Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology Subject: Jon Atack - Report from Berlin, Oct 95 From: Joe Harrington Date: Sat, 28 Oct 1995 12:41:45 -0400 (EDT) Atack talks - October 1995 I have just returned from the Dialog Centre conference in Berlin. I was there to give the paper Scientology: Religion or Intelligence Agency?, which is probably on the Net by now. My own involvement with the Dialog Centre goes back several years and I have recently been appointed to its scientific advisory board I'll let you guess what I'm an expert on). Dialog Centre began in the 1970s in Denmark with the specific mission of rescuing victims of the guru trail in Asia. DC continues with this mission, offering Christian dialogue and help to travellers who have washed up in the prisons, hospitals and doss-houses of India and Thailand. Members of Dialog Centre offer Christian alternatives to yoga and meditation. Soon after its inception, the problem of cults at home became evident, and DC set about helping cult victims. I have given my support to DC because I am happy that it is not an evangelical group seeking converts, but a genuinely humanitarian group with a sound academic basis (e.g., president Dr Johannes Aagaard is a professor at Aarhus University in Denmark). Dialog Centre shares with Aarhus University one of the few major research libraries concerning cults. The Berlin conference was hosted by Thomas Gandow, who heads the Berlin Dialog Centre and publishes Berliner Dialog. Gandow has probably had as much to do with slowing the flood of cults into eastern Europe as anyone. I was only present for the first three days of the conference but managed to speak with many of the attendees. Academics and clergy were present from Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Austria, Russia, Germany, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France and England. Professor Alexander Dvorkin, who heads the Russian Orthodox Church's mission to cults, spoke about the incursions of Scientology into the bureaucracy, industry, medicine and the military in Russia. His alarming talk Scientology in Russia should be available on the Net in the next few weeks. While Moscow State University still houses the L. Ron Hubbard library, the plaque has been discretely removed from the door. The biggest scandal relates to children affected by fallout from Chernobyl being subjected to the Purification Rundown by former head of the Guardian's Office David Gaiman. Dvorkin says that there is uproar at one Russian sanatorium with accusations that test results were changed and that some children on the program ended up with pus filled sores (fununculosis). Gaiman however wept for joy at the press conference. German television has run a piece alleging that the children used to show the wonderful results of the program were in fact recruited in the Ukraine and paid for their appearance. None of them were victims of Chernobyl. The Greek Pan Hellenic Parents Association is currently fighting off a suit from U-Man Personnel. It seems that U-Man doesn't want its connection with Scientology making public. U-Man has won two suits in Finland, but lost a suit in Estonia. A Greek representative produced copies of a PTS type C declare, which he said was seized during a police raid, showing the Type C Handling Program purportedly issued by the Invest Handling Chief OSA EU (Office of Special Affairs Investigation Department, Europe). Hopefully, this document will make it to the Net as it shows the extreme control exerted by the cult on its members. The girl in question was orderd to persuade her parents to "disconnect" from an "SP". It has such instructions as the following: "tell your father that you love him dispite [sic] his vicious attacks against your beliefs." The order, which is four typed pages, scripts the entire conversation that the girl is to have with her parents, for example: "Alev [the supposed SP] is criminal in what he is doing. He uses parents to fight his own personal battle. Dora should state that as long as her parents maintain their connection to him she will not even consider to come back home." The Lyons case, where a scientologist industrialist leapt to his death in front of his wife and child, is still under investigation despite evidence which supports the allegation that Invest agents were somehow involved with the Mitterand presidency. Three people await trial. Meanwhile, the journalist who published purported telexes from Invest to a Mitterand aide, has lost a case, having refused to name his sources. The case is at appeal. In Germany, journalist Frank Nordhausen (co-author of Sekten Concern) has alleged links between Scientology and animal rights group NOAH. There are allegations that cosmetic producers are being blackmailed because under German law they have to do animal testing. If they pay money to a fund, they are not targeted by the activists. While in Berlin, I was also shown documents and newspaper reports concerning the withdrawal of Berlin state funding from Narconon in the 1970s. Quite a story! In the Czech Republic, a libel action has been lost by the cult. The Association for Religious Freedom has come into being headed by a scientologist with a Moonie as secretary. Strangely, a Mormon was also involved in the group. the Mormons tend to keep away from FIREPHIM activities. There is some concern about a new TV station, called Premier which is run by the head of Scientology's uncle. Premier received its licence very quickly and according to a speaker at the conference all new private stations must broadcast three hours of Premier programmes per day. As yet there have been no cult related broadcasts. Members of the Leipzig counter-cult movement spoke, praising Thomas Gandow for his rapid intervention after the wall came down. It seems that East Germany was saved from major influence by the larger cults, although there is a cult problem there. The Leipzig group has grown largely from the concern of young people. It has started to receive funding and now produces its own literature. I urged the necessity of joining the Internet discussion and staying in touch by email. My book of the month is Margaret Singer and Janja Lalichs' Cults in Our Midst. I will probably write a review next month. Jon Atack