Made my way by car and train to the US Consulate at 1095 Pender in Vancouver...
Made my way by car and train to the US Consulate at 1095 Pender in
Vancouver, black banding my letter by marker on rail, and after
reading it delivered it to one of the Consul's ladies, telling her, as
sensibly as possible, of the global picket focused on this date and
the story of Lisa McPherson.
Made my way to the offices of the Vancouver Sun and Vancouver Province
and had the letter delivered to their city desks.
I had the letter which follows printed. I don't know what version I
got, or chose, because it was labeled "draft," but I changed only a
couple of things typographical and involved myself by adding my phone
number and signing the letter and so forth.
[Quote]
United States Consul,
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Berlin, December 5, 1997
Dear Sir/Madam,
We wish to express our condolences to you and the American people
for the death of Lisa McPherson, exactly two years ago on
December 5, 1995, and to express our concern over the human
rights violations committed by the US headquartered organization
known as Scientology towards its members, including many US
citizens.
Lisa McPherson entered Scientology in 1982. She became a model
Scientologist who had paid over $175,000 in her last five years.
On November 18, 1995, she had a minor automobile accident. She
behaved strangely at the scene of the accident, even going so far
as to take her clothes off in the street and to ask for help, and
was subsequently taken to a hospital for a psychological
evaluation. Scientologists quickly got her out of the hospital
against the advice of the doctor, claiming that she would get
"rest and relaxation" at the Fort Harrison Hotel (the "spiritual"
headquarters of Scientology in Clearwater, FL). There, they
claimed, she would be able to avoid "the psychs," a Scientology
term for psychologists and psychiatrists, whom Scientologists
hate with a passion.
17 days later, Lisa McPherson was dead at the age of 36.
The autopsy showed that the cause of death was a blood clot which
had been caused by bed rest and severe dehydration; the medical
examiner said that McPherson had gone without fluids for five to
ten days and was unconscious for up to 48 hours before her death;
her hands showed bite marks from cockroaches. The organization
of Scientology, its attorneys and some of its members have
stonewalled investigations by the police, her family, and the
press. But documents gathered through a lawsuit started by her
family show that she went through a terrible ordeal, during which
she was held against her will and was illegally given the potent
sedative chloral hydrate without proper medical supervision,
while Scientologist clerks, librarians, and other non-medical
personnel watched her lose her mind and her life. After her
death, fellow Scientologists looted Lisa's bank account with
forged personal checks.
We wish to express our support for the American people and the
American government in ending human rights violations against US
citizens and other people, committed by the Scientology
Organization.
As German friends [or any friends] of the United States of
America or as US citizens, we are concerned that the organization
responsible for the tragic death of Lisa McPherson is trying to
damage the German-American friendship for which we have all
worked so very hard during the last decades.
Because of the staunch position the United States takes
concerning human rights worldwide, we call on the American
government to confront and stop human rights violations being
committed by Scientology and to reestablish in the country of
democracy the true freedom of life, speech, religion, personality
and pursuit of happiness, which includes:
Freedom for everyone to speak about his experiences, knowledge
and thoughts in any organization, church or cult, be it
religious or not;
Freedom for members of an organization, church or cult,
religious or not, to leave that organization, without being
detained, threatened or persecuted;
Freedom from fear of being confronted with material that a
religious or therapeutic organization has obtained through
religious or spiritual counseling; Such material should not be
allowed to be used for publication, litigation, or blackmail;
Freedom from persecution through Copyright Laws; such laws
should not be used against members who try to support their
arguments by citing "church scriptures" or "spiritual literature"
or other texts associated with the group;
Full application of law enforcement to prosecute fraud, mental
and physical abuse hidden behind the shield of "religion";
Refusal / Withdrawal of tax exemptions for secretive
organizations, be they religious or not. Full disclosure of past
secret agreements with the IRS.
The German / U.S. Citizens Committee on Human Rights and
Religious Freedom in the USA
(Deutsch-amerikanisches B rgerkomittee f r Menschenrechte und
Religionsfreiheit in den USA)
P.S.: We express our thanks to the 318 members of Congress who
refused to let John Travolta and Tom Cruise run US foreign policy
and opposed the House Concurrent Resolution 22.
More media Information:
Tampa Channel 28 News, October 14, 1997, 6:00 p.m.
St. Petersburg Times, October 31, 1997
Newsweek, July 21, 1997
The New York Times, March 9, 1997
TIME, May 6, 1991
Joe Cisar, Cleveland, OH (vietnam veteran)
Sandra Jamison, USAF AD/DW
Gerry Armstrong, now Canada, artist
Tilman Hausherr, Berlin
Thomas Gandow, Berlin, Pfarrer (Lutheran minister)
Ute Gandow, Berlin, Hausfrau
Conveyed by Gerry Armstrong
Now in Chilliwack, B.C.
(604)795-5852
[End Quote]
I went to the Vancouver org on Hastings Street, was hit up for a toony
(I've been told that's the spelling) by a bum at their front door,
and offered the letter in its own # 10 envelope, labeled
"Scientology, Vancouver," to two ladies inside the org. But they
seemed frightened by me, although I don't believe I've ever met them
before, and they refused the letter. I told them about the global
picket and this was the letter which I had given to the US Consulate
in Vancouver and was going to US embassies and consulates around the
world at the same time as the Clearwater picket.
I didn't stay around long and didn't get them to take the letter,
which I would think for intelligence coup value/stats alone was worth
taking, because one of the ladies began to talk to someone on the
phone about my being there. I had been having a good time running
around the streets of Vancouver, and lacking any reason to wait to
talk to someone who has to want me gone, I went back to running
around.
Then back by train and car to the Wack.
The day was perfect. Clear, and cold.
I have been touched many times today by being a part of this 5th of
December.
I picked up a very pretty woman with a suitcase hitchhiking (the
woman) out of Chilliwack, and got her to her digs in Pitt Meadow
before I went to see the Consul.
How was your day?
Gerry
Copyright © Gerry Armstrong - All Rights Reserved.