Hamm, Germany
June 1, 2000
neue bildpost, Nr. 23, pg. 1

by Bernd Evers

Contention over the presentation of the Aachen Charlemagne Award: this year the valued distinction will go to the President of the United States, Bill Clinton.

"It's OK to have a different opinion in regards to Clinton's political accomplishments or his personal conduct," said Reverend Thomas Gandow, Sect Commissioner of the Evangelical Church for Berlin-Brandenburg.

As concerns his attitude towards Scientology, however, there is no doubt: "Never before has a government done so much lobbying for Scientology," stressed Gandow.

It is not just that the organization received tax exemption in the first year of Clinton's term; Clinton's State Department continually blames Germany and other European states for dealing with Scientology in a critical manner. As a reaction to the presentation of the Charlemagne Award, the European-American Citizens Committee for Human Rights and Religious Freedom will be giving out an Alternative Charlemagne Award: banker Robert Minton, who supports Scientology victims in legal proceedings against the organization, will receive it.