News Coverage of Alternative Charlemagne Award 2000
- 20000605c Berliner Zeitung translation
- Alternative Charlemagne Award to U.S. American
- 20000605b Bild translation
- Alternative Charlemagne Award goes to American
critic
- 20000603f Leipziger Volkszeitung translation
- Alternative Charlemagne Award for Bob Minton
- 20000603d Frankfurter Rundschau translation
- Alternative Charlemagne Award 2000
- 20000603b Der Tagesspiegel translation
- Alternative Charlemagne Award for sect opponent
- 20000603a dpa translation
- The first Alternative Charlemagne Award
- 20000602c Sächs. Zeitung Dresden translation
- Dispute involves millionaire Minton
- 20000602b Hamburg Abendblatt translation
- The new uprising for Scientology
- 20000601c neue bildpost translation
- Criticism of the Charlemagne Award for U.S.
President Clinton
- 20000531d idea translation
- Accusation: Scientology is conducting a hate
campaign against
award winner
- 20000531a Badische Neueste Nachrichten translation
- Alternative Charlemagne Award for Scientology
critic
- 20000527a taz translation
- Struggling with the sect
Personal translation
- A brief history of Leipzig, focusing on human rights
Pictures from the
event(Off-site)
Also of note, the coverage on MDR (eastern German TV, broadcast at the
national
level) was Minton: 4 minutes and Clinton: 2 minutes.
And last, but not least, Real
Video of the event (off site)
HONORED
Alternative Charlemagne Award to U.S. American
Berlin, Germany
June 5, 2000
Berliner Zeitung
On Saturday, U.S. American Robert Minton received the Alternative
Charlemagne
Award, which was awarded for the first time in Leipzig. The European-
American
Citizens Committee for Human Rights and Religious Freedom in the USA, by
doing
this, intended to publicly appreciate Minton's involvement on behalf of
the victims
of the Scientology Organization. Minton did not want to accept that it was
possible
for this organization to silence all its critics and victims in his home
country
of the USA. He recognized what dangers could arise for people and liberal
democracy
from Scientology, said Ursula Caberta, Director of the Hamburg Work Group
on Scientology
in her "Laudatio." The Committee intended that the unremunerated human
rights
award be an alternative to the presentation of the Aachen Charlemagne
Award to
U.S. Bill Clinton. The award is to be presented yearly from now on. (dpa)
First Alternative Charlemagne Award
goes
to American Scientology Critic
Leipzig, Germany
June 5, 2000
Bild
U.S. President Bill Clinton received the Charlemagne Award in Aachen on
Friday.
For his involvement in matters of peace, freedom and democracy. On
Saturday the
1st Alternative Charlemagne Award was given out in Leipzig - criticism of
Clinton
and the USA. Reason: their liberal attitude towards the Scientology sect.
Clinton's fellow citizen, Robert Minton, received the (unremunerated)
award
for his effort on behalf of victims of the sect. It was bestowed by the
European-American
Citizens Committee for Human Rights and Religious Freedom. The basis of
the award
stated, "Minton recognized what dangers can arise for people and for
liberal democracy
through Scientology."
The Alternative Charlemagne Award will now be presented annually."
[Next to the article is a photo in which Ursula Caberta (member of the
committee)
is handing the Alternative Charlemagne Award (in the form of a sculpture
of the
Nikolas Church at Leipzig) to Robert Minton.]
Alternative Charlemagne Award for Robert Minton
Leipzig, Germany
June 3, 2000
Leipziger Volkszeitung (pg. 2)
Leipzig (dpa). U.S. American Robert Minton received the Alternative
Charlemagne
Award 2000, which was presented on Saturday in Leipzig for the first time.
In
doing this, the European-American Citizens Committee for Human Rights and
Religious
Freedom in the USA intends to publicly appreciate Minton's involvement on
behalf
of the victims of the Scientology Organization.
The unremunerated human rights award is in the form of a sculpture of
the Leipzig
Nikolas Church created by Leipzig artist Ruediger Bartels. The Award is
intended
to be an alternative to this year's presentation of the Aachen Charlemagne
Award
to U.S. President Bill Clinton. From the Committee's point of view, there
is reason
to dispute Clinton's liberal attitude towards Scientology. In advance of
the bestowal
of the human rights award to Minton, the Scientology Organization has
resorted
to accusing him of complicity with former military dictators and notorious
human
rights violators in Nigeria. He was also said to have "defrauded banks in
Europe
and the USA with illegal money-laundering deals." Minton has rejected
these allegations.
Robert S. Minton Frankfurt, Germany
June 3, 2000
Frankfurter Rundschau
The US American banker will be distinguished this Saturday with the
"Alternative
Charlemagne Award 2000". Minton is receiving the unremunerated award for
his struggle
against the Scientology organization, stated the "European-American
Citizens Committee
for Human Rights and Religious Freedom in the USA" in Berlin. Minton is
said to
have provided Scientology victims with financial and legal assistance. The
award
was a reaction to the presentation of the Aachen Charlemagne Award to U.S.
President
Clinton, who allegedly openly supports the Scientology Organization. (kna)
Scientology
Alternative Charlemagne Award for sect opponent
Leipzig, Germany
June 3, 2000
Der Tagesspiegel
Jan-Martin Wiarda The way the initiators picture it, it is more
honest
than the famous original: the "Alternative Charlemagne Award" which will
be bestowed
today by the "European-American Citizens Committee for Human Rights and
Religious
Freedom in the USA" one day after the official Charlemagne Award. "By
holding
this ceremony, we intended to give a sign that, in spite of the Clinton
administration,
there are people in America who think differently and who do not swim with
the
Scientology tide," said Thomas Gandow, Sect Commissioner of the
Evangelical Church
in Berlin-Brandenburg and member of the citizens committee.
Clinton, who received the official Charlemagne Award in Aachen
yesterday for
his merits in humanity and world peace, was said to have met with
celebrity Scientologist
John Travolta in the last few years, and to even have authored an article
in a
magazine for the controversial community. Therefore the Committee regards
the
U.S. President as anything but deserving of distinction and now wants to
honor
the American Scientology opponent and investment banker, Robert Minton,
with the
"Alternative Charlemagne Award."
Scientology went on the offensive and brought serious accusations
against Minton:
a letter to Berlin Bishop Wolfgang Huber alleged that Minton had been
involved
in illegal money-laundering deals, "aided and abetted by a former military
dictatorship
and notorious human rights violators in Nigeria." In this manner, the
investment
banker was said to have bought back Nigerian debt at cheap prices on the
world
market on commission from Nigeria and without knowledge of credit bankers,
causing
damages in the amount of hundreds of millions.
Thomas Gandow described Scientology's accusations as false. He said the
"Lisa
McPherson Trust," of which Minton is the chairman, helps victims of
Scientology
make their claims in court. He also said that Scientology has been using
its accusations
for years in a campaign of slander against Minton. The debt transactions
were
said to have taken place, but it served nothing other than the interest of
the
Nigerian people. "In no case did Minton profit unduly."
Nevertheless, there is doubt about Minton's credibility. "Transparency
International,"
an international organization which fights corruption, confirmed, without
naming
names, that criminal actions occurred in connection with Nigerian debt
transfers.
These accusations have also caused upset in the church administration. "We
are
conducting our own investigations," said Provost Karl-Heinrich Luetcke.
"If it
should turn out that there is anything to these accusations, then that
would be
an annoying win on points for Scientology."
Leipzig (dpa) - The U.S. American Robert Minton received the
first Alternative
Charlemagne Award in Leipzig. In doing this, the European-American
Citizens Committee
for Human Rights and Religious Freedom in the USA honored Minton's
involvement
in support of the victims of Scientology. The Committee intended to create
an
alternative to the bestowal of the Charlemagne Award to U.S. President
Bill Clinton.
From the Committee's point of view, Clinton's liberal attitude towards
Scientology
is controversial.
Dispute involves millionaire Minton
A citizens committee squares off with Scientology in Leipzig and gives out
the
first Alternative Charlemagne Award [*Dresden, Germany
June 2, 2000
Sächs. Zeitung Dresden
*Dresden is the capitol city of Saxony, where Leipzig is
located.
Leipzig's population is greater than that of Dresden.] by Thomas
Schade
Today, U.S. President Bill Clinton receives the Aachen Charlemagne
Award. This
distinction will also put Leipzig into the limelight a little bit. Because
tomorrow
at 11 a.m. in the Old Stock Exchange in the City of Fairs [Leipzig] an
Alternative
Charlemagne Award will be given out for the first time, presented by the
"European-American
Citizens Committee for Human Rights and Religious Freedom in the USA,"
which has
specifically taken on totalitarian groups and sects. Their members include
sect
commissioner Ursula Caberta from Hamburg and Thomas Gandow from the
Evangelical
Church in Berlin-Brandenburg. It is possible there will be a confrontation
in
Leipzig. That is because the citizens committee, which was previously not
well-known,
concerns itself with a widely feared sect, with Scientology.
The dispute was sparked by the first recipient-to-be of the alternate
award,
multi-millionaire Robert Minton. The 53-year-old U.S. American will
receive the
award, because he "had earned it with his involvement, which was directed
by courage
and civic duty, in society in the USA, which is at risk to the
totalitarian Scientology
Organization," as the basis read. Minton is regarded as a significant
Scientology
opponent. He finances victims and former members who disagree with the
sect in
court. He allegedly has already expended about three million dollars in
his campaign.
It is said that Minton transferred over 200,000 marks to an attorney's
office
in Clearwater. The office intends to obtain damages from the sect of $144
million
in connection with the death of Scientologist Lisa McPherson. The 36-year-
old
woman died under conditions which have not been explained. Because Minton
openly
criticizes the sect, it has formed a front against his award in Leipzig.
Top German
sect members sent an open letter on May 29 to the bishops of the
Evangelical State
Churches in Berlin-Brandenburg and Saxony.
A demonstration is not out of the question
It was demanded of Berlin Bishop Wolfgang Huber that Sect Commissioner
Gandow
be immediately dismissed. He amounts to the "spiritus rector" of the
Leipzig arrangement.
The letter said that the Saxon state church should "distance itself from
the procedure"
and not take part in the award. The sect called Minton "an international
con man
who caused massive harm ... in Nigeria." It was said that the American
became
rich when he was deeply involved in the restructuring of debt in
developing countries.
It was also alleged that 12 billion marks disappeared out of over 200
foreign
bank accounts and that Minton was "the main string-puller," as Scientology
claimed.
The sect has been rather busy trying to obstruct the gathering.
Scientology
spokesman Georg Stoffel from Munich verified that it had been explained
what was
planned there for the people responsible for the Old Stock Exchange [site
of the
award] and for the Auerbachs Keller [site of the reception]. He did not
rule out
a morning demonstration on Saturday.
Thomas Gandow from Berlin reacted calmly to the accusations. He said
that,
after all, Clinton had received his award in spite of his affair with
Monica Lewinsky.
Gandow: No criticism
of Clinton's life-style Dresden, Germany
June 3, 2000
Sächs. Zeitung Dresden
Dresden. Responding to the SZ article "Dispute involves
Millionaire
Minton" of June 2, page 2, the sect commissioner of the Evangelical Church
in
Berlin-Brandenburg, Thomas Gandow, said, "The presentation of the
'Alternative
Charlemagne Award' concerns civil rights activist and philanthropist Bob
Minton
and his involvement against Scientology. What we are reacting to is the
bestowal
of the Aachen Award to U.S. President Bill Clinton, who is being
criticized for
his support of Scientology. I was not making implications about the life-
style
of the U.S. President" (SZ)
The new uprising for Scientology
Hamburg, Germany
June 2, 2000
Hamburg Abendblatt
by Ernst-Gerhardt Scholz
What's good enough for Clinton is good enough for Minton. Both have
received
a Charlemagne Award.
Bill the President received the international award and Bob the Banker
received
the alternative award. The former from the hands of Aachen Mayor Juergen
Linden,
the latter one day later in Leipzig from Ursula Caberta.
To keep things in perspective, this Alternative Charlemagne Award has
something
to do with Scientology. Not only that, but Caberta is the Director of the
Hamburg
Interior Agency's work group which is involved exclusively with that
controversial
organization.
At the same time, she is also a prominent member of the "European-
American
Citizens Committee for Human Rights and Religious Freedom in the USA"
which is
backing this award. And why, of all people, to Robert S. Minton, who
people call
"Bob"? Answer: because the Scientologists obviously see someone who has
grown
into an opponent who is to be taken seriously in this U.S. millionaire
businessman.
From his perspective, Scientology's being a "totalitarian movement,"
thereby "working
against democracy," appears to be less momentous than the fact that he has
to
carry on his battle against Scientology in the USA himself. Over there
virtually
limitless tolerance is applied to all possible movements, religious or
otherwise.
Scientologists have had to live with the resistance from Germany for
years.
The success of the information campaigns of sect commissioners and - not
least
of all - Ursula Caberta can be measured not only by the number of people
leaving
Scientology, but also by the organization's apparently poor financial
situation.
"They are practically bankrupt and can only keep their heads above water
with
financial injections from the USA," said Caberta recently at an Interior
Agency
press conference in which Bob Minton also lambasted the image presented by
Scientology
of "peace, joy and cupcakes." He said that Scientology was anything but a
church,
was cynical and would destroy anyone who got in its way.
After Minton said that, it rained Scientology press releases and a
flood of
open letters was directed at the Interior Agency. All with one goal: to
discredit
Minton and Caberta with him. That is one of the methods which Scientology
has
for handling discussion.
For instance, Minton was accused of being an "unscrupulous money-
grubber" who
"personally lined his pockets with several tens of millions of dollars
under the
regime of the former military dictatorship in Nigeria - while the
population starved."
Kurt Weiland, chief of Scientology's intelligence agency, which they
call "Office
for Special Affairs (OSA)," did not let the opportunity slip to write
Hamburg
Interior Senator Hartmuth Wrocklage from Los Angeles and demand that
Caberta be
dismissed. He said that what she was doing was a "continuation of the
Inquisition";
he said she hunted people down, destroyed their existence and was bringing
shame,
not only upon Hamburg, but upon all of Germany. He said that Caberta, who
"gave
con-men like Robert Minton the seal of approval from the Hamburg Interior
Agency"
was "out of place."
Minton does not dispute having discretely and for a profit bought back,
with
a partner, $4.5 billion of foreign debt on commission of the Nigerian
administration.
Nor that they made a profit with a nominal value of 1 percent ($45
million).
What he does not agree with are: the numbers being cited far in excess
of that,
assertions that anything was fraudulent, that he is being investigated in
any
way, that bank accounts have been closed or that he profited from oil
prices which
rose during the Gulf War. He will do in Germany what he has already done
in France
- sue Scientology for slander.
All that, however, is only coincidental to the members and supporters
of the
Alternative Charlemagne Award committee. For them, only one thing counts:
Bob
Minton is better suited than Bill Clinton for being publicly recognized
for supporting
freedom of opinion and a democratic life-style. Specifically, they
disagree with
Clinton's "liberal" attitude towards Scientology.
Ursula Caberta also finds that the President, in the twilight of his
term,
"gives the impression" of being a "Scientology puppet." Bob Minton, on the
other
hand, was said not to share the President's "strange predilection."
Seen that way, the Scientologists' excitement is understandable.
Scientology: Criticism of the Charlemagne Award
for U.S.
President Clinton Hamm, Germany
June 1, 2000
neue bildpost, Nr. 23, pg. 1
by Bernd Evers Contention over the presentation of the Aachen
Charlemagne
Award: this year the valued distinction will go to the President of the
United
States, Bill Clinton.
"It's OK to have a different opinion in regards to Clinton's political
accomplishments
or his personal conduct," said Reverend Thomas Gandow, Sect Commissioner
of the
Evangelical Church for Berlin-Brandenburg.
As concerns his attitude towards Scientology, however, there is no
doubt: "Never
before has a government done so much lobbying for Scientology," stressed
Gandow.
It is not just that the organization received tax exemption in the
first year
of Clinton's term; Clinton's State Department continually blames Germany
and other
European states for dealing with Scientology in a critical manner. As a
reaction
to the presentation of the Charlemagne Award, the European-American
Citizens Committee
for Human Rights and Religious Freedom will be giving out an Alternative
Charlemagne
Award: banker Robert Minton, who supports Scientology victims in legal
proceedings
against the organization, will receive it.
Accusation: Scientology is conducting a hate
campaign against
award winner
Opponent of the organization Bob Minton gets
Alternative Charlemagne
Award
Berlin, Germany
May 31, 2000
IDEA Nr. 68/2000
(Ev. Nachrichtendienst "Informationsdienst der Ev. Allianz" Deutschland)
Berlin (idea) - The American Scientology organization is
apparently
ready to carry out a hate campaign against the award winner of this year's
Alternative
Charlemagne Award, Scientology critic and U.S. millionaire Bob Minton.
That was
told to "idea" on May 31 by the Sects and Weltanschauung Commissioner of
the Evangelical
Church in Berlin-Brandenburg, Reverend Thomas Gandow. "With incriminating
accusations
associated with business dealings, the Scientologists are trying to make
an anti-Minton
campaign out of an anti-Scientology gathering " said Gandow, who is a
member of
the Award Committee. Minton, who openly opposes the Scientology
Organization,
is being placed in counter-point to U.S. President Bill Clinton, who
receives
the "real" Charlemagne Award in Aachen. For instance, Clinton authored an
exclusive
article for the "Freedom" Scientology magazine and was said to have
expressed
praise for Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard's programs at a meeting with
Scientologist
John Travolta. In contrast, Minton, who receives the Alternative
Charlemagne Award
on June 3 in Leipzig, founded the "Lisa McPherson Trust," an organization
which
opposes Scientology.
Badische Neueste Nachrichten
Alternative Charlemagne Award for Scientology Critic
from the
USA
Leipzig, Germany
May 31, 2000
Badische Neueste Nachrichten (Karlsruhe)
by Achim Winkel
Karlsruhe/ Leipzig. On Friday in Aachen, U.S. President Clinton
will
be presented with the Charlemagne Award "for the most worthwhile
contribution
in the service of the European unification and community work, in the
service
of humanity and world peace." Another award, however, will be casting long
shadows
in the forefront of the solemn occasion. On Saturday in Leipzig, the
"Alternative
Charlemagne Award" will be bestowed - and there is a direct connection to
the
"original" for Bill Clinton. The recipient of the "Alternative Charlemagne
Award"
is Robert "Bob" S. Minton, a millionaire banker from the U.S. State of New
Hampshire.
For years the 53-year-old man has been dedicating himself to the
struggle against
the controversial Scientology Organization. The arrangers of the
"Alternative
Charlemagne Award," which consists of noteworthy sect critics called the
"European-American
Citizens Committee for Human Rights and Religious Freedom in the USA"
would also
like to give Clinton a sign. That he is regarded as expressly friendly to
Scientology:
one of the first actions which happened in his term was that the Internal
Revenue
Service (IRS) exempted the organization from taxes because the
organization allegedly
had "religious character." Rumors that the IRS was coerced cannot be
quashed.
Clinton also received prominent U.S. Scientologists (such as the actors
John
Travolta and Tom Cruise) and promised them that he would urge that the
rights
of religious minorities be observed, mainly in Germany. By that was meant
Scientology,
and Clinton's actions even today still have brought diplomatic friction
with them.
Bob Minton, in comparison, has been attracting a little attention in the
USA.
Minton is the Chairman of the "Lisa McPherson Trust": he intends to see
that Lisa
McPherson's mysterious death is cleared up; she died almost five years
ago. In
December 1995, a 36-year-old woman was delivered to a hospital in the
north of
Clearwater, the Scientology stronghold in Florida. However the woman, Lisa
McPherson,
was already dead - died of dehydration. Her autopsy showed that she had
not received
water for days. In addition her emaciated body exhibited bruises, insect
bites
and scrapes - indices of an unnatural death.
Circumstances surrounding Lisa McPherson's death are still coming to
light
- circumstances that indicate considerable complicity on the part of
Scientology
(Lisa McPherson allegedly wanted out of the organization) and which have
cause
a rethinking to occur, mainly in the USA. While that is alarming for the
organization
in Germany, where it is under surveillance by Constitutional Security,
over there
it is business as usual for them. The "Alternative Charlemagne Award,"
even if
it is being bestowed in Leipzig, can still enliven the discussion about
Scientology
even in far-off America.
in Brief
Alternative Charlemagne Award
Struggling with the sect
Berlin, Germany
May 27, 2000
taz
U.S. American Robert S. Minton is to be distinguished with the
"Alternative
Charlemagne Award" for his struggles with the Scientology sect. The 53-
year-old
man is the chairman of the "Lisa McPherson Trust." The presentation will
take
place on June 3 in Leipzig's old stock exchange. (epd)
A
short history of Leipzig, focusing on human rights.
"I'm coming to Leipzig, to a place where one can see the whole world in
miniature."
- Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729-1781) This statement is still true today,
as
can be seen by anybody who takes a walk downtown.
Leipzig, population approx half million, is a city of commerce which
lies on
two ancient Roman trans-European roads. The east-west road is the old Via
Imperii
(Imperial Road) and runs from Flanders to Nishniy Novgorod. The north-
south road
runs from Rostock to Venice (Via Regia / Royal Road). It is recorded that
the
city was given a similiar-sounding name, Lipsk, in the 7th century by the
Sorbisch
Slavs.
200 years later, a fortification was established there to secure the
eastern
expansion of the empire of the Christian Franks (Regnum Francorum). In
1165, the
Margrave of Meissen (where they make the porcelain), known as "Otto the
Rich"
(he made a fortune in silver), granted the village of 500 a charter as a
city
and as a market.
In 1409, refugees from Prague founded the university at Leipzig (today
has
24,000 students; it is in the downtown area). In 1481, the first book was
printed
there, at which time the population was 9,000. In 1632, 1/5 of the 20,000
people
in Leipzig died from war and the plague. In 1687, one of the first
European stock
markets was opened up (That is where Bob Minton received the Alternative
Charlemagne
Award), and in 1723, Johann Sebastian Bach became the cantor at Thomas
Church
in Leipzig.
In 1826, Friedrich Brockhaus started the first steam-powered press.
That is
when some trouble started. The people is Leipzig who ran the press
supported a
democratic system (a worker's party) and they were persecuted by pro-
monarchy
censors, as were many other anti-monarchists in Europe at the time.
Woman's Emancipation got a head start in Leipzig in 1865 with the
founding
of the German Women's Association
After WWI, in 1923, Leipzig was the only large German city to have
established
mass trade with the USA. A few years later, the Leipzig fair was the
largest of
its kind (Leipzig now has about 20 fairs a year with a huge, multi-
building fair
grounds.)
Depression hit in 1929, and in 1933, the structure of the democratic
workers
party was destroyed by the Nazis; hundreds of party functionaries were
sent to
prison and to concentration camps. Leipzig was a center of resistance
against
the Nazis. Mayor Carl Goerdeler was supposed to have become Reich's
Chancellor
in the new regime after Hitler's assassination. The assassination failed.
Goerdeler
was arrested and executed in February 1945, several days after George
Schumann,
the leading functionary of the communist resistance in Leipzig, was
executed.
By 1945, only 200 Jews were left in Leipzig of the 19,500 who had lived
there
in 1933. 1944-1945, about 11,000 bombs killed about 6,000 residents and
destroyed
about 1/6 of the buildings. On July 2, 1945, the Americans withdrew from
Leipzig,
taking patents and scientists with them. The Russians did pretty much the
same
after that.
The Nicholas Church was named for St. Nicholas, who is the patron saint
of
commerce (also of sailors). The church became famous as the birth place of
civil
rights in former East Germany. Father Fuehrer (his real name) held Monday
night
services there at which more and more people attended, demonstrating for
freedom.
Eventually hundreds of thousands people joined the rallies which led to
serious
demoralization of the Stasi regime. The walls of the church include parts
of the
walls of a chapel built a thousand years before when the area was first
fortified.
Leipzig is a boom town of Saxony. It is sometimes called "LE" (sounds
like
"LA" - Los Angeles) and has a wide range of people and cultures. |