Certainly Scientology poses little threat to society when compared to extremist groups that do advocate violence. Nevertheless the results are similar. Scientology is regarded as a potential security threat in various countries of the world, including Germany, in part because of the cult's readiness to destroy something as important as material possessions -- the ability to openly resist outside influence. Put more finely, the cult is well-equipped with a bureaucratic system of subterfuge specially constructed to evade organizational openness, fairness and honesty. While a victim of violence is more prone to loss of property or life, a victim of systematic subterfuge tends more to loss of mental capacity, especially loss control of property or life. Potential victims of both violence and subterfuge include people, organizations and governments.
The following annotated excerpts include a full section only on Scientology, are from:
1. Extremist and Endeavors by Foreigners of a Threat to Security 4 1.1 Islamist Terrorism 5 1.1.1 Al Qaida terrorist network 5 1.1.2 Islamist motivated acts of terrorism 6 1.1.3 Statements by the al-Qaida network 7 1.1.4 Executive measures and decisions 9 1.2 Islamist Extremists 11 1.2.1 Islamische Gemeinschaft Milli Görüs e.V. (IGMG) 11
(In 2001, cooperation was reported between the IGMG and both Scientology (see "Allah has another Plan") and Germany's CDU party (see "Flirting with the Islamists" and "taz report of September 18, 2001")
(There are 17 more sections, omitted, devoted to Islamist groups.)
2. Right Extremism 21
(Under "Right Extremism" Ursula Caberta's WASG party is mentioned several times. In this regard both the Right and the Left have a common constituency. German Revisionism has its own sub-section.)
2.1 National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD) 22 [...] 2.3 Die Republikaner (REP) 28
[The German Republicans are unrelated to the US political party. Because the German press tends to fault Republicans more than Democrats in matters of Scientology, even though major Scientology advances were made in Democratic President Clinton's term, there may be some doubt as to whether the German media cultivated a subconscious link between the two.]
[...]
3. Left Extremism 43 3.1 Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) 43 (This mentions the fusion of the PDS and WASG.) [...] 3.2 The German Communist Party (DKP) 45 [...] 4. Scientology Organization 53 4.1 Opening of "NARCONON Bayern e.V." in Ellmau, Tirol 53 4.2 Events 53 4.3 International Actions of the SO 54 4.4 Administrative Court proceedings 55
1. Extremist and Endeavors by Foreigners of a Threat to Security
Islamist extremism, especially the terrorist networks, continue to present the greatest threat to the internal security of western nations, including Germany. Despite the arrests or deaths of several high-ranking al Qaida functionaries, the Islamist terrorist networks continue to be operational. The conspiratorial conduct of alleged adherents of the Islamist networks and their not inconsiderable activities will have to continue to be intensely observed. The explosions set on March 11 2004 in Madrid with 191 dead and over 1,500 wounded, as well as the explosions set on 7 and 21 July in London with 56 dead and about 780 wounded show that even Europe will have to reckon with very serious terrorist attacks by Islamist extremists. Most recent events indicate that British, Israeli and American establishments are at most risk within Germany itself. There is no concrete evidence of attacks in Germany at the present time. It can nevertheless be expected that considerable danger of terrorist attacks by Islamic terrorists exists in Germany [...]
Police search operations in September 2004 and April 2005 of the IGMG regional center in southern Bavaria strongly affected the Islamist extremist IGMG. For this reason the IGMG may make efforts in the future to create an image that is less legally assailable. In spite of this, the IGMG has not credible put distance between itself and the positions of its spiritual leader, Prof. Necmettin Erbakan.
[...]
2. Right Extremism
The heavy points of right extremist agitation in the first half of 2005 were propaganda operations for the 60th anniversary of the Second World War and the rally in memory of the victims of Allied air attacks on German cities. During these operations, right extremists attempted to minimize Nazi war crimes and to present the liberation of Germany from National Socialism (Nazis) as a national catastrophe.
The National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD), with over 5,000 members, supports an effort to unify the right extremist camp. Through its entry into the Saxon state assembly on September 19, 2004, it won attractiveness for right extremists. Their strategy did fail, though, to add a victory in Schleswig-Holstein. The first difference within the "People's Front from the Right" propagated by the party emerged after this defeat. The NPD's miserable results at the state elections in Nordrhein-Westphalia made it clear that the chances of right extremist parties depend upon a special confluence or voting situations but are not consistent. Part of the reason for this failure was NPD's low ability to campaign in these German states on the part of both personnel and organizers. Behind that came that debacle, which tended to scare off voters, staged by the party in the Saxon state assembly. Moreover the NPD lost credibility among the public when it demanded measures against cheaper wages and the fact was exposed that they did their printing in an eastern European country where wages are cheaper. In light of the appearance by a new Left Party, an election alliance between "The Left Party.PDS" and the party for "Labor & Social Justice - The Election Alternative" (WASG), the NPD is concerned about its voter potential in the upcoming federal elections. The NPD is continuing efforts, in Bavaria at the regional level, to attract other right extremists, including neo-Nazis, into their politics of alliance.
[...]
2.1.3.3 Recruitment among potential Left party constituencies
Social issues have long been a central theme of agitation for the NPD and the neo-Nazis, whereby the NPD, "The Left Party.PDS and the WASG all compete for some of the same people. For this reason the NPD, as are the "Free Nationalists," is concerned about losing protest-voters to the new Left alliance. In view of this protest voters are gathering more strength.
Leading neo-Nazi Thomas Wulff, NPD member since fall 2004, published an article on the Internet on June 22 entitled, "National Socialists go into the WASG!" It said that the base of the WASG was in no way "antinationally limited," but was beginning to clearly express "corrections needs in German federal politics (including foreign labor and foreign affairs). He said the best example for this was the WASG "outrider" Oskar Lafontaine (a predecessor of U. Caberta's #1 man), who publicly called for the protection of German workers from "alien labor."
[...]
2.6 Revisionist memorial events
Right extremists try to exploit anniversaries of the bombings of German cities for propaganda purposes in ways that include settling accounts on Nazi crimes and demanding an end to compensation for the victims. The obvious purpose of doing this is to have the German people no longer appear as perpetrators, but as sheer victims.
On February 13, for instance, right extremists led a funeral march through downtown Dresden to commemorate the destruction of Dresden in 1945. About 5,200 people participated in the event reported by the right extremist "Jungen Landsmannschaft Ostpreußen" (JLO) (2,500 in 2004), including right extremists like Horst Mahler and leading neo-Nazis Thomas Wulff, Christian Worch and Thorsten Heise. At the opening rally in the immediate vicinity of the Saxon state convention, right extremist speakers included songwriter Frank Rennicke, former REP chairman Franz Schönhuber, DVU chairman Dr. Gerhard Frey and NPD faction chairman of the Saxon state convention Holger Apfel. NPD party chairman Udo Voigt spoke at the closing rally. In his speech, Holger Apfel described the joint appearances by Schönhuber, Dr. Frey and Voigt as an "impressive signal of the ever increasing will of the national camps in Germany to unite."
In recent years the JLO's funeral march has developed into an interregional attraction point for right extremists. Joint public appearances by leading right extremists is further evidence of the success of the NPD's "People's Front" strategy.
In Munich "Freundeskreises Demokratie Direkt München" director Roland Wittke held a vigil in memory of the "Allied bomb terrorism of Dresden", as he did last year. About 50 people took part.
2.7 Unaffiliated Publications
[...]
2.8 Skinheads
[...]
2.8.2 Skinhead Music and Skinhead Concerts
Skinhead music is an important medium among right extremists for ideology, agitation, as well as for recruiting new supporters. In Bavaria there are currently six right extremist Skinhead bands active, which sometimes appear in concerts both at home and abroad and publish recordings. These are the "Aryan Rebels" from Lichtenfels, "Aufmarch" from Ingolstadt, "Fadenkreuz" from the Cham/Roding area, "Feldherren" and "Endsiege" from Munich, as well as the newly formed band from Mindelheim, "Faustrecht." In addition to pure Skinhead music, Black Metal Music has also appeared, some of which contains right extremist ideology. Black Metal is regarded as an aggressive variant of Heavy Metal that follows anti-Christian or Satanic themes. Besides that, war, hate and destruction are sung about.
The number of Skinhead concerts has increased in Bavaria. While only six concerts are known to have occurred in the first half of 2004, ten took place in the equivalent period for 2005. Number of participants varied between 60 and 300. ...
[...]
3. Left Extremism
The Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) was renamed at a special party convention on July 17 in Berlin to "Die Linkspartei.PDS"/The Left Party.PDS. By doing this the path was paved for a leftist alliance with the WASG ("Arbeit & soziale Gerechtigkeit - Die Wahl-alternative"). No change in program was associated with this. The PDS continues to view itself as bound to "Internationalism," which is understood in the classic ideological sense as worldwide solidarity in the fight against imperialism and capitalism. The PDS has a great tradition of solidarity work with Cuba, and has taken up the relations of former East Germany with Cuba.
The national party convention of the German Communist Party (DKP) in February revealed that party leadership has lost significant acceptance. At the same time it came out that the DKP steadily maintains its ideological direction. The DKP views the election alliance between PDS and WASG as an appropriate cooperation partner and has therefore foregone having its own slate of candidates in the upcoming federal elections.
Fewer left extremists participated in the protests against the Munich Conference for Security Politics than the previous year, although several events were more aggressive. There were several incidents of mass disorder in connection with a memorial celebration of the "Krameradenkreises der Gebirgstruppe e.V." in Mittenwald and vicinity. The traditional Easter march lost ground again.
In connection with the events militant left extremists committed the most acts of violence associated with a single event, 18, of the 47 acts of violence recorded for the left extremists in the first half of the year. The rest of the left extremist acts of violence almost all occurred in connection with counterdemonstrations against right extremists. 27 acts of violence are said to have anti-Fascist motivation.
3.1 Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS)
[...]
3.1.1 Special Meeting of the 9th Party Conference
At a special meeting of the PDS 9th Party Conference on July in Berlin, 74.6% of the delegates voted to rename the party "Die Linkspartei" ("the Left Party"), although the suffix "PDS" was added at the federal level and in some state associations. The two-thirds majority needed to do this by law was thereby met and exceeded. This step cleared the path for the left alliance desired with the WASG, 81.8% of who members had voted for the alliance on July 15 and to be put on the Left Party slate for the upcoming federal parliamentary elections. On May 30 representatives of the PDS and WASG had met to negotiate this alliance for parliamentary elections.
At the special party conference PDS chairman Prof. Dr. Lothat Bisky called upon delegates to exploit a "second Party awakening." He said the "great coalition of the deconstruction of democracy and of the social state" would have to be opposed with strong left force. Several speakers, including Sahra Wagenknecht - PDS Europe representative, member of the party board and of the national coordinating council of the Communist Platform of the PDS (KPF) - said that the PDS acronym should be listed as a steadfast component and not just as a suffix. Delegates from the western German states, however, argued that it would be helpful for the campaign if they could appear only as The Left Party and do without the PDS designation, which does not go well in the west.
[...]
3.1.2 Solidarity Connection with the Cuban Revolution.
[...]
4. Scientology Organization (SO)
For the first half of 2005 SO operations continue to be slanted toward agitation against its observation by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution and against being mentioned in their reports. To this end the SO, in vain, sought dialogue with representatives from that government agency and from state interior ministries.
As it was last year, SO expansion strategy focused on establishing Hubbard's study technology in society in its alleged fight against failures in education and illiteracy. With this study technology, which is also promoted in tutoring groups, the SO spreads Hubbard's teachings to people without them knowing it.
The public relations offensive, based from its "European Human Rights Office", the SO began early in 2004, in which it offers Scientology solutions to social problems, was continued with the release of newly created brochures on the themes of "Protection of Religious Freedom" and "Through Reason to Honesty and Self-esteem." More publications on other socially relevant themes have already been announced.
"Alert International Inc.," an alleged human rights organization with offices in the USA, began a campaign of defamation against the Bavarian State Interior Ministry and the Bavarian State Office for the Protection of the Constitution, which they accuse of corruption and other statutory violations.
4.1 Opening of "NARCONON Bayern e.V." drug rehabilitation program in Ellmau, Tyrol
Founded in Munich in 2003 by long-term Scientologists "NARCONON Bayern e.V.", (NARCONON Bavaria), apparently due to local protest, gave up its plan to set up a drug rehabilitation program in Cham county. Instead, the association rented a former Alpine inn in Ellmau, Tyrol, to open a drug rehabilitation center in 2005. However residents of that area also responded with public protest. Local politician sent the constituents mass mailings to tell them about the dangers of Scientology's ideology. Whether the association will last in Tyrol remains to be seen.
4.2. Events
Most SO public actions took place in Munich and vicinity. The majority of the more than 170 public gatherings in Bavaria were organized as information stands at gatherings. The organizers for the most of these were the "Scientology Kirche Deutschland e.V." (SKD) and its front organization "Kommission für Verstöße der Psychiatrie gegen Menschenrechte" (KVPM).
The SKD advertised on the one side as it did last year with "Say YES to life - Say NO to drugs" and on the other side it used "For Peace on Earth - Dianetics leads to Peace" to promote interest in Scientology. The SO cover organization KVPM spreads reports about alleged abuses in psychiatry. These themes are intended to provoke a sensation to gain new members. For this purpose lists are set out at some events by which concerned or interested citizens can register, so that they can later receive more information.
In addition to these there was a nationwide information campaign for SO "Volunteer Ministers". Despite all Scientology's efforts there was little public resonance at any event.
4.3 International Actions of the SO
The "European Human Rights Office" of the "Church of Scientology International" (CSI) in Brussels continued with its information campaign, started in 2004, by distributing an information brochure in its series, this one entitled "Scientology - Answers and Solutions" to leading figures of Europe. Between its monthly release of brochures, the SO introduces several of its allegedly successful projects in the fight against drugs, the rehabilitation of criminals or in the fight for the protection of "religious freedom." The organization obviously hopes for increased recognition by having politicians carry its messages.
Alert International Inc., an alleged human rights organization with offices in Florida, has sent more than 80 Bavarian administrative staff demands to uncover corruption and other violations of law in the government. Addressees are urged to contribute to "law and order" by confidentially communicating evidence of these incidents to "Alert". In Alert's effort to obtain reports of internal government information, government staff are clearly being invited to violate terms of employment. By the manner with which this process is being carrying out the conclusion can be drawn that the SO has obviously succeeded in manipulating this alleged human rights organization for its purposes.
"Alert" also gives examples of how Hubbard's instructions are still implemented today. One of Hubbard's policies on dealing with "Suppressives " of 1996 says:
"People who attack Scientology are criminals."
"When one attacks Scientology, he is investigated for crimes."
"One is safe if he does not attack Scientology, even if he is not on its side."
In past years "Alert" has endeavored to put Bavarian businesses on the spot for using the Protection Statement, which Scientology calls a "sect filter," against Scientology. Numerous letters have also been written to Bavarian officials on this account which assert that the Bavarian State Ministry of the Interior discriminate against members of so-called minority religions.
4.4 Administrative Court Proceedings
On May 2, 2005, the SO appealed the November 27, 2004 decision of the Cologne Administrative Court. With this decision Cologne Administrative Court dismissed in its entirety the SO complaint to stop its surveillance by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (OPC) (Case: 20 K 1882/03). The court recognized that the observation of "Scientology Kirche Deutschland e.V." (SKD) and "Scientology Kirche Berlin e.V." (SKB) by the OPC using both overt and undercover means was just because there were significant factual indications that the complainant pursued goals hostile to the Constitution.
The Saarland Superior Administrative Court decided in an appeals hearing on April 27 that the observation of the SO in Saarland by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution was permissible, but on grounds of proportionality this could not be done using undercover means. It was cited in the grounds that there are less than 20 Scientologists residing in Saarland, and that these went to "Scientology Kirche Frankfurt e.V." The court had no doubt about the Scientology organization’s enmity for the Constitution.