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970920-1045

US Senate Hearings on religious persecution in Europe

Washington, USA (VNN) - The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe held Senate Hearings on religious persecution in Europe on Thursday. Representatives of some religious groups testified before the Senate Committee. Amongst the witnesses were actor John Travolta and musician Chick Corea. Several European countries, like Russia, Bulgaria and Austria were mentioned to recently have introduced legislation to curb proliferation of so-called "new" religious groups.

Some European governments have established government agencies to investigate "sects" and "cults".

Many countries were mentioned but based on the witness testimony Germany stood out as the most blatant violator of the Helsinki accord on human rights for their government sponsored religious persecution.

A representative of the Christliche Gemeinde Koeln - Germany spoke of witch-hunt, bomb threats, harassment and revocation of tax free status.

Testifying on behalf of the Scientology church, Chick Corea, a international renowned musician, who regularly performed in Germany at publicly sponsored concerts, reported of German government agencies canceling his contract to perform in Germany and publicly pressuring other local governments to prevent him from performing in any concert in Germany. He told of a German concert contract including a clause threatening a $50,000 fine if he would as much as mention the word "Scientology".

Actor John Travolta, also testifying for Scientology, says that the Christian Democratic Union - CDU, the ruling government party in Germany, has banned members of the party from membership in Scientology. Government agencies, businesses, social groups and associations have so-called "sect-filters" banning memberships to Scientology. Applicants are forced to sign papers stating they are not members of Scientology. Even banks are said to be closing down customers accounts after finding out the customer's affiliation with Scientology Church.

Amongst other exibits he showed a German government publication depicting insects on the front cover - comparing them to "sects" to be "exterminated". He also reported of a boycott call by German government officials of popular movies featuring actors John Travolta and Tom Cruise for their affiliation with Scientology.

A former top executive of a german firm with branches in the US and other countries testified that he was fired by the company after his membership in Scientolgy was "discovered" by the company. He then requested a position in the US branch which was also denied by the company. He in fact could not find any jobs anymore in Germany after beeing black-listed as a "sect-member". One German head hunter eventually told him that he could not get a job in Germany while wearing "the star of david" sign. He eventually emigrated to the US and is living today in California.

Committee Chairman Senator D'Amado (R) spoke out against the current proliferation of hostility towards religious groups in Europe. He also promised to bring up the issue in his next meetings with members of the German Bundestag. Other senators spoke of seemingly benign beginnings that started the Holocaust in the 30s in Germany.

Currently a UN commission is on a 10 day fact-finding tour in Germany to investigate religious intolerance.

The non-representation of Vaishnava organizations at these hearings shows again the isolation and non-presence of the western Vaishnava organizations in the public arena.