THE EUROPEAN ASSOCIATION OF JEHOVAH'S CHRISTIAN WITNESSES AND THE OSCE
On 29 December 2000 a document originating from IBSA (International Bible Students Association) House in London was signed by David Carpenter. The purpose of this document was to give notice of the first annual general meeting of The European Association of Jehovah's Christian Witnesses (TEAOJCW). It was stated that the meeting, to be held in the morning of Tuesday 23 January 2001 at IBSA House, would be "for the purpose of considering and, if thought fit, passing the following resolutions." Those resolutions included "to elect a chairman, secretary and treasurer for the Charity" and "that the Constitution be adopted as the Charity's governing instrument as from the date of the First Annual General Meeting." Those to be proposed as the Charity's Management Committee were Rollo Burgess, David Birch, David Carpenter, Robin Williams and Geoffrey Young. [1]
According to the Constitution, adopted in 2001, the main reason for TEAOJCW's existence is "to advance from the Continent of Europe, the Christian religion as practised by that body of Christians called Jehovah's Christian Witnesses", by means of "promoting Christian missionary work", "providing, maintaining and building places of meeting for public Christian worship", "advancing religious education" and "providing and promoting spiritual assistance anywhere in the world in particular to the poor, the homeless, and the sick and to those suffering from the effects of natural or man-made disasters and in other times of need."
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By 1975 the Cold War had thawed enough for 35 States, including the United States and Russia, to sign what came to be called the Helsinki Agreement. The Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) was born. It was a multilateral forum for dialogue and negotiation between the two blocs.
At the Budapest Summit in 1994, the CSCE changed its name to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Today, it is composed of 54 participating States, including the United States, Canada, and all the countries of the former Soviet Union.
The objective of the member nations of the OSCE is to guarantee the security of Europe as well as to foster the implementation of human rights, disarmament, democratic freedoms and the management of regional conflict.
A summit meeting of the OSCE was held in Lisbon, Portugal, on December 2-3, 1996. At first, attention was focused on NATO, since several NATO members, including the United States, are in favor of the expansion of NATO to include more nations from Central and Eastern Europe. But rather than support the enlargement of NATO to include former Eastern bloc allies, Russia and some of her former Eastern bloc allies want the OSCE to become the forum for matters of European security. [2]
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One might wonder what connection there is between TEAOJCW and the OSCE. On 13 and 14 September 2004 there was an OSCE Conference (held in Brussels), on the subject of "Tolerance and The Fight Against Racism, Xenophobia and Discrimination." The participants at that conference included Marcel Gillet, Paul Gillies and Luca Toffoli as representatives of TEAOJCW. [3] On 9 and 10 December 2010 another OSCE conference was in Vienna, with the title "OSCE Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting on Freedom of Religion or Belief", which was attended by Paul Gillies on behalf of TEAOJCW. [4]
It is interesting to note that a number of other JW-related participants have also been involved with the OSCE. Between 29 September and 10 October 2008 there was a "OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting" held in Warsaw. Represented at this meeting were: the Administrative Centre of Jehovah's Witnesses Russia, The European Association of Jehovah's Christian Witnesses, the Office of General Counsel for Jehovah's Witnesses, the Religious Center of Jehovah' Witnesses in the Republic of Kazakhstan, as well as the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society - Poland. [5]
For more information of TEAOJCW's interaction and association with the OSCE, simply go to the OSCE website (www.osce.org) and do a search (including double quotes) using such terms as "Paul Gillies", "Watchtower", "General Counsel for Jehovah", and "Christian Witnesses".
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[1] A copy of this document is available along with the European Association of Jehovah's Christian Witnesses' 2001 Constitution from the UK (England & Wales) Charity Commission (www.charitycommission.gov.uk/sendmailCRM.aspx). It is necessary to put in a request to the Commission, either by post (printed format) or online (electronic format), for a copy of the Governing Document for charity number 1085157. Be patient as it can take a few weeks before receiving a copy.
[2] Extract from Awake! 1997 Aug 22, page 31 ("OSCE - What is it? Will it succeed?")
[3] www.osce.org/cio/36448 (page 52)
[4] www.osce.org/odihr/75756 (page 15)
[5] www.osce.org/odihr/34404 (pages 41, 49, 63, 65 and 71)
The European Association of Jehovah's Christian Witnesses and the OSCE
by JWB 5 Replies latest watchtower scandals
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JWB
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breakfast of champions
Hmmmm. . . Didn't realize there was an Asleep! article about the OSCE - thanks JWB. Have to check it out when I get home.
Wondering what the "tone" of the article is - in favor of this force for freedom and equity; or bashing this worldly institution wich is doomed for failure?
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Scott77
I think,the watchtower is slowly politizing its 'christian mission' while at the sametime, baring its members from holding political offices. What an irony!
Scott77
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breakfast of champions
Soooo. . . If I am an institution (watchtower) and I want to use the political system to bring about changes for the better (lobbying through the OSCE), that's OK.
If I am an individual (BOC) and I want to use the political system to bring about change for the better (voting), I get DFd.
A pretty neat trick!
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Kojack57
Yep! Hypocrisy at its finest.
Kojack
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JWB
OSCE is a Political Body with Connections to the United Nations, so what is WTS doing getting involved with it?
"Clearly, then, it is essential to look at the fruitage of a religion before concluding that it is acceptable to God. For instance, is the religion involved with politics? Then note these words, recorded at James 4:4: 'Whoever . . . wants to be a friend of the world is constituting himself an enemy of God.' Moreover, Jesus said of his true followers: 'They are no part of the world, just as I am no part of the world.' (John 17:16) The religion that is good in God's eyes is not involved with the politics of this world, which 'is lying in the power of the wicked one,' the invisible spirit creature Satan the Devil. (1 John 5:19) Instead, the religion that God approves loyally advocates his Kingdom under Jesus Christ and declares the good news concerning that heavenly government.—Mark 13:10." - Watch. 15 September 1996, paragraph 8, page 6 ("Do All Religions Please God?")
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"TX Attorney-General warns OSCE election monitors":
www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtBMFknPvso
It appears that the OSCE is even involved in politics outside of Europe.
Here is one view of the why and how of OSCE being involved in US election observation:
"What is the OSCE? - First, for the sake of context, the OSCE in an independent organization. While it does share a partnership agreement with the United Nations—given several core competencies that UN agencies sometimes call upon—the UN and OSCE are two separate and distinct entities. The OSCE does not report to the UN Secretary-General or General Assembly, and both its funding and its membership are entirely separate from that of the U.N. To give an example with which many Americans are familiar, this structure is similar to the kind of formal working relationship that the Red Cross has with the United Nations — also two separate and distinct entities. Second, OSCE members also observed U.S. elections in 2002, 2004, 2006, and 2008, under the George W. Bush administration. In fact, OSCE member counties, including the United States, have committed since 1990 to hold free and democratic elections and to allow one another to observe their elections. As a founding member, the U.S. has taken part in dozens of observer missions over the years. In allowing observers into the country, the United States is preventing setting a precedent for other, less democratic states, to ban these monitors. Of course, neither the OSCE nor any UN agency has any jurisdiction over U.S. elections, nor do they presume to. Any notion that the UN is meddling in U.S. elections is patently false. Why will OSCE observers be present on Election Day? As in previous years, this limited election observation responds to an invitation from the U.S. Department of State." - www.betterworldcampaign.org/news-room/press-releases/election-day-observation.html