Pravoslavnaya Gazeta (Orthodox Newspaper) -
Yekaterinburg Internet Version
http://orthodox.etel.ru/2002/46/11armstr.shtml
Scientology tried to upset the appearance in Yekaterinburg of Gerald
Armstrong, former personal secretary (officer) of cult founder Ron
Hubbard
Yekaterinburg, 11 December, "Pravoslavnaya Gazeta."
Canadian
citizen Gerald Armstrong is familiar with the activities of an extremist
religious
organization, as he said, from the inside. He was in one himself for
more than 12 years,
and even now he sustains a stream of attacks at his address from the
side of its
adepts. This so-called "church of scientology" which, with
approval of the
government in the USA, puts other countries under pressure, and calls
itself a religious
charitable organization.
According to Gerald Armstrong, Scientology doctrine directs
neutralization
of individuals and cultivation of group hatred. No activity occurs
without
monitoring by an intelligence service, financial big shots and corrupt
leaders. Its
basic method is black propaganda, which is the destruction of reputation
by
interfering with organzations, leaders and personal affairs.
The speaker illustrated with personal examples. When he was invited
to
Nizhny Novgorod last year to participate in a similar conference,
government and
administrative offices, security agencies and the mass media of that
region were literally
flooded with anonymous letters, in which Gerald was accused of crimes
and of anti-
religious propaganda, and in which the addressees were warned that
"his presence
discredits the reputation of Nizhny Novgorod in the eyes of the entire
world, and makes
the city a proving ground for incitement of religious discord."
Thus, leaders of this cult assert that they are fighting for freedom
of
religion in that they haunt people who, like Gerald Armstrong, tell
people about their
personal experiences. For each negative remark made about them, the
"
church of Scientology" sues. It's no different for Gerald, who
today can be
sued for more than 500,000 dollars in penalties for participation in
such a
conference. He's even threatened with imprisonment for telling the truth
about his
activities in this totalitarian cult.
Verification of Gerald Armstrong's assessment could be seen in the
attempts of the Scientologists to distrupt his appearance at the
conference. A
representative of the cult, a certain girl who was very excited, leapt
up on the stage in
the auditorium and began to demand permission to speak in defense of the
"
church of Scientology." And although Gerald Armstrong voiced
readiness to
discuss this with her, the reaction in the auditorium was much more
adament: "
The conference is not the place for a sermon from a totalitarian
cult." The
univited guest, in spite of all her fanatical tenacity, was escorted
from the
auditorium.
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