Last week I received an email that said: "Just thought to share with you that the Watchtower is again having a meeting with the O.S.C.E in Poland, Sept. 26th - Oct 7th."
To be honest, I knew little about the relationship between OSCE and the WTBTS, so I sent out some emails to associates and received back quite a bit of information. There have been postings on JWN before about OSCE but the following information that has been compiled is the latest and is certainly exceedingly informative. It is a comprehensive evaluation of the WTBTS’s lobbying efforts with this world organization.
FYI, here's a link to a recent thread (two years ago) posted on JWN about OSCE and the WTBTS: http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/scandals/180234/1/WTS-attends-as-a-NGO-to-OSCE-in-July-4-branches-present
If you have the time, be sure to follow the instructions in the last paragraph of this post and go to the OSCE website and in the search box, follow the suggestion and type in "Jehovah," then you'll find some pretty fascinating material.
Barbara
OSCE stands for Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe . From the information available, it is WTBTS's Political Lobbying Arm. From what is presented in this post, I ask, who needs the UN when you have the OSCE?
Starting this week on Monday, the WTBTS and Jehovah's Witnesses again mingle with the political and religious community as part of the official "Side Events" of the "Human Dimension Implementation Meeting (HDIM)" held in Warsaw, Poland between 26 September – 7 October 2011.
This year, the WTBTS and the Association of Jehovah's Witnesses join forces with the Office of Muslim Denomination (Bulgarian office) and Human Rights Without Frontiers as partners and conveners to co-present the following program and joint-presentation:
"Acts of violence by far–right political parties against Muslims and Jehovah’s Witnesses"
This event is held and sponsored through the OSCE. What is the OSCE?
With 56 States from Europe, Central Asia and North America, the OSCE is the world's largest regional security organization. It offers a forum for political negotiations and decision-making in the fields of early warning, conflict prevention, crisis management and post-conflict rehabilitation, and puts the political will of its participating States into practice through its unique network of field missions.
The OSCE has a comprehensive approach to security that encompasses politico-military , economic, environmental , and human aspects. It therefore addresses a wide range of security-related concerns, including arms control, confidence- and security-building measures, human rights, national minorities, democratization, policing strategies, counter-terrorism and economic and environmental activities.
All 56 participating States enjoy equal status, and decisions are taken by consensus on a politically, but not legally binding basis.
The Background In 1991 the OSCE, then known as the CSCE, announced the intention of allowing NGO's greater access to member States and invited suitable NGO's to register their interest the following year. This arrangement came into formal effect in 1992 following the acceptance of the Helsinki Document (Chapter IV), in particular paragraph 15 in which the participating States decided to facilitate during CSCE meetings informal discussion meetings between representatives of participating States and of NGO's, and to provide encouragement to NGO's organizing seminars on CSCE-related issues. In line with this decision, NGO's, governments, and other participants are encouraged to organize side meetings at the HDIM on relevant issues of their choice.
It was the WTBTS status as an NGO with the United Nations that enabled them to knock on the door of the OSCE and become involved in dialogue with major world players, not just political, but religious as well.
NGO status with then UN guaranteed acceptance as a "player" and NGO within the OSCE (formally the CSCE).
In 1991, the WTBTS applied for and was granted NGO status with the United Nations of which status also allowed them direct access within the corridors of the OSCE, although full advantage of the arrangements offered by the OSCE for NGO's was not taken up by the WTBTS or by the Jehovah's Witnesses until Stephen Bates (Religious Affairs Correspondent for The Guardian UK newspaper) exposed the WTBTS as being an NGO member with the United Nations in two published articles on October 8 and 15, 2001.
The WTBTS withdrew their NGO status with the UN but maintained the same "foot in the door" and "political clout" by utilizing the OSCE with particular emphasis on being associated with all other religions through TANDIS which is the Tolerance and Non-Discrimination Information System.
The OSCE has regularly reported on the activities of Jehovah's Witnesses, since the WTBTS began NGO association with the UN in 1991.
The WTBTS has, since 2001 and the UN scandal, solely relied on their association with OSCE for the single purpose of lobbying sovereign States and policy makers within various state and government departments.
The presence of Jehovah's Witnesses, and in turn the WTBTS as NGO within the corridors of the OSCE, also allows them access to The Holy See (Vatican) who is a member State for the purpose of lobbying should the need ever arise.
The WTBTS and the Association of Jehovah's Witnesses have greatly increased their activities and presence within the OSCE since 2006.
THE European Association of Jehovah's Christian Witnesses maintains a constant presence with much of the work load and negotiating being initially carried out by Paul Gillies, whom many may recognize through his involvement in dealing with Stephen Bates of The Guardian newspaper which exposed the WTBTS as being an NGO member associated with the United Nations.
The WTBTS has, since withdrawing their NGO status with the UN in 2001, been using a number of key WTBTS representatives to build up a rapport with government officials and UN representatives in relation to countries and areas the Society is having trouble with, France ($$$), Russia, Singapore, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Korea, to name a few.
While on the surface, the activities of the WTBTS appear to be in relation to human rights violations and persecution, it is not necessary to have a presence or to regularly operate seminars within the OSCE arrangement. Simply put, the WTBTS are actually trying to lobby and influence policy and decision makers, including the USA, NATO, the European Union, and all 56 OSCE member States.
The benefits to the WTBTS are not confined to Europe and the 56 OSCE member States. For example-
In 1994 formal relations were initiated by the OSCE and South Korea under the OSCE Asian Partners for Co-operation .
In 2009, Australia was granted the status of Partner for Co-operation and invited to participate in the meetings of the Contact Group with the Asian Partners for Co-operation.
Through the OSCE the WTBTS and the Association of Jehovah's Witnesses now had political access to South Korea through the OSCE Asian Partners for Co-operation should the need ever arise.
The situation of Jehovah's Witnesses in South Korea and military service was brought up with the Australian Government and on April 8, 2010, when Don MacLean, director WTBTS of Australia, sent a fax to the Australian Refugee Review Tribunal regarding the Situation of Jehovah's Witnesses in South Korea. (RFT ref: KOR36429).
While there was no direct lobbying in this regard, the groundwork was set for future relations. The official Australian Government Report "Country Advice - South Korea – KOR36429 – Jehovah’s Witnesses – Conscientious objection – Employment – Social security - 22 April 2010," concluded:
"There is no indication that Jehovah’s Witnesses in South Korea are discriminated against merely on the basis of their faith. Although Jehovah’s Witnesses in South Korea were not contacted for this response, Mr. Don MacLean, Director of the Australian arm of Jehovah’s Witness organization the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (the Watchtower Society), advised that Witnesses in South Korea enjoyed freedom of worship. He said the Watchtower Society of Australia considered that the South Korean government respected freedom of religion with respect to Witnesses, and the South Korean branch was a large and active body with one of the highest rates of missionary work in the world."
The OSCE involvement, in many cases, allows the WTBTS to provide information (regardless of its accuracy) to Human Rights Watch and particularly Human Rights Without Frontiers who then use this information to write up a report and make a press release. A number of media outlets and journalists around the world write an article or two based on these press releases. The WTBTS then take these newspaper and media articles to the OSCE and various government officials who are present and lobby them by using the media reports as proof of what is happening to Jehovah's Witnesses by being able to cite a third-party. They also use the same media articles to politically lobby the USA and the NATO Parliamentary Assembly through the provisions of the OSCE.
At last years OSCE HIGH-LEVEL CONFERENCE ON TOLERANCE AND NON-DISCRIMINATION, held at Astana, between June 29 – 30, 2010, the WTBTS was represented by Luca Luigi Toffoli (a Belgian ???) who is described as the "Manager" of the EUROPEAN ASSOCIATION OF JEHOVAH'S CHRISTIAN WITNESSES.
Who is Part of the OSCE?
The OSCE has 56 participating States from Europe, Central Asia and North America:
· Albania · Austria · Belgium · Canada · Czech Republic · Finland · Germany · Hungary · Italy · Latvia · Luxembourg · Monaco · Norway · Romania · Serbia · Spain · Tajikistan · Turkmenistan · United States | · Andorra · Azerbaijan · Bosnia and Herzegovina · Croatia · Denmark · France · Greece · Iceland · Kazakhstan · Liechtenstein · Malta · Montenegro · Poland · Russian Federation · Slovakia · Sweden · the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia · Ukraine · Uzbekistan | · Armenia · Belarus · Bulgaria · Cyprus · Estonia · Georgia · Holy See · Ireland · Kyrgyzstan · Lithuania · Moldova · Netherlands · Portugal · San Marino · Slovenia · Switzerland · Turkey · United Kingdom |
The OSCE maintains special relations with 12 countries, which are known as Partners for Co-operation. Six of them are in the Mediterranean region, and five are in Asia, in addition to Australia.
Mediterranean Partners for Co-operation
The OSCE maintains special relations with the following six Mediterranean countries:
· Algeria
· Egypt
· Israel
· Jordan
· Morocco
· Tunisia
Asian Partners for Co-operation
Starting from the early 1990s, formal relations were also initiated with the following Asian countries:
· Japan (1992)
· South Korea (1994)
· Thailand (2000)
· Afghanistan (2003)
· Mongolia (2004)
In 2009, Australia was granted the status of Partner for Co-operation and invited to participate in the meetings of the Contact Group with the Asian Partners for Co-operation.
This years official program as co-presented by
the Association of Jehovah's Witnesses and
the Office of Muslim Denomination
Tuesday, 27 September 2011
Time: 13.15-14.45
Venue: Plenary Hall
Title: Acts of violence by far–right political parties against Muslims and Jehovah’s Witnesses
Convenor: Human Rights Without Frontiers – Office of Muslim Denomination of Bulgaria - Association of Jehovah's Witnesses of Bulgaria
Working languages: English
Summary: Around one million Muslims currently live in the country. In May 2011, the supporters of Volen Siderov, the leader of the Bulgarian ultra-nationalist party Ataka, burned carpets used during Friday prayers at Sofia Grand Mosque and attacked the Muslims with stones and eggs. Several people were injured as nationalists clashed with Muslims during Friday prayers. The Ataka party's followers had gathered in downtown Sofia to protest against the Muslim community in the country. The violence erupted after one of the rightist members grabbed a prayer rug and set it on fire, leading to a fight between the two groups. The tension also escalated after an Ataka activist tried to play patriotic music on the loudspeakers of the mosque. Siderov, who is running in the October 11 presidential election, said during the Friday protest that he wants demonstrations against Muslims to continue in Bulgaria.
Concerning Jehovah's Witnesses, representatives of the political party VMRO have disrupted their peaceful meetings on several occasions in the past and have repeatedly used the media to circulate defamatory lies about the Witnesses. Criminal complaints against this political party have been filed on numerous occasions, but the attacks have continued. Now, the international community is watching to see how the authorities of the Bulgarian government will react to these lawless and criminal acts.
On Sunday, April 17, 2011, at 7:30 pm, Jehovah's Witnesses in the city of Burgas were peacefully gathered at their Kingdom Hall for the annual commemoration of the death of Jesus Christ. About 20 minutes before the program was to begin, an angry mob of about 60 men, some waving flags of the political party VMRO, gathered in front of the Kingdom Hall. The mob threw large stones at the Witnesses who were at the entrance of the building.
After that, the mob stormed the door. The Witnesses called the police immediately, but they were slow to respond. At the time of the attack, more than 100 people were inside the hall, including women, children and elderly ones. Injuries resulted from the attack, and five victims were taken to the hospital by ambulance with severe injuries, including concussions.
Human Rights Without Frontiers is concerned about the increasing number of violent acts committed by Ataka and VMRO, two far-right political parties.
Refreshments will be provided
The OSCE web site:
In the search box type in "Jehovah" and press enter. This will provide a list of over 250 related documents, press releases, and statements.
