BERLINER DIALOGUE
A NEWSLETTER PUBLISHED BY REV. THOMAS GANDOW
Volume 2-00
Michaelis 2000
Information and standpoints on religious
encounters
Basic Charter Text 2000 for European Citizens
Committee for Human Rights and Religious Freedom
Alternative Charlemagne Award 2000; Robert S. Minton
receives the Human Rights Award of the European-American
Citizens Committee for Human Rights and Religious Freedom in the
USA
Not
accepting that victims will be silenced. Laudatio for Robert S.
Minton by Ursula Caberta Y Diaz (presentation of award)
Bob Minton's acceptance speech.
The difference between the Alternative
Charlemagne Award and the original Aachen Award - Bob Minton
or Bill Clinton? by Joe Cisar and Thomas Gandow
Feedback from the press on the Alternative
Charlemagne Award Twelve articles from German papers mentioning Bob's receipt of the award.
Study on Brainwashing in the
Scientology's penitential RPF camps
Many thanks to Joe Cisar for translating this document for us!
Please refer to Cisar's site http://www.cisar.org/ for more information on what is happening with Scientology in Germany.
[page 2 BERLINER DIALOG 2 - 2000 - Michaelis 2000]
European-American Citizens Committee for Human Rights and Religious Freedom in
the USA (formerly the German-American Citizens Committee for Human Rights and
Religious Freedom in the USA)
Basic Charter text 2000 (return to Articles Listing)
The European-American Citizen's Committee for Human
Rights and Religious Freedom in the USA (formerly the
German-American Citizens Committee for Human Rights and
Religious Freedom in the USA) dedicates itself to human
rights and religious freedom in the USA and around the
world, and is involved, specifically, in the discussion on new
totalitarian organizations.
In doing this, it is led
by the same spirit in which 17 million Americans, in the 1950 dedication of the Berlin
Liberty Bell, signed their names to the
words:
"I believe in
the inviolability and in the dignity of every individual person. I believe that God gave
each human being the same right of freedom.
I promise that I will combat tyranny and
every attack on freedom, wherever on earth
they appear."
Whoever finds these words too lofty or too
extreme should make themselves clear as to
the counter-points of each individual
sentence: servility and defenselessness, dishonesty and slavery. The world of gulags, concentration
camps and reeducation camps of the SO. Still
we can do something about it. In Germany and
in America.
As
European friends of the United States of America or as US citizens, we are concerned that the
organization responsible for the tragic
death of Lisa McPherson is trying to damage
the European-American friendship for which we have all worked so very hard during the last decades.
We wish to express our support for the
American people and the American government
in ending human rights violations against US
citizens and other people, committed by the Scientology Organization.
Because of the staunch
position the United States takes concerning
human rights worldwide, we call on the American government to confront and stop human rights
violations being committed by Scientology
and to reestablish in the country of democracy the true freedom of life, speech,
religion, personality and pursuit of
happiness, which includes:
- Freedom for everyone to speak about his
experiences, knowledge and thoughts in any
organization, church or cult, be it
religious or not; - Freedom for members of
an organization, church or cult, religious
or not, to leave that organization, without being detained, threatened or persecuted; - Freedom from fear of being confronted with
material that a religious or therapeutic
organization has obtained through religious
or spiritual counseling; Such material should not be allowed to be used for
publication, litigation, or blackmail; - Freedom from persecution through Copyright
Laws; such laws should not be used against
members who try to support their arguments
by citing "church scriptures" or "spiritual
literature" or other texts associated with the group; - Full
application of law enforcement to prosecute fraud, mental and physical abuse hidden behind the
shield of "religion"; - Refusal / Withdrawal of tax exemptions for
secretive organizations, be they religious
or not. Full disclosure of past secret
agreements with the IRS; More accurate
reporting by the media on cult practices.
I support the basic
charter statement of the European-American Citizens Committee for Human Rights and Religious Freedom
in the USA and would like to be informed of
further initiatives by the committee
________________________ Name, address, profession, date, signature
Please submit to
European-American Citizens Committee for Human Rights and Religious Freedom in the USA, c/o DZB, Heimat
27, D-14165 Berlin - Fax +49 (0)30-845 09
640
[page 3 BERLINER
DIALOG 2 - 2000 - Michaelis 2000]
Alternative Charlemagne Award 2000
Robert S. Minton receives the Human Rights
Award of the European-American Citizens
Committee for Human Rights and Religious Freedom in
the USA (return to Articles Listing)
The European-American
Citizens Committee for Human Rights and
Religious Freedom in the USA (formerly the German-American Citizens Committee for Human
Rights and Religious Freedom in the USA)
dedicates itself to human rights and
religious freedom in the USA and around the world, and is involved,
specifically, in the discussion of new totalitarian organizations.
In doing this, it is
led by the same spirit in which 17 million Americans, in the 1950 dedication of the Berlin
Liberty Bell, signed their names to the
words:
"I believe
in the inviolability and in the dignity of
every individual person. I believe that God
gave each human being the same right of freedom. I promise that I will combat tyranny and every
attack on freedom, wherever on earth they
appear."
As European
friends of the United States of America and as U.S. citizens, we are concerned by the
Scientology Organization's (SO) attacks on
the human dignity and lives not only of its
members, but also of its critics.
We are dismayed that the Scientology
Organization (SO) has managed to exert its
influence in U.S. politics in recent years. The Scientology Organization is based in the
United States and is responsible for the
last agonizing 17 days of Lisa McPherson's
life (USA), the financial ruin of the Aigner family (Germany) and the tragic death of Patrick Vic
(France). In addition, we believe that the
Scientology Organization (SO) has been
making an effort to damage the European-American friendship for which so many have worked so hard
in recent decades.
There are also many
people in the USA who have opposed Scientology Organization (SO) claims to power.
We have decided to recognize U.S. citizen
Robert S. Minton, chairman of the Lisa
McPherson Trust, for his accomplishments in the battle for human rights and religious freedom in
the USA with the Human Rights Award of the
European-American Citizens Committee for
Human Rights and Freedom in the USA, the Alternative Charlemagne Award 2000.
The award will be handed
over to Bob Minton on June 3, 2000 under the
auspices of a festive ceremony in Leipzig, the birth place of the East German civil rights
movement.
Bob
Minton, steered by his courage and sense of civil duty, has distinguished himself in human rights in the
USA and around the world by his involvement
with the persecuted minority of former
Scientology Organization (SO) members who
have been attacked by the SO, and with U.S. society, which is at risk to the totalitarian influences
of the SO.
By our
recognition, we wish to show our support for the American people and to put an end to human
rights violations which are being committed
by the Scientology Organization against
citizens of the USA and other countries.
[image of Robert Minton. sub-text: Robert S.
Minton with the Alternative Charlemagne
Award 2000, a sculpture of the Nicholas Church in Leipzig, starting point of the 1989 human rights
revolution in the GDR.
The Committee: Gerry
Armstrong, Canada, artist Ursula Caberta,
Director of the Work Group on Scientology, Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg Prof.
Claire Champollion, Linguist, Researcher and Writer, Paris, France
Joe Cisar, Cleveland, Ohio, Vietnam Veteran
Prof. Dr. Alexander Dvorkin, Moskow, Russia,
Director of the St. Iren�us-of-Lyon-Center
Rev. Thomas Gandow, Berlin, Germany, Editor
Berliner Dialog Mike Garde, Dublin, Ireland,
Dialog Centre Eire Roger Gonnet, Paris,
France, Writer Friedrich Griess, Vienna,
Austria, Engineer, Presse spokesman of the Gesellschaft gegen Kultgefahren Tilman Hausherr, Berlin, Germany, Software
developer Ursula MacKenzie, London, Great
Britain, Retiree Solveig Prass, Leipzig,
Germany, Chairwoman EBI Leipzig Johannes
Aagaard, Prof. Dr., Aarhus, Denmark, President of the Dialog Center
International (DCI)
Award Supporters: Ellen Alkimowitsch, Leipzig, Germany, telephone
operator Geli von Allw�rden, Stuhr-Brinkum,
Germany Nick Andrew, Sydney, Australia El Awadalla, Author, Vienna, Austria "F. CiCilia Aychar", USA,
Psychologist-Behavioural and Learning Research AGPF -Arbeitsgemeinschaft der
Betroffeneninitiativen e.V., Bonn, Bernhard
Br�njes, Chairman, Germany Claudia Bartels,
Fotografin, Schriftstellerin und Mutter, Leipzig, Deutschland R�diger Bartels, Maler, Leipzig, Deutschland Heike Barten, Berlin, Deutschland William C. Barwell, Houston, Texas, USA "Bat Child", San Diego, CA, USA, medical
transcriptionist Ralf Becker, youth care,
Potsdam, Germany Jim Beebe, Northbrook, Il,
USA, professional musician, former Cult Awareness Network staff member Klaus Uwe Benneter, Member of the Berlin House
of Representatives, State Chairman of the
Berlin SPD, Berlin, Germany David Bird, from
Birmingham/England; computer programmer Elisabeth Bonacker, Housewife and mother of an
ex-Scientologist, Niedersachsen, Germany Eldon M. Braun, American in Paris, Writer/editor
Stacy Brooks, Clearwater, Florida,
President, Lisa McPherson Trust, USA
[page 4 BERLINER DIALOG
2 - 2000 - Michaelis 2000]
Doris Busch, Theologian, Berlin, Germany Jim Byrd, Somerville, Massachusetts, software
developer Ingolf Christiansen, G�ttingen,
Germany, Commissioner for Issues of Worldview Rob Clark, York, Pennsylvania, USA Paulette Cooper, New York City, author Dialog Zentrum Berlin e.V. Martin Dojcar, Dialog Center Slovakia,
Bratislava, Slovakia Katharina Doy�,
Religion and Municipal Scholar, Member of the State Board of B�ndnis 90/ The Green Party, LV
Brandenburg, Germany Hans-Peter Dreyer,
Hamburg, Germany, Salesman, Chairman of the
I.BE. Hamburg Yvonne Seifert-Dreyer,
Hamburg, Germany, Sales Lady, Acting
Chairman of the I.BE. Hamburg Birgit
Ebersbach, Business Manager, EBI Sachsen, Leipzig, Germany "Ed", CA and NY, USA; researcher and former
Scientologist Jeta Eggers, Amsterdam, The
Netherlands Silvia Eilhardt, Witten Sect
Info, Witten, Germany "Feadog",
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA, Engineer J.
R. Ford; Springfield, Missouri, USA; Salesman Axel Franken, Aktion Bildungsinformation
Stuttgart e.V. (ABI), W�rzburg, Germany Freimann, Stade, Germany, Musician J�rgen von Freymann, Oberstleutnant a.D.
Hannover, Germany Ute Gandow, Germany,
Physical Therapist David Gerard, Melbourne,
Australia, computer professional Elke Gorf,
Information Group Krokodil; Weinstadt, Germany Rev. Bartolomej G��z, Dialog Center Slovakia,
Bratislava, Slovakia Barb Graham, digital
animator, (also Vietnam vet), USA Martin
Gurgel, EBI Sachsen, Leipzig, Germany William G. Hagglund, Toronto Canada,
Actor/Artist/political activist Susanne
Haller, Journalist, Member of Parliament of Basel-City Canton,
Basel, Switzerland "Suse Hartweg", Germany, Family counselor Dr. R�diger Hauth, Commissioner for Issues of
Sects and Worldview of the Evangelical
Church of Westfalen, Dortmund, Germany Anton
Hein, Amsterdam, Netherlands, Christian apologist http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/ Ingo Heinemann, Bonn, Germany, attorney,
Chairman, AGPF - Author of the first book
about Scientology in Germany (1979) -
Website: www.Ingo-Heinemann.de("Scientology-Kritik") Andreas Heldal-Lund, Stavanger, Norway, IT
Manager H. Keith Henson, Palo Alto, CA USA,
Consulting Engineer R�diger Hintze, Hamburg,
Germany, Lawyer Christel Hinz,
Diplom-Bibliothekarin, Nordhausen, Germany Deana M. Holmes, Salt Lake City, Utah,
commercial real estate Ilse Hruby-Plechl,
author, Austria Jeff Jacobsen, USA,
librarian for Lisa McPherson Trust K�the
Jelitto, Hamburg, Germany Ingvald J�ngling,
Pastor emeritus, Alfeld, Germany Charlotte
L. Kates, New Brunswick, New Jersey USA, student and activist KIDS e.V. ("Kinder in destruktiven Sekten" /
"Children in destructive Cults"), Chairwoman
Jutta Birlenberg, Leverkusen, Deutschland Klaus Kitzinger, Retiree, Bonn, Germany Tom Klemesrud, Publisher, The Thompson Courier
& Rake Register 246 S. Harrison Street,
Thompson, Iowa 50478 USA Lothar Klein, Ev.
Arbeitskreis der CDU Sachsen/Dresden (EAK), Deutschland Thomas Kling, Stuhr-Brinkum, Deutschland Heike Kneese, Fl�gelschlag e.V., Hamburg,
Deutschland Wolfgang Kneese, Fl�gelschlag
e.V., Hamburg, Deutschland Natascha
Kobitzsch, Leipzig, Germany, Student Helke
Koulakiotis, Information Group Krokodil; Weinstadt, Germany Reverend Kurt Kreibohm,
Berlin-Zehlendorf, Germany Lisa Lech,
Cologne, Germany, Legal Office Manager Dr.
Helga Lerchenm�ller, Stuttgart, Deutschland, Lawyer Arnaldo Lerma, Alexandria, Virginia, USA,
Electronic technician Dell Liebreich, USA
Renata Linn�, Dresden, Germany, Translator
Lucia Machackova, Dialog Center Slovakia,
Bratislava, Slovakia Eberhard Marx,
Executive staff, Hamburg, Germany Mission
Interminist�rielle de Lutte contre les Sectes, Denis Barthelemy, Le Secr�taire G�n�ral, Paris, France
Rev. J�rg Michel, Hoyerswerda, Germany Doris M�ller, Social Worker, Walldorf, Germany
Winfried M�ller, Jena, Germany,
www.religio.de Data Bank Administrator Andreas Muth, Leipzig, Germany Dagmar Muth, Leipzig, Deutschland Manfred Neumann, Psychologist, Berlin, Germany
Elke Nietsche, Leipzig, Germany, Advertising
Sales Lady Roland Nietsche, Leipzig,
Germany, Tiler Jean Nokin, Paris, France,
President of FECRIS (F�d�ration Europ�enne
des Centres de Recherche et d'Information sur le Sectarisme) "Nukewaster", USA Karin
Paetow-Froese, Arbeitskreis Sekten, e.V., Herford, Germany Norbert Papke, Sect Info "The helping Hand",
F�rth, Germany "Peaches", San Francisco Bay
Area, USA, artist and computer person Johanna Penzkofer, Housewife, Germany Dr. Viola Philipp, Halle, Germany, Education
Division Director Mr. Michael Plotinkov,
M.Div., St. Irinaeus of Lyon Center, Moscow, Russia Mark Plummer, Austin, Texas, USA, Writer "Podkayne1", Sunnyvale CA USA, Computer
Scientist Norbert Potthoff, Artist and
Writer, ex-Scientologist, Krefeld, Germany Ted Purdy, Leadville, Colorado, USA, Consultant
"Q", Freelance Illustrator/ Graphic
Designer, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA John
C. Randolph, California, USA, Engineer Renate Rennebach, Member of the German Federal
Parliament, Sect Political Speaker of the
SPD Michael Reuss, Fort Collins, Colorado,
USA, Software Engineer Beverly Rice,
Florida, USA, Medical Assistant David Rice,
San Diego California USA, boat delivery captain Fredric L. Rice, Glendora, California, Chairman,
The Skeptic Tank Harry Riens, Engineer,
press technician and Evangelical Religious Instructor, Berlin, Germany Siegfried Rumbaum, Retiree, Berlin, Germany Gisela Rusch, Berlin, Germany Ingo Sawitzki, Leipzig, Germany, Administrative
Lawyer Helmut Schmidt, Berlin, Germany,
Administrative Director Prof. Dr. Ulrich
Schneewei�, Doctor and Microbiologist, Berlin, Germany Birgit Schneider, Religion Teacher, Oelsnitz,
Germany Karl H. Schneider, Munich, Germany,
Assistant Principal Dorette Schultze, house
wife, member of the Munich Parents Initiative (EI), Isernhagen, Germany Dr.
Peter Schumann, Ev. Work Group of CDU Sachsen/Dresden (EAK), Germany
Walter Sch�tte, Journalist, member Parents
Association, Munich, Germany Jeanette
Sch�rer, Business manager, Zwickau, Germany Yvonne Sch�rer, Zwickau, Germany Harald Senkel, Technical Staff, Laichingen,
Germany Ruth Senkel, Laichingen, Germany Yvonne Seifert-Dreyer, Hamburg, merchant, acting
chairperson I.BE. Hamburg, Germany Ina Stolle, executive staff, Leipzig, Germany
J�rg Stolzenberger, Information Group
Krokodil; Weinstadt, Germany Harriet
Svenhard, co-founder of FRI, Sweden (FRI is
a Swedish organization for education about cults and support for relatives and ex-members) Martin Tettenborn, Pastor i.R., Berlin, Germany
Joachim Thewes, Goettingen, Germany Reverend Eduard Trenkel, Commissioner for Issues
of Sects and Worldview, Kassel, Germany Harald von Treuenfels, Berlin, Germany, Student
David VanHorn, Muncie, Indiana USA, Engineer
Pfarrer Hans-Jochen Vogel, Chemnitz, Germany
Kristi Wachter, San Francisco, CA, USA, Computer Consultant and Human Rights Activist
Tim Walker, Tampa, Florida, USA Liselotte Wenzelburger-Mack, Chairwoman of the
EBIS Parents Association Baden W�rttemberg,
Recipient of the Federal Meritorious Cross,
Gro�bettlingen, Germany Gunar Werner,
Leipzig, Germany, Founder http://www.mormonen.de Kathrin Westphal, Halle, Germany Peter Widmer, Waldegg BE, Switzerland Margarete Wittstock, Retiree, Member of the
Berlin Parents Association, Berlin, Germany
Lawrence Wollersheim, Denver, Colorado, USA,
Director, FACTNet Kurt Zellmer,
Superintendent i.R., Wittstock, Germany Sten-Arne Zerpe, Solna, Sweden, Network Engineer
Dr. Marion Zimmermann, Halle, Germany,
Education Division Director Prof. Dr.
Zinser, Professor of the History and Science of Religion, Free University, Berlin, Germany Ursula Z�pel, chairperson of the
Elterninitiative zur Wahrung der geistigen Freiheit e.V. Leverkusen, Germany Anonymous - 4
Contact info: listme@alt-charlemagne-award.de
Pseudonyms include people with family still
in Scientology.
http://www.alt-charlemagne-award.de or http://www.alt-karlspreis.de
[page 5 BERLINER DIALOG 2 - 2000 - Michaelis
2000]
Not accepting that victims will be silenced (return to Articles Listing)
Laudatio for Robert S. Minton by Ursula Caberta Y Diaz
Ladies and
Gentlemen, Dear Bob Minton,
It is a great honor and
pleasure for me to be here in Leipzig today,
and to address the European-American Citizens Committee for Human Rights and Religious
Freedom.
And there
is a special reason for this: the place - Leipzig!
As a person who grew up
in a divided Germany, it is sometimes still
incomprehensible to me that it is completely normal now to drive to Leipzig. East Germany
used to be an area more unfamiliar to me
than Spain or Denmark. I still experience a
feeling of well-being in this regard, be it in Berlin, Schwerin, Jena or Dresden. And my joyful
appreciation is due in large measure to the
people of the city of Leipzig. These people
no longer wanted the Stasi-state of the DDR; they rose up to claim freedom of speech and
freedom of opinion to freely develop their
own personalities. They made a decision for
human rights and for freedom of belief. They have made such a large contribution to the
reunification of Germany. For this I thank
you!
And it is
exactly for this reason that this city is of special significance in the granting of the alternative
Charlemagne Award.
Because it is for those
ideals to which the people in Leipzig have
dedicated themselves that the Committee today bestows the alternative Charlemagne Award.
One would really think
that, in a liberal democracy with elected
representatives, in a functioning legal state, the dangers from totalitarian organizations are
rather slight. I am actually convinced of
that - and that is also how things are in fact. A democratic state and the people who live
in it have many alternatives in defending
themselves. So what happens? Anti-democratic
ideas and cynical ideals under the guise of a supposed church appear. From a country which
proclaims personal rights of freedom such as
no other in the world - the USA. This new
form of political extremism has a name: Scientology!
The system of Scientology operates according to
a political ideology which jeopardizes
democracies all over the world. L. Ron
Hubbard and his successor have used their organization to create a state within a state.
Scientology proclaims the freedom of the
individual, but deliberately creates
servitude. Hubbard's statements are nothing other than operating instructions as one would find in
war. They may realize that or they may not:
all methods utilized by Scientology serve
the waging of war:
-
camouflage by religion - pseudotherapeutic
measures in courses and seminars -
psychomanipulative techniques in "auditing" - presentation of self as a persecuted minority
- assimilation of celebrities for purposes
of advertising and dissemination
"The war is over," announced David Miscavige
after the tax exemption agreement was
reached with the IRS (U.S. tax authorities).
If proof had previously been lacking for this theory that war is being waged, then that
statement makes it clear to all. Clear to
all who want to listen.
But here in Europe we have taken note that that
there are those in the United States of
America who either did not want to listen or
did not want to understand. After the Scientology-IRS tax agreement, a number of their
political representatives - how should I put
it - either without reflection or simply
uninformed, took up the war strategy of the Scientology Organization. When Scientology began
its unspeakable campaign of defamation
against the Federal Republic of Germany
which its public relations described as the
beginning of a new Holocaust, many in Germany, including me, hoped their campaign would lead to protests.
The campaign presented not only a
disparagement to representatives of this
Republic, but also an insult to the victims
of Nazi Germany. Unfortunately, however, it did not lead to people in the USA contemplating why
their country had previously maintained a
critical attitude towards Scientology.
No - just the opposite:
just recently, during our newly elected Federal President Johannes Rau's visit to the
USA, he was compelled to make a statement on
the Scientology Organization. He did that -
as could be read afterwards in the "Frankfurter Allgemeinen Zeitung" (FAZ)
newspaper - very graciously and
unequivocally.
Now
it is conceivable that the Germans are not far behind. The President of the United States, Bill
Clinton, will be presented with the
Charlemagne Award. An award that is meant to
distinguish people who promote democracy, human rights and the common values of Europe.
[photo, sub-text: Ursula
Caberta gives the award speech for Robert S. Minton, photo: Claudia Bartels]
[page 6 BERLINER DIALOG 2 - 2000 - Michaelis
2000]
It is not that
I do not wish him to have this award, but in
view of the cynical practices in
Scientology, in view of the many victims of this organization in the USA and worldwide, and in
view of the described - cautiously stated -
uncritical assumption of the Scientology
Organization's arguments against European states, like France and the Federal Republic of
Germany, it is time send a clear signal. A
signal that there are also people in the USA
itself who follow the assessment of the European states regarding the Scientology Organization.
Enough to reinforce us in Europe in our
discussion and in our informational work.
For this reason, we
today bestow an alternative Charlemagne Award. And we bestow it full of pleasure and
pride in a citizen of the United States of
America who did not intend to accept that it
was possible, in his home country, for an organization to silence all its victims and
opponents. A U.S. citizen who took action
for equal rights in the U.S., who recognized
what dangers could arise for a liberal democracy and its people from Scientology.
Dear Bob Minton, your
involvement in the USA is exemplary. Your
activity - not least of all, the founding of the Lisa McPherson Trust - has given us hope again in
Europe. Hope that it may one day be made
clear in the USA how dangerous Scientology
is. Hope that the political representatives of your country understand that totalitarian systems
insidiously spread their ideology over the
heads of their manipulated members. Probably
- no, I am sure of it - it is more difficult in the States to point out the dangers than it is in Europe;
we have been there before. Especially in
Germany. Based on our past, we know one
thing: never again do we intend to live in a system in which the dignity of a person is not
respected, in which freedom of religion and
freedom of belief are restricted. This is
what would happen to the extent that Scientology reaches its political goal of "Clear Planet," i.e., a
planet purged of people who think
differently. In the USA, you are helping to keep that from happening. For this, we would
like to thank you, to wish you strength and
courage, to tell you that this award is an
expression of our respect and also that you, and all those who defend human rights and freedom of
opinion in the USA from Scientology, can
always count on us here in Europe.
[photo, sub-text: The
people gathered for the award stood up for the USA National Anthem, "The Star Spangled Banner" and
for that of Europe, "Freude, schoener
Goetterfunken." photo: Claudia Bartels]
Text of the
Certificate:
On the 3rd day of June in the year 2000 in Leipzig, Germany, the
European-American Citizens Committee for Human Rights and Religious
Freedom in the USA presented its Human Rights Award, the Alternative
Charlemagne Award 2000 to Robert S. Minton in appreciation of his
involvement, led by his courage and sense of civil duty, on behalf
of the victims of Scientology of his efforts towards human rights
and freedom of expression in the USA and as an expression of our
support for the American people in putting human rights violations
by the totalitarian Scientology to an end.
For the Committee
/signatures/
[page 7 BERLINER DIALOG 2 - 2000 - Michaelis
2000]
I would also be
happy to help the people at the top of Scientology ... when they leave this organization.Speech by Robert S. Minton in
Leipzig, Germany on June 3rd, 2000 for the
award of the Alternative Charlemagne Award in Leipzig, Germany at
the Old Stock Exchange (return
to Articles Listing)
[photo
sub-text: Robert S. Minton on June 3, 2000 in the Old Stock Exchange
in Leipzig, photo: Claudia Bartels] Thank you, ladies and
gentlemen! Warm thanks to all the members of the committee and to all who made this event
possible. Thank you Mrs. Caberta. I am very
honored to receive the Alternative
Charlemagne Award this morning from my esteemed colleagues of the European American
Citizens' Committee for Human Rights and
Religious Freedom. It is very moving to receive this award in
Leipzig, where freedom was reborn in the
former East Germany. In 1984 I crossed from West Berlin into East
Germany through Checkpoint Charlie. The vast
difference between my democratic freedoms in
the United States and the Communist Stasi-controlled GDR were extremely striking to
me, and that moment has had a lasting
impact. I well remember walking through the
deserted No-Main's Land on the East Berlin side of Checkpoint Charlie after midnight with a
heavy suitcase to a waiting State-owned taxi
for the short trip to my State-owned hotel
for foreigners only. The GDR viewed me then in very much the same way
the Scientologists view me now. I was the
equivalent of a Suppressive Person, or SP,
to the GDR, and it was important for them to keep my thoughts and information from their citizens.
Today in Leipzig, we
are in the shadows of the famous St. Nikolas
Church, where the cry from freedom in East Germany began with a handful of people that grew
to hundreds and then hundreds of thousands
shouting for freedom in the streets
surrounding this very building where we are
now gathered. Leipzig is now free, East and West Germany are
now reunited as one, and the vast majority
of citizens are extremely happy with their
new-found freedom.However, not everyone in the former East Germany or in other formerly
Communist-controlled Eastern European
countries are happy with these new freedoms, just as there are people in the United States and every other
country in the world who want someone else
to make their decisions for them. The State no longer makes life's major decisions
for the citizens in the old Eastern Europe
who must now utilize their new freedoms to
become self-sufficient and self-determined individuals. It is no accident that in such a
vacuum, those individuals who have never
been willing to accept the responsibility
that freedom brings have allowed themselves to be recruited into organizations like
Scientology. Scientology offers a replacement for the former
Communist regimes That promises real freedom
while in actuality creating an apparatus of
coercion that dominates and terrorizes humans from within. Once again, I must
reiterate that Scientology is a monster with two heads. - First and foremost, Scientology is an aspiring
totalitarian political movement. That is
really the End of the Story! - The religious face of
Scientology is in reality nothing more than
an illusion masking its political agenda and ambitions. However, Scientology uses this religious face as
a cover to protect it from scrutiny. This is
not the kind of political animal that any
democratic society has ever had to deal with
before. It has co-opted the U.S. State Department under the guise of religious freedom to condemn
Germany and France for religious persecution
against Scientology. The American system of government is built on
two major counter-balancing principles. - The first is the
principle of democracy - the notion that the majority should govern most political decisions made on behalf of the
country - and this principle is imbedded in
the main body of the Constitution. - The second great principle, which is set forth
in the Bill of Rights, is the idea that the
power of any group - even the democratic
majority itself - must be limited to insure individual rights and liberties. Throughout America's
short history, there has never been any time
in which groups or even the government itself, while egged on by extremists, hasn't tried to expand
their authority and control at the expense
of individual rights and liberties.
[page 8 BERLINER
DIALOG 2 - 2000 - Michaelis 2000] Scientology is just such an extremist group that
adamantly refuses to accept the basic
principles underlying the Bill of Rights.
Their outright attacks on our most fundamental liberties threaten to do permanent damage to the
Bill of Rights which is the bedrock of
America's traditions of fairness, equality,
decency and ultimately, justice. We are all in danger from Scientology's success in cloaking itself in
the mantle of religious freedom as a means
of focusing government attention away from
their human and civil rights abuses as well as their outright manipulation of the legal process. France and Germany have
every bit as much respect for religious
freedom as the United States does. Make no mistake that Scientologists have a right, which
I would protect, to their truly held
religious beliefs. However, we all - including France and Germany - have a right as
well as a duty to oppose what the
organization of Scientology seeks, because
what the Church of Scientology seeks is the destruction of the wall that separates church
and state. What they seek is government
desecration of our basic liberties through
policies and law to advance Scientology's political and social agendas. In 1975 Scientology established a major
headquarters in Clearwater, Florida, and
launched a program called Project Normandy
to turn Clearwater into the first Scientology-controlled city. Thus, in deciding
where to establish the first office of the
Lisa McPherson Trust, it seemed fitting that
it should be in Clearwater. We opened our Clearwater office in January of this year, and
in the nearly six months since we have been
there it has become clear just how vital it
is to have such an organization in the United States. Ours is the first organization ever to be
established in the United States solely for
the purpose of providing education about the
abusive and deceptive practices of the Church of Scientology, and we have found that there is a
tremendous need amongst Scientology victims
and their families for our services. We have
also seen that it is vitally important for us to counter the efforts of Scientology in
Washington, D.C., and because of this we
plan to open another office of the Lisa McPherson Trust in Washington within the next
year. The purpose of our D.C. office will be
to educate our government about Scientology
and get our government working with the governments of Germany, France and other
countries who recognize the danger of
Scientology. We have
also seen that is is crucial for us to coordinate our actions with those of other countries, and for
this reason we plan to open offices of the
Lisa McPherson Trust in Germany, France and
one or two other countries within the next year. For myself, I was born
in the United States, a free country. I was
fortunate that during my business career I was able to acquire sizable financial resources. I did this
by honest hard work, including the work I
did for the Nigerian government. Scientology
has tried to turn everything I have ever done into something dirty, but the things they say are
lies, and I will not let their lies silence
me, just as each of you in the audience here
today will not be silenced by Scientology's tactics of terror. Never before has Scientology had such an
organized resistance. Despite their most
vigorous efforts to silence us, we will not
be stopped. We have all worked to hard for our freedom. We will never let Scientology take it
away. Now I'm going
to make this a little difficult for Reverend Gandow [who was translating live] because I'm
going to read from the Bible. This (Bible)
was given to me last night by a friend and I
would like to read a special passage which my friend selected. It is Psalms 71 verse 13. It
reads "May my accusers perish in shame. Let
those who want to harm me be covered with
scorn and disgrace." But, God is compassionate; and the people at the top of
Scientology who perpetrate this evil are
people that all of us would welcome when
they leave this organization. I would be happy to help them too. Thank you very much from the bottom of my heart
for this great honor you have bestowed on me
today. It is truly an award for all of us
and I shall keep it in trust for everyone who stands up for human rights and religious
freedom. [photo
sub-text: Ursula Caberta hand the human rights award of the European-American Committee to Bob Minton.
photos: Claudia Bartels
[page 9 BERLINER DIALOG 2 - 2000 -
Michaelis 2000] The difference between the
Alternative Charlemagne Award and the
original Aachen Award
- Bob Minton or Bill Clinton?
by Joe Cisar and Thomas
Gandow (return to Articles Listing) The "Charlemagne Award"
was meant to distinguish people who promote
democracy, human rights and the common values of Europe. Former prize winners include personalities such
as Konrad Adenauer (Germany), Winston
Churchill (Great Britain), George C.
Marshall (USA), Konstantin Karamanlis (Greece), Henry Kissinger (USA), Francois Mitterand
(France), Fr�re Roger, Communaut� de Taiz�
(France), V�clav Havel (Czech Republic) and
Queen Beatrice of the Netherlands. A list of the Aachen Charlemagne Award winners can be
found at: http://www.aachen.de/Karlspreis1999/preistraeger_alle.htm
The prize is
bestowed yearly "for the most valuable contribution in the service of the European
Union, and for community work in the service
of humanity and world peace. The award
winners were intended by the initiators of the award to be "role models who evoke imitation."
This year, 2000, the
Charlemagne award is to be given to President Bill Clinton. Unofficial English
translation of press coverage here:
www.alt-charlemagne-award.de/000422g.htm and www.alt-charlemagne-award.de/000422f.htm. Role model? Opinions as to whether
Bill Clinton is a suitable award winner vary
widely, even in Aachen. Unofficial English translation of press coverage in the readers' forum of the
Aachen newspaper:
www.alt-charlemagne-award.de/000302b.htm. We believe that there
are people who are better suited than Bill
Clinton to be publicly recognized for their accomplishments in promoting freedom of opinion
and a democratic life style. Because
President Clinton has, in some respects,
evoked more controversy and has not held himself up so much as a role model. From our
perspective, his liberal attitude towards
Scientology (SO) is especially controversial. "It's important we not
have [Scientologists like] Tom Cruise or
John Travolta setting foreign policy in this country," federal House of Representatives member Doug Bereuter
(R-Nebraska) was already saying in 1997. The first event in a
series of correlations between the Scientology Organization (SO) and Bill Clinton
was also the most effective weapon the
Scientology Organization has produced to
date. Scientology was granted tax exemption by the IRS in the first year of Bill Clinton's
presidency - for "religious" purposes. Since that time, the
Clinton administration's State Department has continued to fault Germany and other
European nations for their critical dealing
with Scientology, despite the documented
human rights abuses of Scientology in the U.S. and abroad. - In November 1996, Bill Clinton, President of
the United States of America, contributed to
an "exclusive" article especially for the
Scientology magazine, "Freedom." Clinton
afterwards let the article appear "exclusively" for 'Freiheit,' the Swiss
Scientology magazine, in "Ethique et
Libert�" and finally in the German edition
of the Scientology propaganda magazine under
the title of "What we can do about the drug
problem" (in the "Zeit zu entscheiden" / ["Time to decide"] edition, pp. 48). - In 1997, Clinton's National Security Adviser,
Sandy Berger, met with actor John Travolta
and other Scientologists to discuss the
German government's attitude towards
Scientology. - According to "George"
magazine 3/1998, President Clinton met
personally with Scientologist John Travolta.
Clinton praised the "educational" materials of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard: "Your
program sounds great", and "I'd really love
to help you with your issue over in Germany
with Scientology," he was reported to have
said in the "George" report. -
Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service reported on March 21, 1997 that President Clinton honored
Scientologist Tom Cruise's requests by
directing his newly confirmed Secretary of
State, Madeleine Albright, to schedule
discussions with German Foreign Minister
Kinkel about Scientology's claims of religious persecution in Germany. - In contrast, Secretary
Albright visited China that week, but there
was no indication that Clinton asked her to address the egregious human rights violations and systematic
abduction and execution of Christians in
that totalist country. - In a Dec. 22 1999 letter of "warm greetings,"
Clinton expressed gratitude to the
Scientologists for "all your efforts to
promote [religious freedom] and to build just communities united in understanding, compassion
and mutual respect." President Clinton's
public support for Scientology is not shared
by the American people or their congressional representatives. [photo: Joe Cisar, Vietnam veteran from
Cleveland, Ohio, and publisher and translator for "German Scientology News," reads
the text of the award certificate. photo:
Claudia Bartels
[page 10 BERLINER DIALOG 2 - 2000 - Michaelis
2000] Scientology's
actors and actresses, however, have been
appearing repeatedly before the U.S. Congress since 1997 in a concerted effort to worsen
German-American relations by adapting the
Scientology mind-set. Yet every bill they
have had their captive congress people introduce has either been defeated or has quietly died without
public discussion. A role model that evokes
imitation There is
one American who not only does not share President Clinton's predilection for Scientology, but who
has distinguished himself in resisting that
group's totalitarian tendencies. Among many,
who have recognized Scientology's mandated
practice of systematic reverse religious discrimination, there is one man who has
excelled: - in his
support of freedom of speech in accurately
reporting the activities of the Scientology Organization (SO) - in
assisting the victims of the Scientology Organization, - including Lisa McPherson's relatives in their
lawsuit against the SO - in having founded the Lisa McPherson Trust.
That is a man by the
name of Robert S. Minton. The Alternative Charlemagne Award Therefore the
European-American Citizens Committee for Human Rights and Religious Freedom in the USA
has decided that an alternative Charlemagne
Award will be awarded to someone who has
definitively furthered the cause of
democracy, freedom of opinion and freedom of conscience by reason of his actions. The person deserving
of this award is Bob Minton. More to read on Minton's
activities: 1. US
Millionaire Fights Sect -- Crusade against Scientology www.cisar.org/vid0006e.htm and www.cisar.org/vid0008e.htm
color=#800000 SIZE=2 DESIGNTIMESP="28710">
Feedback from the press on
the Alternative Charlemagne Award (return to Articles Listing)
Against all
expectations, the Alternative Charlemagne Award received encouraging feedback from the press. Naturally
the Scientology Organization, as soon as it
got wind of the idea, was on the spot with its Dead Agent Packs, managing here and there to funnel its slanderous
info into the news coverage. -- Struggling with the
sect Berlin, Germany May 27, 2000 taz U.S. American Robert S. Minton is to be
distinguished with the "Alternative
Charlemagne Award" for his struggles with the Scientology sect. The 53-year-old man is the chairman of the
"Lisa McPherson Trust." The presentation
will take place on June 3 in Leipzig's old stock exchange. (epd) -- Badische Neueste
Nachrichten Alternative
Charlemagne Award for Scientology Critic
from the USA
Leipzig, Germany May 31,
2000 Badische Neueste Nachrichten
(Karlsruhe)
by Achim
Winkel Karlsruhe/ Leipzig. On Friday in Aachen, U.S.
President Clinton will be presented with the
Charlemagne Award "for the most worthwhile contribution in the service of the European
unification and community work, in the
service of humanity and world peace." Another award, however, will
be casting long shadows in the forefront of
the solemn occasion. On Saturday in Leipzig,
the "Alternative Charlemagne Award" will be bestowed - and there is a direct connection to
the "original" for Bill Clinton. The recipient of the "Alternative Charlemagne
Award" is Robert "Bob" S. Minton, a
millionaire banker from the U.S. State of New Hampshire. For years the
53-year-old man has been dedicating himself to the struggle against the controversial Scientology
Organization. The arrangers of the "Alternative Charlemagne Award," which consists
of noteworthy sect critics called the
"European-American Citizens Committee for Human Rights and Religious Freedom in the USA" would
also like to give Clinton a sign. That he is
regarded as expressly friendly to Scientology: one of the first actions which happened in his term was
that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
exempted the organization from taxes because the organization allegedly had "religious
character." Rumors that the IRS was coerced
cannot be quashed. Clinton also received prominent U.S.
Scientologists (such as the actors John
Travolta and Tom Cruise) and promised them that he would urge that
the rights of religious minorities be
observed, mainly in Germany. By that was
meant Scientology, and Clinton's actions even today still have
brought diplomatic friction with them. Bob
Minton, in comparison, has been attracting a
little attention in the USA. Minton is the Chairman of the "Lisa McPherson Trust": he intends to see that Lisa
McPherson's mysterious death is cleared up;
she died almost five years ago. In December 1995, a 36-year-old woman was delivered to a hospital in
the north of Clearwater, the Scientology
stronghold in Florida. However the woman, Lisa McPherson, was already dead - died of
dehydration. Her autopsy showed that she had
not received water for days. In addition her emaciated body exhibited bruises, insect bites and scrapes -
indices of an unnatural death. Circumstances surrounding Lisa McPherson's death
are still coming to light - circumstances
that indicate considerable complicity on the part of Scientology (Lisa McPherson allegedly wanted out
of the organization) and which have cause a
rethinking to occur, mainly in the USA. While that is alarming for the organization in Germany, where
it is under surveillance by Constitutional
Security, over there it is business as usual for them. The "Alternative Charlemagne Award," even if it is
being bestowed in Leipzig, can still enliven
the discussion about Scientology even in far-off America.
[page 11 BERLINER
DIALOG 2 - 2000 - Michaelis 2000]
Accusation:
Scientology is conducting a hate campaign
against award winner
Opponent of the organization Bob Minton gets Alternative Charlemagne Award
Berlin, Germany May 31, 2000 IDEA Nr.
68/2000 (Ev. Nachrichtendienst
"Informationsdienst der Ev. Allianz" Deutschland)
Berlin (idea) -
The American Scientology organization is apparently ready to carry out a hate campaign against the award
winner of this year's Alternative
Charlemagne Award, Scientology critic and U.S. millionaire Bob Minton. That was told to "idea" on May 31 by
the Sects and Weltanschauung Commissioner of
the Evangelical Church in Berlin-Brandenburg, Reverend Thomas Gandow.
"With incriminating accusations associated
with business dealings, the Scientologists are trying to make an anti-Minton campaign out of an
anti-Scientology gathering " said Gandow,
who is a member of the Award Committee. Minton, who openly opposes the Scientology Organization, is
being placed in counter-point to U.S.
President Bill Clinton, who receives the "real" Charlemagne Award in Aachen. For instance,
Clinton authored an exclusive article for
the "Freedom" Scientology magazine and was said to have expressed praise for Scientology founder L.
Ron Hubbard's programs at a meeting with
Scientologist John Travolta. In contrast, Minton, who receives the Alternative Charlemagne Award on
June 3 in Leipzig, founded the "Lisa
McPherson Trust," an organization which opposes Scientology.
--
Over Scientology:
Criticism of the Charlemagne Award for U.S.
President Clinton
Hamm, Germany June 1, 2000 neue
bildpost, Nr. 23, pg. 1
by Bernd Evers
Contention over the
presentation of the Aachen Charlemagne Award: this year the valued distinction will go to the
President of the United States, Bill Clinton.
"It's OK to have a different opinion in regards
to Clinton's political accomplishments or
his personal conduct," said Reverend Thomas Gandow, Sect Commissioner of the Evangelical
Church for Berlin-Brandenburg.
As concerns his attitude
towards Scientology, however, there is no doubt: "Never before has a government done so much
lobbying for Scientology," stressed Gandow.
It is not just that
the organization received tax exemption in the first year of Clinton's term;
Clinton's State Department continually blames Germany and other European states for dealing with
Scientology in a critical manner. As a
reaction to the presentation of the Charlemagne Award, the European-American Citizens Committee for Human
Rights and Religious Freedom will be giving
out an Alternative Charlemagne Award: banker Robert Minton, who supports Scientology victims
in legal proceedings against the
organization, will receive it.
--
[photo sub-text: The Leipzig Brass Quartet
performed the classical music arrangements
of the award ceremony with pieces from Mozart and Beethoven, along with the anthems and the instrumental
accompaniment to the assembly's singing of
"We shall overcome."
--
Dispute involves
millionaire Minton
A
citizens committee squares off with Scientology in Leipzig and gives out
the first Alternative Charlemagne Award
[*Dresden, Germany June
2, 2000 S�chs. Zeitung Dresden
*Dresden is the
capitol city of Saxony, where Leipzig is located. Leipzig's population is greater than that of Dresden.]
by Thomas Schade
Today, U.S.
President Bill Clinton receives the Aachen Charlemagne Award. This distinction will also put Leipzig
into the limelight a little bit. Because
tomorrow at 11 a.m. in the Old Stock Exchange in the City of Fairs [Leipzig] an Alternative Charlemagne Award
will be given out for the first time,
presented by the "European-American Citizens Committee for Human Rights and Religious Freedom in the USA,"
which has specifically taken on totalitarian
groups and sects. Their members include sect commissioner Ursula Caberta from Hamburg and
Thomas Gandow from the Evangelical Church in
Berlin-Brandenburg. It is possible there will be a confrontation in Leipzig. That is because the
citizens committee, which was previously not
well-known, concerns itself with a widely feared sect, with Scientology.
The dispute was sparked by the first
recipient-to-be of the alternate award, multi-millionaire Robert Minton. The 53-year-old
U.S. American will receive the award,
because he "had earned it with his involvement, which was directed by courage and civic duty, in
society in the USA, which is at risk to the
totalitarian Scientology Organization," as the basis read. Minton
is regarded as a significant Scientology
opponent. He finances victims and former
members who disagree with the sect in court. He allegedly has already expended about three million dollars in
his campaign. It is said that Minton
transferred over 200,000 marks to an attorney's office in Clearwater. The office intends to obtain damages
from the sect of $144 million in connection
with the death of Scientologist Lisa McPherson. The 36-year-old woman died under conditions which
have not been explained. Because Minton
openly criticizes the sect, it has formed a front against his award in Leipzig. Top German sect members sent
an open letter on May 29 to the bishops of
the Evangelical State Churches in Berlin-Brandenburg and Saxony.
A demonstration is not out of the question
It was demanded of
Berlin Bishop Wolfgang Huber that Sect Commissioner Gandow be immediately dismissed. He
amounts to the "spiritus rector" of the
Leipzig arrangement. The letter said that the Saxon state church should "distance itself from the
procedure" and not take part in the award.
The sect called Minton "an international con man who caused massive harm ... in Nigeria." It was said that
the American became rich when he was deeply
involved in the restructuring of debt in developing countries. It was also alleged that 12 billion
marks disappeared out of over 200 foreign
bank accounts and that Minton was "the main string-puller," as Scientology claimed.
The sect has been rather busy trying to obstruct
the gathering. Scientology spokesman Georg
Stoffel from Munich verified that it had been explained what was planned there for the people
responsible for the Old Stock Exchange [site
of the award] and for the Auerbachs Keller [site of the reception]. He did not rule out a morning
demonstration on Saturday.
Thomas Gandow from Berlin reacted calmly to the
accusations. He said that, after all,
Clinton had received his award in spite of his affair with Monica Lewinsky.
--
[photo sub-text: Behind Bob Minton and Stacy
Brooks are standing, from left: Gerry
Armstrong, Canada; Prof. Alexander Dvorkin, Russia; Andrea Kuepker,
Germany; Rod Keller, publisher of "ARS
weekin review" photo: Claudia Bartels
--
[page 12 BERLINER DIALOG 2 - 2000 - Michaelis
2000]
Gandow:
No criticism of Clinton's life-style
Dresden, Germany June 3, 2000 S�chs.
Zeitung Dresden
Dresden. Responding to the SZ article "Dispute
involves Millionaire Minton" of June 2, page
2, the sect commissioner of the Evangelical Church in Berlin-Brandenburg, Thomas Gandow,
said, "The presentation of the 'Alternative
Charlemagne Award' concerns civil rights activist and philanthropist Bob Minton and his involvement
against Scientology. What we are reacting to
is the bestowal of the Aachen Award to U.S. President Bill Clinton, who is being criticized for his
support of Scientology. I was not making
implications about the life-style of the U.S. President" (SZ)
--
The new uprising for Scientology
Hamburg, Germany June 2, 2000 Hamburg
Abendblatt
by
Ernst-Gerhardt Scholz
What's good enough for Clinton is good enough
for Minton. Both have received a Charlemagne
Award.
Bill the
President received the international award and Bob the Banker received the alternative award. The former from
the hands of Aachen Mayor Juergen Linden,
the latter one day later in Leipzig from Ursula Caberta.
To keep things in
perspective, this Alternative Charlemagne Award has something to do with Scientology. Not only that,
but Caberta is the Director of the Hamburg
Interior Agency's work group which is involved exclusively with that controversial
organization.
At the
same time, she is also a prominent member of the "European-American Citizens Committee for Human
Rights and Religious Freedom in the USA"
which is backing this award. And why, of all people, to Robert S. Minton, who people call "Bob"?
Answer: because the Scientologists obviously
see someone who has grown into an opponent who is to be taken seriously in this U.S.
millionaire businessman. From his perspective, Scientology's being a "totalitarian
movement," thereby "working against
democracy," appears to be less momentous than the fact that he has to carry on his battle against
Scientology in the USA himself. Over there
virtually limitless tolerance is applied to all possible movements,
religious or otherwise.
Scientologists have had
to live with the resistance from Germany for years. The success of the information campaigns of sect
commissioners and - not least of all -
Ursula Caberta can be measured not only by the number of people leaving Scientology, but also by the
organization's apparently poor financial
situation. "They are practically bankrupt and can only keep their
heads above water with financial injections
from the USA," said Caberta recently at an
Interior Agency press conference in which Bob Minton also lambasted the image presented by Scientology of
"peace, joy and cupcakes." He said that
Scientology was anything but a church, was cynical and would destroy anyone who got in its way.
After Minton said that,
it rained Scientology press releases and a flood of open letters was directed at the Interior
Agency. All with one goal: to discredit
Minton and Caberta with him. That is one of the methods which Scientology has for handling discussion.
For instance, Minton was
accused of being an "unscrupulous money-grubber" who "personally lined his pockets
with several tens of millions of dollars
under the regime of the former military dictatorship in Nigeria - while the population starved."
Kurt Weiland, chief of
Scientology's intelligence agency, which they call "Office for Special Affairs (OSA)," did not let
the opportunity slip to write Hamburg
Interior Senator Hartmuth Wrocklage from Los Angeles and demand that Caberta be dismissed. He said that
what she was doing was a "continuation of
the Inquisition"; he said she hunted people down, destroyed their existence and was bringing
shame, not only upon Hamburg, but upon all
of Germany. He said that Caberta, who "gave con-men like Robert Minton the seal of approval from the
Hamburg Interior Agency" was "out of place."
Minton does not
dispute having discretely and for a profit bought back, with a partner, $4.5 billion of foreign debt on
commission of the Nigerian administration.
Nor that they made a profit with a nominal value of 1 percent ($45 million).
[page 13]
What he does not agree
with are: the numbers being cited far in excess of that, assertions that anything was fraudulent,
that he is being investigated in any way,
that bank accounts have been closed or that he profited from oil prices which rose during the Gulf War. He will
do in Germany what he has already done in
France - sue Scientology for slander.
All that, however, is only coincidental to the
members and supporters of the Alternative
Charlemagne Award committee. For them, only one thing counts: Bob Minton is better suited than Bill
Clinton for being publicly recognized for
supporting freedom of opinion and a democratic life-style. Specifically, they disagree with Clinton's
"liberal" attitude towards Scientology.
Ursula Caberta also
finds that the President, in the twilight of his term, "gives the impression" of being a "Scientology
puppet." Bob Minton, on the other hand, was
said not to share the President's "strange predilection."
Seen that way, the
Scientologists' excitement is understandable.
--
Alternative Charlemagne Award for sect opponent
Leipzig, Germany June 3, 2000 Der
Tagesspiegel
Jan-Martin Wiarda
The way the initiators
picture it, it is more honest than the famous original: the "Alternative Charlemagne Award" which will
be bestowed today by the "European-American
Citizens Committee for Human Rights and Religious Freedom in the USA" one day after the official
Charlemagne Award. "By holding this
ceremony, we intended to give a sign that, in spite of the Clinton administration, there are people in
America who think differently and who do not
swim with the Scientology tide," said Thomas Gandow, Sect Commissioner of the Evangelical Church in
Berlin-Brandenburg and member of the
citizens committee.
Clinton, who received the official Charlemagne
Award in Aachen yesterday for his merits in
humanity and world peace, was said to have met with celebrity Scientologist John Travolta in the
last few years, and to even have authored an
article in a magazine for the controversial community. Therefore the Committee regards the U.S.
President as anything but deserving of
distinction and now wants to honor the American Scientology opponent and investment banker, Robert Minton,
with the "Alternative Charlemagne Award."
Scientology went on
the offensive and brought serious accusations against Minton: a letter to Berlin Bishop Wolfgang Huber
alleged that Minton had been involved in
illegal money-laundering deals, "aided and abetted by a former military dictatorship and notorious human
rights violators in Nigeria." In this
manner, the investment banker was said to have bought back Nigerian debt at cheap prices on the world
market on commission from Nigeria and
without knowledge of credit bankers, causing damages in the amount of hundreds of millions.
Thomas Gandow described
Scientology's accusations as false. He said the "Lisa McPherson Trust," of which Minton is the
chairman, helps victims of Scientology make
their claims in court. He also said that Scientology has been using its accusations for years in a
campaign of slander against Minton. The debt
transactions were said to have taken place, but it served nothing other than the interest of the Nigerian
people. "In no case did Minton profit
unduly."
Nevertheless, there is doubt about Minton's
credibility. "Transparency International,"
an international organization which fights corruption, confirmed, without naming names, that criminal
actions occurred in connection with Nigerian
debt transfers. These accusations have also caused upset in the church administration. "We
are conducting our own investigations," said
Provost Karl-Heinrich Luetcke. "If it should turn out that there is anything to these accusations,
then that would be an annoying win on points
for Scientology."
--
Leipzig (dpa) - The U.S. American
Robert Minton received the first Alternative
Charlemagne Award in Leipzig. In doing this, the European-American Citizens Committee for Human
Rights and Religious Freedom in the USA
honored Minton's involvement in support of the victims of Scientology. The Committee intended
to create an alternative to the bestowal of
the Charlemagne Award to U.S. President Bill Clinton. >From the Committee's point of view,
Clinton's liberal attitude towards Scientology is controversial.
--
Robert S. Minton
Frankfurt, Germany June
3, 2000 Frankfurter Rundschau
The US American banker
will be distinguished this Saturday with the "Alternative Charlemagne Award 2000". Minton is
receiving the unremunerated award for his
struggle against the Scientology organization, stated the "European-American Citizens Committee
for Human Rights and Religious Freedom in
the USA" in Berlin. Minton is said to have provided Scientology victims with financial and legal
assistance. The award was a reaction to the
presentation of the Aachen Charlemagne Award to U.S. President Clinton, who allegedly openly supports
the Scientology Organization. (kna)
--
[page 14 BERLINER DIALOG
2 - 2000 - Michaelis 2000]
Alternative
Charlemagne Award for Robert Minton
Leipzig, Germany June 3,
2000 Leipziger Volkszeitung (pg. 2)
Leipzig (dpa). U.S.
American Robert Minton received the Alternative Charlemagne Award 2000, which was presented on
Saturday in Leipzig for the first time. In
doing this, the European-American Citizens Committee for Human Rights and Religious Freedom in the
USA intends to publicly appreciate Minton's
involvement on behalf of the victims of the Scientology Organization.
The unremunerated human rights award is in the
form of a sculpture of the Leipzig Nikolas
Church created by Leipzig artist Ruediger Bartels. The Award is intended to be an alternative to this
year's presentation of the Aachen
Charlemagne Award to U.S. President Bill Clinton. From the Committee's point of view, there is reason to
dispute Clinton's liberal attitude towards
Scientology. In advance of the bestowal of the human rights award to Minton, the Scientology
Organization has resorted to accusing him of
complicity with former military dictators and notorious human rights violators in Nigeria. He was also
said to have "defrauded banks in Europe and
the USA with illegal money-laundering deals." Minton has rejected these allegations.
--
First Alternative Charlemagne Award goes to American Scientology Critic
Leipzig, Germany June 5,
2000 Bild
U.S. President Bill
Clinton received the Charlemagne Award in Aachen on Friday. For his involvement in matters of peace,
freedom and democracy. On Saturday the 1st
Alternative Charlemagne Award was given out in Leipzig - criticism of Clinton and the USA.
Reason: their liberal attitude towards the
Scientology sect.
Clinton's fellow citizen, Robert Minton,
received the (unremunerated) award for his
effort on behalf of victims of the sect. It was bestowed by the European-American Citizens Committee for Human
Rights and Religious Freedom. The basis of
the award stated, "Minton recognized what dangers can arise for people and for liberal
democracy through Scientology."
The Alternative
Charlemagne Award will now be presented annually."
--
[pages 15 - 18]
page 19 BERLINER
DIALOG 2 - 2000 - Michaelis 2000 Study on Brainwashing in the Scientology's
penitential RPF camps (return to Articles Listing) On October 24, 2000 the
Berlin Dialogue Center, together with the European-American Committee for Human Rights and
Religious Freedom in the USA, hosted a press
conference in the cathedral in Berlin on the topic of: penitential camps and human rights
violations in the Scientology Organization.
At the conference Prof. Stephen Kent, University of Alberta, Canada, presented his
study on Scientology's penitential and
re-education camp (RPF: Rehabilitation Project Force). According to Prof. Kent's findings, the
totalitarian psycho-organization has private
penitential camps in the USA, Great Britain and Denmark. In these camps members who do not keep the
standards of the Scientology organization
are punished and, according to Prof. Kent's findings, are subjected to regular "brainwashing." The study by the
Canadian religion sociologist about human rights violations in Scientology's penitential camps is being
printed by the Hamburg State Interior Agency
as a booklet. BOX
The German-language booklet and the English
version is available in pdf format from: http://www.arbeitsgruppe-scientology.de/Brain.pdf
or htm from: http://www.innernet.net/joecisar/rpf1000.htm
The American Stacy Brooks, herself formerly a
member of Scientology and inmate of an RPF
camp, reported on her personal experiences which included punitive
measures such as heavy physical labor and
Hubbard's "study courses."
Robert S. Minton, a US millionaire who was
distinguished with the "Alternative Charlemagne Award 2000" for his efforts on
behalf of the victims of Scientology,
reported on the Lisa McPherson Trust which he established and on his goal, together with Dell Liebreich, the aunt
of the deceased woman, to explain by means
of civil law the death of Lisa McPherson, an American woman who lost her life five years ago under
Scientology "care." In addition to that the
Lisa McPherson Trust is also concerned about ending the continuing
human rights violation of the Scientology Organization.
Ursula Caberta y Diaz,
director of the Interior Agency's Scientology Task Force of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg
pointed out activities by the Scientology
organization intended at worsening European-American relationships. In connection with the French
government denying the Scientologists
permission to march through Paris, she praised France's involvement in the European discussion with the
Scientology organization.
The spokeswoman for the European-American
Committee for Human Rights and Religious
Freedom in the USA, Solveig Prass of the Parents Involved Initiative
against Psychic Dependency, Sachsen, Inc.
announced the Alternative Charlemagne Award
would also be presented in 2001. (see below).
[image] subtext: Press
conference in the cathedral. from left, sitting: Stacy Brooks, LMT Clearwater; Julia Bronder, Cultinfo
New York; Prof. Stephen Kent, Canada; Ursula
Caberta photo: Ute Gandow
Continuing Education
for church decision-makers
On the afternoon of October 24, 2000 the Berlin
Dialogue Center, together with Wichern
publishing, hosted a seminar in the Evangelical Center on
Georgenkirch Street, the church admin
offices of the Evangelical Church in Berlin-Brandenburg , for church staff and
decision-makers on the theme of "Scientology
- Challenge for Church and State in a new form of Totalitarianism."
The reason for the session, staffed with experts
and called on short notice': after the most
recent Scientology slander campaign against the Berlin sect commissioner, Rev. Thomas Gandow (among other
things Scientologists scoured files in the
press archive of the Berlin consistory for material incriminating
to Gandow and made accusations of corruption
against him in the Evangelical Church Diocese office in Hannover), a
church leader wrote him in self-critical language, "I can't get over
the feeling that we church people in offices do not have enough
information about the activities of the
Scientology people."
Discussion took place under the moderation of
Wolfgang Fietkau of Wichern publishing,
publisher of the BERLINER DIALOG magazine, and Rev. Thomas Gandow,
church commissioner on issues of sects and
weltanschauung on the themes: "Churches and
political institutions as targets of the SO"; "Experiences with the SO - Infiltration into state agencies and
others" [SO: Scientology Organization];
"Human Rights Violations and SO penitential camps"; "Black Propaganda and Dead-Agenting" with
- Prof. Dr. Stephen
Kent, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada - Stacy Brooks, formerly on staff of OSA, the
Scientology intelligence agency, and inmate
of a penitential camp, called RPF
(Rehabilitation Project Force) by Scientology. - Robert S. Minton, founder of the Lisa
McPherson Trust and bearer of the
Alternative Charlemagne Award 2000 - Ursula
Caberta, director of the Interior Agency's Scientology Task Force of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg
- Solveig Prass, business manager of the
Parents Involved Initiative, Sachsen, Inc.
Also in 2001:
European-American Citizens Committee
Award
This
year's human rights award to US citizen Bob Minton, the Alternative Charlemagne Award 2000
from the European-American Citizens
Committee for Human Rights and Religious
Freedom in the USA, has met with great
resonance on both sides of the Atlantic.
The committee which bestowed the award is
concerned with violations, especially those
by the Scientology organization, against
human rights and religious freedom. Scientology's headquarters is located in the
USA. In recent years, the totalitarian
Scientology organization has been able to
carry out its operations there, presumably with official government support (such as tax
exemption and diplomatic activities).
The Committee has
decided to again bestow this honor as early
as 2001 to some deserving individual who has distinguished him- or herself in the
trans-Atlantic aspect of the discussion with
Scientology about human rights and religious
freedom.
The
committee is currently deliberating recommendations. In January 2001, an award
recipient will be selected and announced.
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