Protests against $cientology
in Occupied Clearwater

Letter to the Clearwater City Manager

November 30, 1997

Mike Roberto
Clearwater City Manager
PO Box 4748
Clearwater, FL 33758

Mr. Roberto,

It has come to my attention that the Church of Scientology is appealling the city's decision to grant permits for the protest against the cult on December 5 and 6. Furthermore, it is my understanding that they are using an Internet post from me to support their false claims that the protestors are attempting to incite violence against the cult. I wish to set the record straight in this matter.

I do not advocate, and have never advocated, violence against the Church of Scientology or against any of its members. I support legal action and government intervention which would (a) protect the free speech rights of critics and former members, (b) prosecute criminal acts by the Church of Scientology, (c) expose the details of the secret agreement between the cult and the Internal Revenue Service, and (d) make the public aware of the organization's sinister and unethical nature.

The USENET post in question was an erroneous report of a news broadcast about Jairus Godeka, the Kenyan immigrant who attacked the celebrity center in Portland, Oregon, and who claimed that his life and finances were ruined after he became involved with Scientology. I had seen the tail-end of a local news broadcast, and assumed that the celebrity center in question was in Clearwater. I posted a correction to alt.religion.scientology when I discovered my mistake. The original post and the correction, as retrieved from the DejaNews archive, are enclosed.

The attempt by Scientology's agents to characterize the post as an incitement to violence is as unsurprising as it is disingenuous. The cult is quite fond of manufacturing threats against itself, so as to better play the role of the persecuted martyr. In the '70s, writer Paulette Cooper was framed by Scientology operatives in a phony bomb threat plot, and was only exonerated when a raid by the FBI exposed the documents which outlined "Operation P.C. Freakout".

Enclosed are the text of two articles about Cooper's case, from the Toronto Globe and Mail, and the Boston Globe. I have also included the text of three internal Scientology orders related to the plot, which were seized by the FBI, and are now freely available on the Internet as public domain documents.

The permits were requested specifically to prevent any type of physical confrontation and to protect the demonstrators, who will exercise their First Amendment rights, regardless of whether or not the permits are granted. At the last protest in March, Scientologists swarmed around the protesters, and attempted to physically intimidate them by pushing, shoving, obscuring picket signs, blocking pathways, and blowing out the vigil candles. A Tampa Tribune article about the March event has also been enclosed.

In summary, the accusations by the the cult are naught but a desperate attempt to interfere with a peaceful protest against their unethical and unlawful tactics. The only real threat involved is from the Church of Scientology, which was characterized in a 1991 TIME cover story as "a hugely profitable global racket that survives by intimidating members and critics in a Mafia-like manner." The safest route for the city government and the demonstrators is to keep the permits in place and maintain a visible and vigilant police presence at the events.

I would invite the city officials to do their own research into this matter. The Internet contains a wealth of information about Scientology, including affidavits from former members, judicial opinions, secret Scientology documents, news articles, and academic papers. Two excellent starting points for such an information search are http://www.xenu.net and http://www.scientology-kills.net.

You may contact me at your convenience if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Mark Dallara
xxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxx
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mdallara@kcii.com

Enclosures

Cc:
Mayor Rita Garvey
Police Chief Sid Klein
City Clerk's Office
news:alt.religion.scientology
news:fl.general
news:fl.politics
news:comp.org.eff.talk
news:alt.censorship

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