CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY OPENS EUROPEAN OFFICE IN BRUSSELS

Launches Europe-wide human rights education program
Pledges to triple the number of social betterment programmes

(BRUSSELS) The Church of Scientology International is now officially present in the European Quarter in Brussels. Its European Office for Public Affairs and Human Rights was inaugurated with a 2-day series of events at 91, rue de la Loi, just down the road from the European Parliament and European Commission, in premises remodeled but retaining their neo-classical Regency style. Present at the Grand Opening ceremony were over 300 representatives from the European institutions, religious and human rights organizations and the diplomatic corps.

Special keynote speakers at the opening ceremony informed the audience of their experience with the Church’s work in the fields of human rights and religious freedom. They were introduced by the newly appointed director of the Church’s new Brussels headquarters, Fabio Amicarelli, formerly the public affairs and human rights coordinator for the Church in Italy. These speakers were:

Capping the formal ceremony, Kurt Weiland, a member of the Board of Directors of Church of Scientology International, explained that the Church’s decision to create a Brussels Human Rights office was motivated by a commitment to help create a social climate in which the rights and freedoms contained in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights can be realized. “We firmly believe that a threat to the freedom of any one individual is a threat to the freedoms of all,” he explained.

At a press conference, Mr. Weiland released the Proclamation on Religion, Human Rights and Society, the Church’s definitive statements on the vital issue of the role of religion in society; freedom of belief; freedom of expression; democracy; justice; church-and-state relations; freedom of information; multi-cultural society; parents and children’s rights, and many others. The 22-point declaration articulates the Church’s commitment to human rights and declares that “neither states nor religious groups possess the right to control, either directly or indirectly, a person’s religious convictions. Nor may states impede a person’s freedom to associate with or leave religious groups.”

Executive Director Amicarelli said the new Office will operate as a focal point for the Church’s human rights activities in Europe and will serve as a resource for those looking for help in their communities to solve drug abuse, illiteracy, immorality and crime. “In Europe, our Church currently sponsors 169 social betterment programmes. As part of our commitment to improving society, we pledge to triple the number in each one of the above categories within the next three years,” he said.

The building houses the first permanent European exhibition on Scientology, covering three floors and consisting of 750 displays. It presents the worldwide social betterment programmes that are based on the developments of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. The exhibition also describes the Church’s human rights initiatives and explains the fundamentals of the religion. The exhibition is open to visitors daily from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with guided tours available.

“Our Church has a long history of digging out and exposing human rights abuses so they can be eradicated, and this exhibition shows the evidence of some of those investigations,” said Rev. Weiland of Church of Scientology International. “This new office, with combined staff experience of more than 50 years in human rights advocacy, is a testament to the Church’s commitment to preserving human rights for all.”

Shown in the exhibition is an action taken to protect human rights that made international headlines in the 1970s when Scientologists exposed the existence and operation of black slave-labour camps in apartheid-era South Africa. Private firms and corrupt government officials were discovered to be drugging and imprisoning blacks for multimillion-dollar profits. Refusing to be silenced and to suppress publication of photos of the camps, the Church was subjected to heavy oppression by the apartheid government. When international bodies investigated and condemned the camps, the Church was exonerated and later received official recognition as a religion in South Africa.

In Australia in the 1980s, psychiatric atrocities committed in the name of “deep-sleep therapy” were exposed by Scientologists who proved that criminal psychiatrists had maimed, raped or killed many patients. Due to the work of the Scientologists, the psychiatrists were brought to justice and the practice was banned. For decades, the Church has taken a strong stand against the psychiatric labeling and drugging of children. Protecting children from such “white-coated dealers” has become as vital in the European Union as it is in the United States, where drugs prescribed for children have increased 37% since 1997, with 6 to 8 million children and adolescents now on psychotropic drugs for invented “illnesses”. Some parents have been forced by schools to place their children on prescribed psychiatric drugs as a precondition for their child’s education. The children are given dangerous psycho-stimulants, which are also known in the street drug scene and in sports.

In response to these concerns, in March of this year the United States House of Representatives passed 425 to 1 the Child Medication Safety Act. Under the Act, school officials are prohibited from requiring students to take medication as a condition of attending school.

Martin Weightman, Human Rights Director of the Church in Europe, launched a new human rights education campaign. As a first step, tens of thousands of copies of “A Guidebook to Peace Through Human Rights” containing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and The European Convention on Human rights, have been printed in multiple languages for distribution throughout Europe.

Mr. Weightman said that the Church of Scientology has successfully fought for human rights and religious freedom for people of all beliefs. He said the Church will now broaden its human rights education and social betterment campaigns throughout Europe. The new Brussels office is staffed with 12 persons from six European countries to coordinate these programmes throughout Europe.


Click here for the Announcement of Grand Opening on September 17, 2003