Formation Originally begun as the "Alternative Charlemagne Award," the honor was formed as a counterpoint to the
Charlemagne Award given to
U.S. President Bill Clinton in 2000. Presented in
Aachen, Germany, the Charlemagne Award, or Karlspreis, "honors individuals who promote democracy, human rights and the common values of Europe." The European-American Citizens Committee for Human Rights and Religious Freedom in the USA was formed in 1997, and includes committee members from
Germany, the
United States,
England,
Austria,
Russia and
Sweden. The organization's charter cites its concern over the deaths of
Lisa McPherson and
Patrice Vic, and states "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." Specifically, the Leipzig Human Rights Award charter calls on the United States to reestablish "true freedom of life, speech, religion, personality and pursuit of happiness," and emphasizes
freedom of speech, freedom for members of an organization to leave that organization without fear of retribution, freedom from
blackmail through materials obtained during spiritual counseling, and calls on the United States for full disclosure of "secret agreements" between the
Internal Revenue Service and the Church of Scientology. In her speech at the event,
Scientology Task Force of the Hamburg Interior Authority Commissioner
Ursula Caberta cited Minton's recognition of "what dangers could arise for people and liberal democracy from Scientology." At the awards ceremony, Sect Commissioner of the Evangelical Church in Berlin-Brandenburg Thomas Gandow stated "By holding this ceremony, we intended to give a sign that, in spite of the Clinton administration, there are people in America who think differently and who do not swim with the Scientology tide." The letter stated that Sect Commissioner Thomas Gandow should be dismissed, and said that the Saxon state church should "distance itself from the [Awards] procedure." The awards ceremony took place at the old stock exchange in the Old City of Leipzig. The award given to Minton was presented as a sculpture of the
St. Nicholas Church, Leipzig, and was created by Leipzig artist Ruediger Bartels. The award presentation was held on June 3, 2000, one day after the presentation of the official Charlemagne Award to President Bill Clinton by Aachen Mayor
Jürgen Linden. Former German Federal Minister of Labor Norbert Blüm was honored with the 2001 Leipzig Human Rights Award. Blüm was recognized because he had "championed human rights and religious freedom in the discussion with the totalitarian Scientology Organization." The Award again contained a picture of Leipzig's St. Nicholas Church, and Blüm was presented with the Award at a ceremony in Leipzig at a site near the
Leipzig Trade Fair on June 10, 2001. In an interview with the
junge Welt on June 11, 2001, Blüm was asked why it takes courage to be a politician critical of the Scientology, and he cited actions the Church of Scientology had taken against him: "Scientology acts on people's fears. For instance they threatened me by saying they would distribute their dossier on me to television. They've called me all kinds of names in their newspaper: the "Rasputin" of politics, for example." Blüm also stated in the interview that he did not support a ban on Scientology in Germany, but rather sought to foster the distribution of information about the organization. Gandow noted that Blüm had been criticized by
Scientologists in the press, and was sued in court for his actions critical of the organization. The Award was again presented in Leipzig at St. Nicholas Church, and a congratulatory speech was given by Bavaria's Interior Minister,
Guenther Beckstein. The Award was an image of the St. Nicholas Church, encased in glass. In his speech honoring Vivien, Minister Guenther Beckstein called Vivien a "pioneer in the Scientology controversy across Europe and across the world." In his acceptance speech, Vivien stated he was pleased "to receive the award in a place from which freedom of thought has for so long emanated." The European-American Citizens Committee said it echoed a statement Heldal-Lund had written at the Operation Clambake website, where he stated: "People should be free to believe whatever they want, including Scientology," but also cited what he believed to be the organization's "deceitfulness, its lack of compassion for its members (especially the hard-working staff), its aggressive hard sell, its arrogance, its attack on free speech, its litigiousness, its harassment of its critics, its lack of concern for families, its gross neglect and abuse of children."
Church of Scientology officials had attempted to silence Heldal-Lund by requesting
Google Inc. and
Internet Archive remove links to Operation Clambake, claiming violation of their copyrights. Alain Vivien presented Heldal-Lund with the Award, and stated that his work had revealed the actions of Scientologists with "respect and intelligence." In his acceptance speech, Heldal-Lund spoke about freedom of speech, and emphasized the role of the individual citizen. The European-American Citizens Committee stated: "The Committee really had no choice but to not select another award recipient for 2004, because Margaret truly is irreplaceable. We also decided not to hold a celebration this year." ==See also==