Outrage as Scientology front-group uses deceptive tactics

L. Ron Hubbard
Follow us on Twitter

June 12, 2008 - The Church of Scientology has attracted criticism after using a front-group to advertise its controversial founder. Youth for Human Rights International (YHRI) held a presentation at a Catholic High School in Vancouver, Canada without disclosing that it was a Scientology organization. The move has backfired, instead drawing attention to the human rights abuses occurring within Scientology.

John Bevacqua, the principal of St. Patrick Regional Secondary School, said that he was not informed of the group's links to Scientology. "It was very unfortunate that they were not as forthcoming as they needed to be," he said in comments to the Vancouver Sun. The incident came to light when year 11 student John Ray Catingub reported the visit in an internet posting, titled "A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing". He was disturbed by the literature distributed by YHRI, particularly because it listed Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard as a "famous human rights leader" alongside such historical figures as Kofi Annan, Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and Voltaire.

This is not the first time that the Scientology front-group has come under fire for its deceptive practices. A similar incident in March 2007 alarmed students attending a conference at Parliament House in Sydney, Australia. Canterbury Girls High School captain Alice Craven said students were given forms instructing them to pay a fee to join YHRI. "I feel exploited and taken advantage of and am worried other people at the event may have taken it as a serious human rights forum, when it was pushing a Scientology agenda. Alarm bells began to ring when I noticed a large poster on the stage … emblazoned with a quote from L. Ron Hubbard," she said to the Sydney Morning Herald.

The Los Angeles based Church of Scientology is widely known for its celebrity members such as Tom Cruise and John Travolta, but now it is attempting to raise the profile of its former leader, L. Ron Hubbard. The underhanded use of a front-group to further this agenda appears to have backfired.

Critics note the irony of the public relations move, citing multiple human rights abuses committed by the Scientology organization. In January 2008, Frenchwoman Martine Boublil was rescued by Italian Police from three Scientologists who had kidnapped and imprisoned her. Boublil described the experience as "hell". Former Scientologists explain that the arrested individuals were carrying out an "Introspection Rundown" - a procedure written by L. Ron Hubbard, where a person is isolated and speaking to the person is forbidden. Boublil's ordeal bears striking similarities to the 1995 case of Lisa McPherson, a woman who died while in the care of Scientologists at their Clearwater, Florida headquarters.

In February, worldwide protests were held against Scientology's abusive practices and policies. Organized by the internet collective Anonymous, the protesters argued that the tax-exempt Church had betrayed the public trust and harmed its own followers. Since then, monthly protests have been held wherever Scientology has a presence. April's 'Operation Reconnect' focused on the cult-like policy of disconnection, where Scientologists are ordered to cut all contact with friends and family members who are critical of Scientology. The May demonstration highlighted the unusual Scientology policy of Fair Game – a "Mafia-style" revenge policy used by the Church against perceived enemies.

Explaining his objection to the incident at his school, Catingub cited the Scientology campaign known as "Operation Freakout" – a criminal conspiracy uncovered by the FBI in 1977 aimed at silencing author Paulette Cooper. Protesters report being stalked and harassed by Scientologists as well as private investigators working for Scientology.
Anonymous websites have announced that the June protest aims to bring attention to human rights abuses in Scientology's core group, the Sea Organization (Sea Org). Former Sea Org members have made testimonies about their harrowing experiences, which include sentences in an internal prison camp known as the Rehabilitation Project Force. Women describe being coerced into having abortions, because Scientology policy prohibits Sea Org members from having children.

References:

School unaware of link to Scientologists. Janet Steffenhagen. Vancouver Sun. June 11, 2008.

A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing. John Ray Catingub. May 23, 2008.
http://catingub.blogspot.com/2008/05/wolf-in-sheeps-clothing.html

Unwitting high-schoolers lured to forum run by Scientologists. Anna Patty. The Sydney Morning Herald. March 28, 2007.

Ex-Scientology Kids - The Sea Org
http://exscientologykids.com/seaorg.html

Operation: Sea Arrrgh - June 14
http://www.seaarrrgh.com/

Receive HULIQ News in Email:

Subscribe in a reader

Your comments...

well of course

Anonymous's picture

didn't you know that LRH was just like Ghandi? though, this group clearly has nothing to do with scientology, its only paid for by scientology, staffed with scientologists, and is devoted to LRH. obviously no connection. its clearly just about "human rights". who could be against that?

deceptive pratice by scientology front group

Anonymous's picture

the cult scientology appears to showing it's true ugly colors.

PR propaganda nonsense

luana1980's picture

This group has been co-sponsored by the Church of Scientology. It's in their materials and on their website. This article is just a blown up story about nothing or, better said, written to promote links not connected to the story at all.

A RONBOT IS A BRAIN-WASHED SLAVE TO THE CULT

Ronbot Hunter's picture

Power Comes From Knowledge of The Enemy

Ronbot is a pejorative term for some or all followers of Scientology. The term is a pun on Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard's first name and the word robot.
The term Ronbot is meant to express the habit of Scientologists of being so programmed with the "Tech" that they can't express their own viewpoints on life, because that has been suppressed and prohibited of them from doing so.
The Ronbot never doubts any thing he is told by staff, never investigates, never thinks beyond what he is told, never seeks to know more than he is permitted to know, never refuses to turn on his family, never reads what he is told not to read, never refuses to hurt the feelings of his family, never refuses to kill the love he had for his family, never doubts PTS or SP data, never seeks other ways to heal any symptom, never wonders why he is so fanatical and why? Never wonders why he hates SPs, and is willing to kill for the tech. Never refuses to hurt, damage or harm an SP, never doubts he is superior to us, never refuses to obey his masters on staff, etc.
Ex-scientologists view a Ronbot as a brainwashed Robot, since he can't ever leave the Tech and express his own view points.
His reading material, his TV viewing and his interpersonal relationships and what he says and the way he talks, are closely monitored by other Ronbot Staff. If they discover that he went out with or talked with an SP and read material from Anti-cult websites, he is in deep trouble and must now face an ethics review.
He in fact does not have his own viewpoints, but just thinks so. His mind is so flooded with the Tech that to speak to, associate with, date or love a person who is classed as an SP is instant insanity (drastic down-tone slide) and he will be classed by the Cult as a “risk” or PTS.
Remember this fact—that all true Ronbots have a weak mind and spirit. They are actually very willing to be a slave of the Tech without question.
In the CULT OF SCIENTOLOGY YOU HAVE NO CONSTITUTION RIGHTS SUCH AS FREE SPEECH – you are told what to think, do and say. Your actions, your friends your relations, your books, and everything else you can think about is RESTRICTED to their approval.
YOU ARE NOT A FREE MAN OR WOMAN ABLE to do as you please at home, read what you please at home, your TV has a little censorship lock on it.
Even your thoughts and innermost secrets are investigated and if they are considered wrong or un-approved by your ETHICS OFFICER you are taken (scammed) for more money.
The Ronbot was told that "suppression is illness and illness is suppression", therefore he thinks that all illnesses come only from suppression or a PTS condition.
Remember that Ronbots are told that “all illnesses to a greater or lesser degree are due to only a PTS condition”. Any illness or symptom makes a Ronbot turn on anyone he was near in the past 72 hours. He is programmed to believe that his Mother or Father now is a Monster called a“SP” or “Suppressive Person.
He is never given the facts on “symptom re-stimulations”. He is never told about it being a physiological reaction, he is never told that all symptoms and illnesses are physiological reactions and that some symptoms can be re-stimulated by stress and arguments. And that symptoms are never the same for all; because every one has different deficiencies and different levels of toxins in their body, that will bring out a different symptom each time he is argued with.
In his weak brain-washed mind, he can't ever accept that legal and illegal drugs, chemicals, parasites, toxins, toxic plants, or poisonous animals or insects, poisons, viruses or bacteria or over acidity etc., are the only and true causes of illnesses in the world. His mind rejects these well known facts as SP propaganda.
When he faces you in the street—he can’t see you, he can only see what is programmed into his brain-washed head. To him, you are the SP monster who is no better than his SP father or SP mother he turned his back on and now hates and/or distrusts.
He is not free to think for himself--therefore he is a ronbot.
It is senseless to argue with a Ronbot—he needs de-programming—he needs to be told he is a Robot and that he can’t pull the plug and reset his brain. Do not confront a Ronbot the old way – just pity him and dare him to talk with you about how Physiological Reactions are connected to study tech.
Dare him to have a friendly conversation with you—the more of a Ronbot he is – the more he will be afraid to go to ethics for daring to talk with an SP.
The programming that he has received will force him to ask for your sins and secrets. He sincerely believes that you are against the Cult ONLY because you have sins of omission and commission.
Explain to him that he has sins and secrets too and that you would like to know his first, since he brought up the issue first. But don’t ask to hear them as a treat or condition to talk with him—if he refuses to give you his own sins and secrets—let it pass as long as he is willing to talk with you.
Do not argue with or insult a Ronbot, talk with him in a polite way even if he disgusts you. Arguments are commercial Controversies and make you lose the game. Get him to identify who he is and found out if he has property or a website. He if is connected to any website that libels and slanders your actual name on it—he just made you rich.
Then hire a Private Investigator to find out who owns or runs the website. Write them and accept all their attacks on your name for value. Start the UCC method to counter-attack them and take them for all they own.
Know this for a fact. -- His brain is not his anymore. He can’t be proactive and dare to talk with a person who he was told is a MONSTER. But if he dares to talk and you only ask questions and never argue with him. He will begin to doubt and you know what happens to him after he is in the Condition of Doubt.
He is as evolved as a snail-or he was one in another life. In this life, he consented to be a mind-slave. Just dare him to read and dare him to talk with any anti-cult person on a friendly basis for at least one hour—dare him to get to know you--by then after that hour he is now a damaged ronbot to the cult—he won’t be trusted and now he is on his way to freedom from control.
For you to defeat the “Church” of scientology you must expose these truths about how Ron discovered Study Technology.
Once you put this NEW DATA into his brain, he is now damaged goods and is no longer a Ronbot, but a suspected PTS person never to be trusted again by the Cult.
To save a RONBOT BRAIN you must deprogram it with NEW DATA.

Sincerely yours,

Ronbothunter
All Rights Reserved
Copyright Ronbothunter--- All Rights Reserved, Without Prejudice UCC 1-308 & 1-103.6. I reserve my right not to be compelled to perform under any contract or commercial agreement that I did not enter knowingly, voluntarily and intentionally. I do not accept the liability of the compelled benefit of any unrevealed contract or commercial agreement.