the organization's work has been made impossible. Not least because of widespread feelings of insecurity among the group's members after the massively negative media coverage the group has been receiving perpetually. Also, the group can no longer maintain its most important function - the anonymous telephone counseling - because nobody dares to associate their phone number with something that is connected with pedophilia, and because many potential clients no longer dare to call.

During the last couple of years, there has been an ever more harsh and unreasonable criticism of the Pedophile Group's legality in the media. This culminated when Minister of justice Lene Espersen decided to ask the Attorney General to inquire whether the Pedophile Group could be dissolved by a court decision.

According the the Danish Constitution §78, an association can only be prohibited by law if it seeks to achieve its goals by using violence or similar illegal  ways to influence those who disagree with it. The Danish Pedophile Association has always emphasized as its foundation that its operation must be open and in full compliance with the law.

The goal has been only to offer counseling and information, as well as inspire serious debate on pedophilia, as a counter-weight to the dominating attitudes in our society. The Pedophile group has never advocated or attributed to any criminal activity. Therefore, we are quite confident about the fact that the Attorney General may continue his investigation of the organization, even though it is now closed.

It is with the greatest regret that we have chosen to take this drastic step, because society has never taken care of the serious problems that people with pedophilic tendencies experience, despite the massive front against this group of citizens. The Danish Pedophile Association has throughout its history been dedicated to support its members in showing responsibility. We fear that this function, which has been important to many pedophiles, will no longer be performed by anybody.

This press announcement will be available at our web site during a limited time span. The group is dissolved as of today, and all activities have ceased.

This decision has been made by a large majority of the organization's members. The list of members has been destructed.

Questions and answers:

Since you are now closing down the Danish Pedophile Association, aren't you admitting that the organization wouldn't be able to stand the investigation by the Attorney General? 
 

No. The organization has been under heavy surveillance by the press as well as by the authorities for years. We have got inquiries from the police about our activities and, most probably, the organization has also been under surveillance by the police intelligence service. It makes no difference that it is now the Attorney General who has been asked to examine the organization. Furthermore, the Attorney General still has the right to investigate whether the organization previously has been involved in activities that could justify a legal action. The dissolution of the organization does not free anybody of the legal responsibility for their former activities, and hence does not prevent an investigation. The invariable fact is, however, the the Danish Pedophile Association has never been involved in any illegal activity.
  

Are there other reasons for closing down the organization?
  

Yes. The organization has been practically defunct since 2001. There have been no meetings. There is no counseling any more. There is no more money. And we have been effectively excluded from debating in the media. We are simply taking the consequence of these realities.
  

What should society do with the pedophiles?
   

The closure of the organization leaves a very urgent need for counseling of pedophiles. For years, we have tried to make the politicians understand how important it is to counsel these people. But we have been speaking to deaf ears. We are now sending a strong appeal for the establishment of an anonymous counseling service for pedophiles, in order to prevent the worst human tragedies in the future. Most pedophiles live a perfectly legal life. For too long, the debate has been characterized by witch-hunting, while nobody has offered useful solutions that take into account the fact that persons with pedophile inclinations actually exist, whether society likes it or not.
  

Isn't the dissolution of the organization a cloak for Continuing your activities underground?

No. The activities of the organization have always been public. Before the debate about our organization reached such a level of hostility that the security of our members were threatened, we held at least four public meetings per year. These meetings were even announced in the newspapers. Furthermore, anybody could become a member of the organization. In the last time, the only activity of the organization has been the maintenance of the website, which by its very nature is fully public. The Danish Pedophile Association has never had any activities that could be continued underground.
  

Are you going to make a new organization with a different name?
  

We have no plans to do so.
  

All other countries have banned organizations for pedophiles. Isn't it reasonable that Denmark does so too?
  

Our opponents have often claimed that Denmark is the only country in the Western World that allows an organization for persons with a pedophile inclination. This claim is simply untrue. There are several pedophile organizations e.g. in Germany. In the Netherlands, pedophiles are organized under a general sexuality umbrella organization. Even the USA, which is known for its extremely harsh treatment of pedophile citizens, has such organizations thanks to the freedom of speech guaranteed in the constitution amendments.