Parents Starve to Protest German Custody Laws

By Alexander Scrimgeour

BERLIN (Reuters) - A group of mostly foreign divorced parents, staging a 17-day-old hunger strike in Berlin to demand access to their children, said Friday they hoped to force the government
to address their concerns.

The six men and one woman, from the United States, South Africa, Germany, France and elsewhere, have refused food to underscore their opposition to German court rulings giving their former spouses sole custody of their offspring.

Growing frail in the sweltering heat at Berlin's Alexanderplatz square, the protesters accuse the German legal system of bias against foreign parents, especially foreign fathers, and of ignoring international treaties.

Some have not seen their children for more than five years.

Two protesters are due to meet Justice Minister Herta Daeubler-Gmelin next Thursday, hoping to ensure that their children have the legal right to see both parents.

``The German legal system is responsible for a huge injustice against foreign parents,'' said Michael Hickman, 48, a South African businessman seeking access to his two young sons.

A German court awarded his German wife full custody five years ago and said he could see them one day each month. Because he lives in Durban, South Africa, he finds the ruling unfair.

``This couldn't happen in a civilized country. It couldn't happen in England,'' said Hickman, who has lost 13 pounds since the protest began July 11.

Germany has been criticized by French and U.S. authorities for ruling against joint custody in international ``tug-of-love'' conflicts. Former President Clinton made the issue a major topic of meetings with Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder on a trip last year.

In one well-publicized case, two U.S.-born children were placed in the care of German foster parents and separated from their American father, Joseph Cooke.

Another high-profile case involved a British diplomat's wife, Lady Catherine Meyer. Her children, Constantin and Alexander, were taken six years ago by her husband and their father, a German doctor.

In March, an Egyptian tour guide was so distraught that his ex-wife in Germany had custody that he kidnapped four German tourists. He surrendered peacefully after a four-day standoff.

``The way the law is implemented is extremely one-sided in Germany,'' said Peter Christof, a German who joined the hunger strike because he said he had not been able to see his children
since November.

The protesters in Berlin are living on water and sugary drinks. They say they will continue the strike until they have a written promise from the government that their concerns will be addressed.

-----