-
From: German_Scn_News <german_scn_news@hotmail.com>
Subject: 2001 Leipzig Award winner announced
Date: Sat, 24 Feb 2001 08:01:12 -0500
Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.3.96.1010224074923.120B-100000@darkstar.zippy>
2001 Leipzig Award
PRESS RELEASE
Committee announces award decision:
European-American Committee's Human Rights Award
(initiated as the "Alternative Charlemagne Award" in 2000)
goes to German politician for 2001
European-American Citizens Committee
for Human Rights and Religious Freedom in the USA
c/o Dialog Zentrum Berlin, Heimat 27, 14165 Berlin;
e-mail: info@leipzig-award.de
February 24, 2001
Leipzig
2001 Award Winner: Norbert Bluem
This year in Leipzig, the home city of the East German civil
rights movement, the European-American Citizens Committee
for Human Rights and Religious Freedom will celebrate its
second human rights award with Dr. Norbert Bluem. Dr.
Norbert Bluem will receive the award for implementing and championing the causes of human rights and religious freedom in the discussion about the totalitarian Scientology Organization. The award this year will once again be crafted by Leipzig artist Ruediger Bartels, and will be presented to Dr. Norbert Bluem at an award ceremony in Leipzig early this summer. (A brief history of Dr. Norbert Bluem is attached.) The international "European-American Citizens Committee for Human Rights and Religious Freedom in the USA"
(http://www.alt-charlemagne-award.de) which selected the the award winner is concerned from a trans-Atlantic perspective about violations of human rights and of religious freedom by the Scientology Organization. The headquarters of the Scientology Organization (SO) is located in the USA.
In recent years the totalitarian SO has been able to conduct its activities from there with ostensible government support, including tax exemption and diplomatically-sponsored activities. In its approach to new totalitarian organizations, the Award Committee is led by the same spirit in which 17 million Americans, in the 1950 dedication of the Berlin Liberty Bell, signed their names to the words: "I believe in the inviolability and dignity of every individual person. I believe that God gave each human being the same right of freedom. I promise that I will combat tyranny and every attack on freedom, wherever on earth they appear." SO violates human dignity A statement by the Award Committee reads, "As Europeans and as U.S. citizens, we are concerned about the Scientology Organization's (SO) attacks on the human dignity and lives not only of its members, but also of its critics. The SO, which is responsible for the last agonizing 17 days of Lisa McPherson's life (USA), for the financial ruin of the Aigner family (Germany) and for the tragic death of Patrick Vic (France), has been making an effort to damage the European-American friendship for which so many have worked so hard in recent decades. There are also many people in the USA who resist Scientology's claims to power."
In continuation of the "Alternate Charlemagne Award"
In 2000 US citizen Robert S. Minton, the founder of the Lisa McPherson Trust, was presented in Leipzig with this human rights award, formerly called the "Alternate Charlemagne Award 2000." Millionaire and philanthropist Minton was distinguished by the Award Committee for his deeds in the struggle for human rights and religious freedom in the USA, particularly for his financial aid to those stricken by Scientology in the courts (http://www.alt-charlemagne-award.de). --- The Award Committee: Gerry Armstrong, artist; Ursula Caberta, director of the Task Force on Scientology, Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg; Joe Cisar, Cleveland, Ohio, Vietnam veteran; Professor Dr. Alexander Dvorkin, Moscow, Russia, Director of the St. Irenaeus-of-Lyon Center; Rev. Thomas Gandow, Berlin, Germany, editor of the Berlin Dialog magazine; Mike Garde, Dublin, Ireland, Dialog Centre Eire; Roger Gonnet, Paris, France, author; Friedrich Griess, Vienna, Austria, engineer, press spokesman of the "Gesellschaft gegen Kultgefahren"; Tilman Hausherr, Berlin, Germany, software developer; Solveig Prass, Leipzig, Germany, EBI Leipzig; Professor Dr. Johannes Aagaard, Aarhus, Denmark, President of the Dialog Center International (DCI) Contact and editors in chief per press law:
Solveig Prass c/o EBI Sachsen, Lessingstr. 7, 04109 Leipzig, phone & fax 0341-6891590, mail@ebi-sachsen.de, and Rev. Thomas Gandow of Dialog Zentrum Berlin, Heimat 27, 14165 Berlin, info@leipzig-award.de --- Brief History Dr. Norbert Bluem, (married, three children) July 21, 1935 - born in Ruesselsheim on the Main 1941 - 1949 - primary school 1949 - 1957 - tool maker at Opel Inc. in Ruesselsheim 1950 - 1957 - member of the Ruesselsheim Opel Inc. Youth Delegation from 1952 - chairman of the above delegation 1957 - 1961 - Mainz evening school; employed during this time in construction and as a truck driver 1961 - qualifications for university entrance 1961 - 1967 - Studying philosophy, germanistics, history, theology 1967 - Doctorate of Philosophy 1965 - 1968 - editor of the "Soziale Ordnung" magazine 1968 - 1975 - chief business manager of the welfare committee of the Christian-Democrat employees union since 1969 - member of the CDU federal committee 1972 - 1981 - member of the German Parliament 1974 - 1977 - state chairman of the welfare committee of the Christian-Democrat employees union of Rheinland-Pfalz 1977 - 1987 - federal chairman of the welfare committee of the Christian-Democrat employees union 1980 - 1981 - vice chairman of the CDU/CSU faction of Parliament 1991 - 1999 - federal vice chairman of the German CDU 1981 - 1982 - member of Berlin's House of Representatives 1981 - 1982 - Senator for federal affairs and fully empowered representative of the State of Berlin at the federal level 1982 - 1992 - Federal minister for labor and welfare system since March 1983 - member of the German Parliament Member - Amnesty International Metal Industry Union Catholic Employees Movement Germany --- Informational links The current state of affairs of some of Dr. Bluem's efforts http://cisar.org/001215d.htm (December 15, 2000 from Ingo Heinemann) In connection with the above synopsis, here is a good backgrounder http://cisar.org/951127a.htm (November 27, 1995 from Spiegel magazine) Big court decision favoring Bluem in saying Scientology was an "octopus" and a criminal, money-laundering organization http://cisar.org/960531a.htm (May 31, 1996 from unofficial translation of court decision) The article on which the Big court decision was based http://cisar.org/940918a.htm (September 18, 1994 from Welt am Sonntag) Dr. Bluem mentioned in R.V. Young's Spiegel article http://cisar.org/g50925ae.htm (September 25, 1995 from Der Spiegel) --- Unofficial translation/critical interpretation of German media, For non-commercial use only. Recent events - http://cisar.org/trnmenu.htm Informational publications http://members.tripod.com/German_Scn_News Thousands of articles sorted by date http://cisar.org/sortdate.htm
