Several weeks ago I was in Clearwater. Something had changed since the last time I was there. Hardly any more Scientologists running through the city - instead of that masses of busses which drove Scn-members from one building to the other, some only a few hundred yards off ...

Several Flag buildings were equipped with more cameras than buildings at high risk, such as the Israeli Embassy.

I made use of my visit to ask for return of my unused money from Flag. Unused money is, of course, my property, and it is cheap and right to give it back to me.

One would think.

When I brought this situation to the attention of the security guard in Flag reception, I was immediately directed out of the building and had to wait on a bench outside right in front of the Fort Harrison building.

I was told that an appointment would be made with Peter Greenwood, the "chaplain" of Flag.

That afternoon I came back for the meeting with the "chaplain." I was not permitted into the Flag building that time, either, but was directed to the first door left of the garage entrance. Behind that was a small room in which I repeated my return payment situation and presented the appropriate Flag financial papers. But the "chaplain" was less worried about saving my soul than he was pumping me for information - he asked over and over where I was living in Clearwater, who I was staying with in Florida, whether I had children, etc. He didn't stop until I got fed up and stopped him.

We made an appointment for noon the next day.

Since Flag sales are in the millions each week, I had counted on an uneventful return of payment. Sort of an early Christmas present.

But the "chaplain" was very monosyllabic and didn't want to say anything more than things were being processed; I was supposed to come back the next day. When I asked him what was going on, he commented that he had no say-so in the situation; maybe it would take weeks. He didn't want to hazard a guess as to how many weeks....

I can only describe this method of operation as malevolent. If I would have wanted to give them money, they would have accepted it immediately. The Flag ED and the papers I had filled out completely should have gotten me my money back with 24 hours.

I wrote a couple of letters to the authorities and to the Better Business Bureau from the Lisa McPherson Trust - I don't have to let someone, even a "chaplain," try to make a fool out of me.

A couple of weeks after I got back to Germany, our local DSA (Director of the OSA department) got in touch with me. Since he stated he wanted to give me a check, I met with him. 2 percent of my money was to be deducted as a "processing fee." I did not agree to that and I wanted some time to think it over.

At another meeting with the DSA I was ready to let the 2 percent go. I didn't want to make a big deal out of it.

Then I read the statement which I was supposed to sign to get my money back. It actually said that "in exchanged" for my money, I was supposed to agree to never sue Flag, its personnel or any registered legal church organizations.

Not that I would have wanted to sue. But to have to "pay ransom" to get my own money back, that was a bit much. Suddenly the words "duress" and "coercion"

spontaneously came to mind (although perhaps they are not absolutely legally correct). So I didn't sign. And I didn't get the check.

Some time later I had a telephone conversation with the DSA. He believed the statement I was supposed to sign was completely all right. He believed that I would have to abide by the rules of the "church." He also believed that the exchange - my own money for signing a disclaimer - was absolutely OK. (The appropriate exchange for me getting my money back would have been a receipt saying that I got my money.) And finally, he also believed that the Scn "Church" had the right to break applicable laws in the fight against their alleged persecutors!

One can only hope our conversation was overheard by Constitutional Security ...

"Give me your money! In return you get your life" - that is classic banditry: that includes pirates and thieves, bank robbers and highwaymen.

"Give me your signature saying you won't sue. In return for that you'll get your money" - that is a new form of banditry. I call that neo-banditry. I see the perpetrators as neo-bandits.

Robert SL, are you really not part of these neo-bandits?

Norman --- Unofficial translation/critical interpretation of German media, For
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