Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2001 15:29:51 -0500
From: "Jean Michel"
Subject: France is now a dictatorship, spiritual people risk prison
Dear list members,
The repression in France against New Age, alternative and holistic people (including natural medicine, oriental medicine, herbs and homeopathy) started in 1995.
Since then with a system of denunciation similar to the one used during Nazi occupation of France in WWII, thousands of French people have been investigated, and their files are "ready" in police and justice structures. French citizens were asked by police to denunce their neighbours and members of their own family if they would find "subversive activities" such as :
* making new friends * receiving many phone calls * going to meetings * reading a lot of books * burning incense at home * meditate at home * changing eating habits = becoming vegetarians * stop watching TV...
A law was necessary to prosecute all these people dangerous to society and considered as the "new heretics". The bill has been in the progress for some time and has now become a full enforcing LAW. See below.
Now the French people displaying the behavior and "subversive activites" listed above will face 3 years imprisonment and very heavy fines, as well as their groups dissolved as "criminal activities".
Again if you think that this will never happen in other countries including in the "land of the free", well think again. We are not in Disneyland anymore.....The days ahead will see how many "patriots" are left in the "home of the brave"......
The "free Press" has been eliminated in France. In the USA, no more that 8 trusts/corporations own all media today from radio/TV channels to magazines and newspapers, the same multinational trusts own also oil companies, chemical companies, laboratories, everything, worldwide....
It is confirmed that the infamous law of "exception" has been passed in France on May 30th by the French Chamber. The only resort now is a claim to the "Conseil Constitutionnel" (Constitution Council) that would prove that the law is non-constitutional, and a claim to the European humans rights organizations. Procedure rarely succeeded in the past.... The About/Picard bill is now a FRENCH LAW. France has now become officially a dictatorship, censuring its citizens and controling their lives and beliefs. Since it is now a LAW it could be used - and will be - to prosecute the 172 spiritual groups listed on the black list of the Chamber, and the many thousands of French people that have been investigated since the beginning of the repression in 1995 against spiritual, free-thinking, alternative and holistic people.
Note : Native American speakers such as Wallace Black Elk (one of the pioneers of the American indian movement) are foreseeing since about two years now in their public speeches that the same dictatorship will happen to America......(video available at : cptnlyur@wnclink.com)
So what is happening in France may simply be a test for Europe and the world, since the "rulers of the planet" are not limited to one particular country.
The new petition could also be send by email to the CAP coordination in France : coordiap@libertysurf.fr
It is also attached here as WORD document for publication purposes (printed and on the Web) Internet list in English of support for France : http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FreedomForFrance ************ A PETITION AGAINST THE ABOUT/PICARD LAW
The Coordination of Associations and People for Freedom of Conscience (CAP) is an association that was formed after the first hearing of victims of religious discrimination in France. It is open to people of all religions who have in common a deep attachment to freedom of religion and freedom of conscience.
CAP has put on the Net the text of a petition to be signed by all those who oppose this law originated by French senator Nicolas About and French MP Catherine Picard. The petition can be found at the following address :
www.petitiononline.com/CAP01/petition.html
Since its start, the petition has collected over 8000 signatures from various people. Numerous ages, jobs and countries are represented : France, Germany, Great Britain, the United States but also Mexico, Australia, Hungary, Russia, etc.. CAP has received by E-mail numerous encouraging messages. Some have even sent prayers and poems ! Various associations relay the message amongst their members. The mobilization against the law starts to grow.
CAP will soon file the petition with its list of signatures to the main international bodies protecting human rights.
For all those who do not have access to Internet, here is the text of the petition :
On June 22nd, 2000, the French parliament voted a new bill against " cults " proposed by senator Nicolas About and parliament member Catherine Picard. The final vote by the French parliament took place on may 30th 2001 in spite of strong reservations by mainstream religions.
The law :
- gives for the first time the legal definition of a " cult ", in contradiction with the French law of separation between religions and State and the French Constitution which guarantee religious neutrality from the State.
- creates a crime of " mental manipulation ", punished by a 3 year jail indictment and a fine of 300 000 FRF. The law punishes the " fraudulent abuse of a person in a state of psychological or physical subjection resulting from the exercise of serious or repeated pressures or techniques meant to alter one's judgment ". As there are no objective criteria in this definition, it will open the door to all kinds of abusive interpretations. The same act, a spiritual guidance or the practice of a confession will be considered as normal if done within a mainstream religion or considered as criminal if done within a group labeled as " cult ". It is the first time that a democracy creates such a crime. Its formulation is very close to the crime of " plagio " (creating a sate of suggestion) created in fascist Italy by Mussolini to repress communist propaganda. The crime of " plagio " had been later removed from the penal code by the Italian constitutional court after it had been applied to catholic priests and homosexuals.
- modifies the French penal code by authorizing the judges to punish legal entities such as associations for a wide variety of minor offenses, whereas this possibility was formerly reserved to serious offenses; for instance, forgetting to put a fire extinguisher in a precinct that belongs to an association will give a judge the possibility to condemn the association itself.
- creates a new accelerated procedure to facilitate the dissolution of groups labeled as " cults " which does not guarantee enough the rights of the defense, whereas dissolution is an extreme punishment, the equivalent of the death penalty for physical persons.
- gives, in order to facilitate the dissolution of groups labeled as 'cults' , a new definition of a group considered as a legal entity, in contradiction with the judicial principle that only those who commit an illegal act should be punished ; thus, associations which are legally separate could be dissolved in the same procedure as long as they pursue similar objectives. Two minor offenses will be enough to make the dissolution possible, a fact that greatly endangers freedom of association.
- limits the promotional activities of groups labeled as 'cults' and gives mayors the possibility to refuse a building permit to those groups as long as they have been condemned twice, even for minor offenses.
With that law, the new religions, minority religions, groups promoting personal development, easily labeled as 'cults' in France, a very arbitrary label as everyone knows, are condemned to barely survive with a permanent menace over their heads. It will suffice that one of their leaders or the group itself be condemned twice for a minor offense after a quick trial for the group to be disbanded with an interdiction to form itself back. If such a law was applied to members of the French parliament, the parliament would be immediately dissolved as many of its members have been condemned by justice ! There is indeed a real danger that the law be applied to mainstream religions or to any non conformist spiritual group.
If the About/Picard bill makes it into law, France will be ranked among the worst dictatorships, THOSE WHICH ENDEAVOR, FOR THE SAKE OF THE STATE OR OF GENERAL INTEREST, TO PERVADE INDIVIDUAL CONSCIENCE.
I think that the French penal code is sufficient to repress offenses and crimes committed within a group, whatever the label given to that group, for law must be the same for everyone, and I demand that this law proposal be rejected, considering the fundamental liberties that it threatens.
Notice: TGS HiddenMysteries and/or the donor of this material may or may not agree with all the data or conclusions of this data. It is presented here 'as is' for your benefit and research. Material for these pages are sent from around the world. If by chance there is a copyrighted article posted which the author does not want read, email the webmaster and it will be removed. If proper credit for authorship is not noted please email the webmaster for corrections to be posted.