Presentation by Rev. Heber C. Jentzsch, President of the
Church of Scientology International
to the
Discussion in Congress held by
The Institute on Religion and Public Policy
The State vs Religion in France
(cont...)

The International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights, one of the world’s leading human rights organizations, put the situation even more strongly, condemning “a manifold pattern of virtual persecution.” This March, my Church organized a public hearing in Paris at which members of minority religions described to an expert panel of religious leaders and academics specific instances of discrimination they had experienced in France.

We decided to hold this hearing because there was no forum available to members of minority religions to communicate their experiences, and shocking incidents of discrimination were going unreported.

More than 300 members of 38 different religious movements attended. Out of that hearing arose an alliance of minority faiths under the name: “The Coalition Against the New Inquisition”. This Coalition has now held similar public hearings in Lyon, Marseilles, Rennes and Auxerres. The testimonies from those who are suffering for their religious beliefs are extremely distressing. I would like to share a few of them with you.

To preserve the spontaneity of these accounts, I will relate them as faithfully as possible to the original, modified by translation and abbreviation.

The first comes from a young woman who in March 1999 was chosen out of more than 700 candidates to represent France in the prestigious Eurovision Song Contest in Jerusalem. She describes what happened next:

“Two days after the election, the local paper from Perpignan where I was born wrote that I belong to the Ral cult. More than 100 media reported this information, describing it as a scandal for the Eurovision Song Contest and stating that I did not deserve to represent France.

“CCMM and ADFI (the two main anti-religious groups in France) sent releases to the media every day and called them demanding that I be boycotted and officially prevented from going to Jerusalem. They even wrote to the Israeli embassy asking them to take the necessary steps so that I could not go. While in Jerusalem, I was the only singer to be constantly followed by an army staff with a machine gun. I appreciate the efforts of the Israeli authorities who tried to protect me from religious fanatics who had been badly informed by the French anti-cult movement. But to be constantly accompanied by someone with a machine gun is rather heavy for someone who, like me, preaches peace in my songs and my speeches.

“I was constantly followed by the French RG, the intelligence police. Messages on my answering machine were cancelled and I did not receive mail left for me at the Reception desk.” She goes on to describe how her friend was severely beaten up because he too belongs to the movement. As a result of this intimidation, her producers canceled her contract to produce two music albums, she lost another artistic project she had committed to, and her career as a singer is in jeopardy. Yet she says, “I will fight to my last breath if need be. We are citizens, not second-class citizens. We deserve respect and we must make sure that the rights of man are respected.”

The next account comes from a woman with seven children who belongs to a movement known as the Family, which she describes as a Christian missionary movement. Based upon false information from French anti-religious groups that the parents had abused their children, the police raided their homes:

“At 6 a.m., we were suddenly awakened as our house was surrounded by 50 members of the police force, armed to their teeth, with bullet-proof jackets and police dogs. They knocked violently at the door, and within a few seconds were in every room, holding the occupants with semi-automatic weapons. The police obviously expected to find us armed and dangerous although we oppose violence of all kinds. I wanted to rush to comfort my 4 year-old daughter who, sitting on her bed, was putting her arms towards me, crying. I was violently pushed back in my bed and the police yelled at me while a uniformed woman took my daughter by force from the bed she was holding onto.