Alternative Charlemagne Award 2000

- Ceremony of June 3, 2000
- News Coverage of Ceremony
- News for 2001

Human Rights Award from the European-American Citizens Committee for Human Rights and Religious Freedom in the USA

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 sacredness and dignity of the individual. I believe that all men derive the right to freedom equally from God. I pledge to resist aggression and tyranny wherever they appear on earth. " (See: Berlin Liberty Bell broadcast.)

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.

Contact info: listme@alt-charlemagne-award.de
Pseudonyms include people with family still in Scientology.

Basic Charter text 2000

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:

The difference between the Alternative Charlemagne Award and the original Aachen Award

- Bob Minton or Bill Clinton?

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), Frère Roger, Communauté de Taizé (France), Václav 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 and here.

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.

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 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.

President Clinton's public support for Scientology is not shared by the American people or their congressional representatives. 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:

That is a man by the name of Robert S. Minton.

  1. US Millionaire Fights Sect -- Crusade against Scientology
  2. Bob Minton, Intrepid Representative of Sect Victims
  3. A US Millionaire as a Crusader against Scientology
  4. Charlotte Kates' history of Bob Minton
  5. Holysmoke's history of Bob 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.

English Text of the letter of condolence

The German / American Citizens Committee
on Human Rights and Religious Freedom in the USA
c/o Dialog Center
Heimat 27, 14165 Berlin, Germany

Letter of condolence to the United States Ambassador to Germany

Berlin, December 5, 1997

Dear Sir,

we wish to express our condolences to you and the American people for the death of Lisa McPherson, who died exactly two years ago on December 5, 1995, and to express our concern over the human rights violations committed by the US headquartered organization known as Scientology towards its members, including many US citizens.

Lisa McPherson entered Scientology in 1982. She became a model Scientologist who had paid over $175,000 in her last five years. On November 18, 1995, she had a minor automobile accident. She behaved strangely at the scene of the accident, even going so far as to take her clothes off in the street and to ask for help, and was subsequently taken to a hospital for a psychological evaluation. Scientologists quickly got her out of the hospital against the advice of the doctor, claiming that she would get "rest and relaxation" at the Fort Harrison Hotel (the „spiritual" headquarters of Scientology in Clearwater, FL). There, they claimed, she would be able to avoid "the psychs," a Scientology term for psychologists and psychiatrists, whom Scientologists hate with a passion.

17 days later, Lisa McPherson was dead at the age of 36.

The autopsy showed that the cause of death was a blood clot which had been caused by bed rest and severe *dehydration; the medical examiner said that McPherson had gone without fluids for five to ten days and was unconscious for up to 48 hours before her death; her hands apparently showed bite marks from cockroaches. The organization of Scientology, its attorneys and some of its members have stonewalled investigations by the police, her family, and the press. But documents gathered through a lawsuit started by her family show that she went through a terrible ordeal, during which she was held against her will and was illegally given the potent sedative chloral hydrate without proper medical supervision, while Scientologist clerks, librarians, and other non-medical personnel watched her lose her mind and her life. After her death, fellow Scientologists looted Lisa's bank account with forged personal checks.

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.

As German 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 German-American friendship for which we have all worked so very hard during the last decades. 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:

The German / American Citizens Committee on Human Rights and Religious Freedom in the USA
Deutsch-amerikanisches Bürgerkomittee für Menschenrechte und Religionsfreiheit in den USA

P.S.: We express our thanks to the 318 members of Congress who opposed House Concurrent Resolution 22.

*Dehydration was removed February 23, 2000

Signatories in alphabetical order:

Gerry Armstrong, now living in Canada, Artist; William C. Barwell, Houston, TX; Heidrun Beer, Schottwien/Österreich, Software Developer; Eva Beisiegel, Berlin, Politologin; Volker Benedikt, Villingen-Schwenningen, Teacher; Klaus-Uwe Benneter, Berlin, Notary and Attorney; Dr. Hans-Ulrich Berndt, Berlin, Studienleiter; Liane von Billerbeck, Berlin, Journalist; Jutta Birlenberg, Leverkusen, KIDS e.V.; Carola Burgtorf, Berlin, Biologist; Monika Buttgereit, Berlin, stellv. Landesvorsitzende der SPD Berlin; Ursula Caberta, Hamburg; Joe Cisar, Cleveland, OH (Vietnam Veteran); Forrest L. Cole, Stockbridge, GA, Refund advisor; Bernd Donatus, Berlin; Ursula Dyckhoff, Sociologist & city planner; Tom Elliott, Ontario, Canada; Dr. Andreas Finke, Berlin, Pfarrer & Wiss. Referent; Jonas Flygare, Schweden, Software Developer; Dirk John Fischer, Youngstown, OH, videograph; Thomas Gandow, Berlin, Minister; Ute Gandow, Berlin, Housewife; Marion Gerhardt, Berlin, Sociologist; Friedrich Griess, Wien/Österreich, Engineer; Thomas Günzel, Jugendbildungsreferent, Vorsitzender des Kinder- und Jugendrings Sachsen e.V. (Landesjugendring), Thomas Härtel, Stadtrat für Schule und Jugend, SPD, Berlin-Steglitz; Tilman Hausherr, Berlin, Software Developer; H. Keith Henson, Palo Alto, CA, EDP consultant; Ralph Hilton, Schottwien/Österreich, Ex-Scientology staff member; James Hornsby, CA, Student; Odette Jaccard-Fuchs, Zürich (Switzerland), Housewife, AGSD; Sandra Jamison, USAF AD/DW; Frank Kempe, Berlin, Student; Gerald Kluge, Meissen, Chaplain; Kurt Kreibohm, Berlin, Minister; Holger Kulick, Berlin, Publisher; Friedrich von Kymmel, Usedom, Pastor; Michael Laudeley, Dresden, AG Sekten des Studentenrates der TU Dresden; Jaan J. Leppik, Tallinn, Estland, Evang. Diakon; Stefan Liebke, Berlin; Dr. Paul-Stefan Mauz, MdL, Stuttgart, sektenpolitischer Sprecher der CDU-Landtagsfraktion; Ted Mayett, Las Vegas, NV; Klaus Mischke, Dozent, Berlin & Stockholm; Pfr. Ulrich Mühlenbeck für den Arbeitskreis Weltanschauungsfragen der Ev. Kirche in Hessen und Nassau; Winfried Müller, Jena, „religio" Data Base Administrator; Ehrhart Neubert, Berlin, CDU, DDR-Bürgerrechtler; Manfred Neumann, Berlin, Psychotherapist; Frank Nordhausen, Berlin, Journalist; Werner Penski, Berlin, Engineer; Christa Pirwaß, Berlin, Küsterin; Solveig Prass, Leipzig; Michael Reinig, Berlin, Personalleiter; Renate Rennebach, Berlin, MdB (SPD); Günther Ruhs, Leverkusen; Hella Santarossa, Berlin, Malerin; Hiltraut Schierenberg, Berlin; Helmut Schmidt, Berlin, Industriekaufmann; Dr. Albrecht Schröter, Jena; Anja Sikic, Schweiz, deutsche Staatsbürgerin Hugo Sopp, Berlin, Pastor i.R.; Peter Tautfest, Washington, taz USA Correspondent; Wolfgang Thierse MdB, stellv. Bundesvorsitzender der SPD; Dr. David S. Touretzky, Scientist, Pennsylvania; Eduard Trenkel, Kassel, Pastor Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Ullmann, Member of the European Parliament; Alfred Weinert, Berlin; Liselotte Wenzelburger-Mack, Großbettlingen, Recipient of the Federal Service Cross; Margarete Wittstock, Mother, Berlin. Prof. Dr. Hartmut Zinser, Berlin, Religionswissenschaftler; Ursula Zöpel, Leverkusen, Teacher

Beckstein Letter
The following letter came to us from Munich:

4. December 1997 - Gz.I F 4 - 0091.1

Subj: Letter of Condolence for Lisa McPherson of Dec. 5, 1997

Dear Reverend Gandow,

It is indispensable in the public discussion about Scientology to thematize the massive human rights violations of this organization. I therefore welcome a letter from the German-American Citizens Committee for Human Rights and Religious Freedom in the USA to the American Ambassador in Bonn addressing the procedures concerning the death of Lisa McPherson. For it is from the USA that numerous reports of Scientology's human rights violations are presented; the American security officials should finally investigate them. However I ask for your understanding in that it is not possible for my signature to be on your letter. Out of convictions of principal I do not generally participate in this sort of action.

I wish that you and the other signers of the letter meet with great response for your action.

Cordially,

Dr. Günther Beckstein, State Minister

Safeguards for Democracy

The European-American Citizens Committee for Human Rights and Religious Freedom in the USA has been actively engaged in strengthening human rights and democracy via the new technology of the internet. It does this by taking specific measures designed to counteract newly arising totalitarian influences in society.

Its approach to totalitarianism is based on a German concept which arose as a consequence of the Second World War. After Hitler's atrocities against humanity were revealed to the public, the German people were shocked to find out that everyday people could have been manipulated into supporting Hitler's inhumanity to man. Studies were done, and a checklist was made of characteristics which were regarded as indicators of totalist movements such as that of the vanquished National Socialist (Nazi) regime.

Today in Europe, citizens (and state agencies) observe and record totalist indicators of groups. It is not the groups themselves which are being judged, but the actions taken by the groups and the demands which are made upon group members which are being evaluated.

One such group, the trans-national Scientology Organization (SO), set off so many warning flags that it is currently under surveillance, not only by the anti-totalist sect commissioners and civil rights associations, but also by European equivalents of the FBI such as the "Verfassungsschutz", the State agency for the Protection of Constitution in Germany. In response, the trans-national Scientology Organization (SO) has poured millions of dollars and political clout into side-stepping the European safeguards for democracy which were painstakingly installed to ensure that the mistakes of the past will not be repeated.