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New Group Formed
Violations of human rights, initiated by German government officials at local, state and federal levels, have galvanized individuals and organizations to come forward with information documenting a pattern and practice of persecution of minorities. In response, a coalition, known as Freedom for Religion in Germany (FRG), has formed to monitor and report on human rights abuses. Muslims, Buddhists, Christians, Turks and Hindus are among the groups represented.
Based in Washington, D.C., they will undertake fact-finding missions, publish reports and other steps intended to bring the truth to light and help bring the abuses to an end.
“These abuses clearly place Germany in violation of international human rights accords,” said FRG coordinator Rev. Susan Taylor. “The situation is intolerable and must end. The FRG coalition will continue its work until it does.”
Other human rights groups continue to register their protest. New condemnation of Germany’s policy of discrimination came from one of the most prestigious human rights bodies in the world, the Human Rights Centre of the University of Essex, England. “In Germany, democracy is used as an ideology to impose conformity,” says the report. “The [German] authorities condone and actively support discrimination against Scientologists in the private sector, with the aim of excluding Scientologists from economic life and reducing the social and financial support for members and their families which comes from earning income or engaging in business ... self-declarations and dissociations are part of the intolerance.”
It is certainly appropriate that concern and outrage over the present state of affairs in Germany is growing. But just as it is apparent in the United States and around the world that something is highly amiss, it is equally clear that this perception has yet to sink in within Germany—and that the abuses continue.
“Germany is unquestionably a leader in Europe,” says Leisa Goodman of the Church of Scientology International, “and this makes the government-sanctioned discrimination and harrassment all the more intolerable.
“This isn’t an issue on which anyone can really stay ‘on the sidelines.’ That it must be brought to an end is a necessity not only for the good of Germany and Europe but for the world at large.”
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WHAT YOU CAN DO
If you are concerned about human rights violations in Germany, make your voice heard. Write to GERMANY ALERT, 1701 20th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20009. For more information call (202) 667-6404 or write to the above address.
If on the Internet, visit
E-mail: germany@freedommag.org
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