Richard Rawe was the second "apostate" I spoke to after I left the organization. The first was Alan Feuerbacher, someone I knew from when he was about four and I was 14. His father was congregation servant at the first congregation I attended when I became a JW. Alan left the organization in the early 1990s when I was still in Bethel. It was Alan who told me about Richard in 1998 and gave me his phone number. Richard has been my friend ever since. If Richard asks me to be his guest on his phone conference call, I consider it a privilege.
AndersonsInfo
JoinedPosts by AndersonsInfo
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Barbara Anderson on conference call right now!
by koolaid-man insat oct.1-2011 8pm edt.
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dial 712-432-8710 when asked for pin use 9925. .
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Barbara Anderson on conference call right now!
by koolaid-man insat oct.1-2011 8pm edt.
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dial 712-432-8710 when asked for pin use 9925. .
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AndersonsInfo
I think we should be kinder about this. I'm talking on Richard Rawe's conference call. Haven't we learned anything about speaking so harshly on this board. WT does it about us; let's not be like them. I'm giving listeners information about Australia's Steven Unthank, the OSCE & WT, and the July WT "mentally diseased" statement.
Barb
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JWs continue to hold NGO Status within the COUNCIL OF EUROPE
by AndersonsInfo inwtbts and jehovah's witnesses continue to hold ngo status within the council of europe.
documents recently declassified by the council of europe confirm that the european association of jehovah's witnesses continues to officially hold ngo status.. .
the six page document dh-dd(2010)61, entitled "communication by an ngo in the case of 97 members of the gldani congregation of jehovah's witnesses and others against georgia (application no.
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AndersonsInfo
WTBTS and JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES continue to hold NGO Status within the COUNCIL OF EUROPE
Documents recently declassified by the COUNCIL OF EUROPE confirm that THE EUROPEAN ASSOCIATION OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES continues to officially hold NGO status.
The six page document DH-DD(2010)61, entitled "Communication by an NGO in the case of 97 Members of the Gldani Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses and others against Georgia (application No. 71156/01) and reply of the Government" can be downloaded here.The official objectives of the Council of Europe are:
The primary aim of the Council of Europe is to create a common democratic and legal area throughout the whole of the continent, ensuring respect for its fundamental values: human rights, democracy and the rule of law. Interestingly enough, the WATCHTOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF BRITAIN and the INTERNATIONAL BIBLE STUDENTS ASSOCIATION operate in all 47 members States of the Council of Europe. THE EUROPEAN ASSOCIATION OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES is used as the front organization.Shortly after the WTBTS became a NGO with the United Nations in 1991, they started using their NGO status to lobby conservative politician Mr David Atkinson, Member of the House Of Lords, United Kingdom, who had only just been appointed as the UK's representative to the Council of Europe in June 1991 and representative of the European Democratic Group within the Council of Europe.
At the time there was no code of conduct regarding the lobbying of member States by NGO's within the Council of Europe and secret lobbying, particularly by religious organizations seeking to extend their activities into Eastern Europe was rife.
Mr Atkinson would lobby other European States, particularly Eastern European States, through his status within the Council of Europe on behalf of the interests of the WTBTS / IBSA and Jehovah's Witnesses.
For example:
Mr David Atkinson, was, on behalf of the WTBTS and the IBSA, after lobbying, able to table a Motion for an order within the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe:Doc. 8351 revised
13 April 1999Russian law on religion and Jehovah's Witnesses
Motion for an order
presented by Mr Atkinson and others
This motion has not been discussed in the Assembly and commits only
the members who have signed it
1. The Assembly is concerned at reports that Moscow prosecutors are attempting to ban Jehovah's Witnesses in the Russian capital in a case which is the first real test of its law on religion passed by the State Duma and Federal Council and ratified by President Yeltsin in September 1997.
2. The case marks the culmination of a wave of persecution of Christian and other religious groups since the law was passed. Observers have noted dozens of cases of harassment by local police and local authorities.
3. The case is a cause of concern for other religious groups who also expect to be banned if the Jehovah's Witnesses were to lose. In a report last November the Moscow Helsinki Group said that the conditions had been created for large-scale persecution of non-Orthodox faiths in Russia.
4. A motion for a recommendation tabled on 6 November 1997 ( Doc. 7957 ) considered that the new law contravenes the European Convention on Human Rights, the Russian commitments upon accession and, indeed , the Russian constitution. This motion was referred by the Bureau to the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights for report.
5. The Assembly urges that the committee take account of this case against the Jehovah's Witnesses in preparing its report for debate at a future part-session. It also wishes to draw it to the attention of the two rappporteurs responsible for the monitoring of Russia's commitments upon accession.
Signed : 1
Atkinson, United Kingdom, EDG
Davis, United Kingdom, SOC
Dinçer, Turkey, SOC
Eltz, Croatia, EDG
Enright, Ireland, EPP/CD
Eörsi, Hungary, LDR
Fyfe, United Kingdom, SOC
Iwinski, Poland, SOC
Kelam, Estonia, EPP/CD
Kuzmickas, Lithuania, EDG
Poptodorova, Bulgaria, SOC
Severinsen, Denmark, LDR
Sinka, Latvia, EDG
Surjan, Hungary, EPP/CD
1 SOC: Socialist Group
EPP/CD: Group of the European People’s Party
EDG: European Democratic Group
LDR : Liberal, Democratic and Reformers’ Group
UEL: Group of the Unified European Left
NR: not registered in a group
On Lobbying
On lobbying, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, in 2009 noted:1. The Parliamentary Assembly notes that during recent decades the activities of different interest groups have been constantly increasing. This phenomenon is true both at the level of the Council of Europe member states, and at the level of the European institutions. Moreover, a strong increase and concentration of lobbying activities in both Brussels and Strasbourg has been observed with the unification process and European Union enlargement. Today, it is estimated that over 15,000 special-interest groups are active in Brussels, more than 2,600 of which have their permanent offices there and perform lobbying activities with the EU institutions.
2. The Assembly is convinced that pluralism of interests is an important feature of democracy and it is perfectly legitimate for members of society to organise and lobby for their interests. However, unregulated, secret lobbying as such may undermine democratic principles and good governance. In a democracy, all interests ought to be duly taken into account and all citizens should have equal access to the law and decision-making.
3. The Assembly notes that very few Council of Europe member states have regulated lobbying activities in some way. Thus surveys have shown that among 14 countries having regulated lobbying or considered the issue within their parliaments, only four European countries have adopted a law on this issue. 4. The Assembly is concerned by the fact that such a situation may undermine democratic principles and good governance in those Council of Europe member states where democratic traditions are not deeply rooted and where absence of effective mechanisms of checks and balances exercised by civil society constitute a danger.Doc. 11937 - 05/06/2009 - Lobbying in a democratic society (European Code of conduct on lobbying)
One of those special-interest groups that are active in Brussels, and of which has permanent office there and perform lobbying activities with the EUROPEAN UNION is the THE EUROPEAN ASSOCIATION OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES.
The main political lobbying arm of the WTBTS in Belgium for Europe is:THE RELIGIOUS FREEDOM SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE EUROPEAN ASSOCIATION OF JEHOVAH'S CHRISTIAN WITNESSES
Chariman: Marcel Gillet
Address: Rue d'Argile 60, 1950 Kraainem, Belgium
Tel: +32 (0)2 782 0015
Fax: +32 (0)2 782 0592
Email: [email protected]What is the Council of Europe?
According to Wikipedia:The Council of Europe (French: Conseil de l'Europe ) is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights,democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation. It was founded in 1949, has 47 member states with some 800 million citizens, and is an entirely separate body from theEuropean Union (EU), which has only 27 member states. Unlike the EU, the Council of Europe cannot make binding laws. The two do however share certain symbols such as the flag of Europe. The Council of Europe has nothing to do with either the Council of the European Unionor the European Council, which are both EU bodies.
The best known bodies of the Council of Europe are the European Court of Human Rights, which enforces the European Convention on Human Rights, and the European PharmacopoeiaCommission, which sets the quality standards for pharmaceutical products in Europe. The Council of Europe's work has resulted in standards, charters and conventions to facilitate cooperation between European countries.
Its statutory institutions are the Committee of Ministers comprising the foreign ministers of each member state, the Parliamentary Assembly composed of MPs from the Parliament of each member state, and the Secretary General heading the secretariat of the Council of Europe. TheCommissioner for Human Rights is an independent institution within the Council of Europe, mandated to promote awareness of and respect for human rights in the member states.
The headquarters of the Council of Europe are in Strasbourg, France, with English and Frenchas its two official languages. The Committee of Ministers, the Parliamentary Assembly and theCongress also use German, Italian, and Russian for some of their work.
Non-Governmental Organisations
Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) can participate in the INGOs Conference of the Council of Europe and become observers to inter-governmental committees of experts. The Council of Europe drafted the European Convention on the Recognition of the Legal Personality of International Non-Governmental Organisations in 1986, which sets the legal basis for the existence and work of NGOs in Europe. Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights protects the right to freedom of association, which is also a fundamental norm for NGOs. The rules for Consultative Status for INGOs appended to the resolution (93)38 "On relation between the Council of Europe and non-governmental organisations", adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 18 October 1993 at the 500th meeting of the Ministers' Deputies. On 19 November 2003 the Committee of Ministers changed the consultative status into a participatory status (Resolution Res (2003)8) “considering that it is indispensable that the rules governing the relations between the Council of Europe and NGOs evolve to reflect the active participation of international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) in the Organisation's policy and work programme”.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_EuropeThe Council of Europe web site (English): http://www.coe.int/lportal/web/coe-portal In the search box type in "Jehovah" and press enter. This will provide a list of related documents, press releases, and statements.
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Both "Mentally Diseased" & Blood Transfusion DF/DA Violate UN Charter
by skeeter1 inthe united nations charter is for all un countries to follow, to its best ability.. the united nations is for the right to change one's religion, without coercion.
it applies to both countries who thwart changing religions directly, but also holds governments responsible if it allow private actors to coerce people from changing one's religion.
coercion is thought of broadly, and goes beyond mere physical force.
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AndersonsInfo
Skeeter, I posted about this event three days ago. I'm so glad you brought up the subject again and I think your points are excellent and idea is worth pursuing.
I also have some new information that might be useful and will post it tomorrow on this thread.
Barbara
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Some JWs are exhibiting signs of violence because of WT hate speech. Read the threat to me and others posted at Topix yesterday
by AndersonsInfo inyesterday, i opened a topix account so i could post the information about watch tower representatives attending the political ocse meeting in poland for two weeks and the proof that they are an ngo.
one of the posters responded with these words: .
"barbs-info," eh?
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AndersonsInfo
Hey "Flying Gabriel," I appreciated your thoughtful words in the 1,000th post. I think I was 996th post.
Yep, it looks like I'm good at stirring up the hornet's nest inside the secret confines of the Lord's organization. I'm not too fond of hornets because they sting. Sure hope that I don't get stung too badly by the hit-men (lawyers) of WT land. If they do try to sting, I can always sting back. They might have the money, but they have no idea what my stinger consists of and how damaging it might be.
With that ominous tone, I'll say good night.
Barbara
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"Mentally diseased" article to be published in The Independent tomorrow
by cedars inhi everyone.
as a parting gift to you all before i take a much needed break from this forum, i thought you would be pleased to know that the independent, a leading uk newspaper, will be publishing a piece on the "mentally diseased" watchtower article in tomorrow's edition.. i would like to thank everybody who has assisted the journalist, jerome taylor, in his investigation.. best wishes to all of you,.
cedars.
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AndersonsInfo
I finally had the time to post a comment on the the Independent website comment section. I think I was 996, a little late, but at least I got my two-sense in. It's just wonderful that Cedars and two other posters did their thing to make the police and the press aware of the way Watch Tower is stirring up hateful emotions by the use of hateful words and terms towards those who leave the religion. This has been one mile-stone day. I sure hope we have more days like this one.
Hey "Flying Gabriel," I appreciated your thoughtful words in the 1,000th post.
Barbara
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Some JWs are exhibiting signs of violence because of WT hate speech. Read the threat to me and others posted at Topix yesterday
by AndersonsInfo inyesterday, i opened a topix account so i could post the information about watch tower representatives attending the political ocse meeting in poland for two weeks and the proof that they are an ngo.
one of the posters responded with these words: .
"barbs-info," eh?
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AndersonsInfo
Thanks everyone for expressing your concerns. I'm concerned too, not only for myself, but for the others mentioned. I did lodge a complaint to the Topix administrators and mentioned the newspapers in England, etc., reporting on the hate speech used in WT literature that is enflaming the Witnesses towards former members.
I also posted a comment about the hateful words used on Topix in the Independent newspaper comments section just a few minutes ago. I really don't know who else to notify about the threat. I don't think going to my local police would do any good; any specific directional information would be helpful.
And thank you for your kind words towards any efforts I've made over the years to inform. I suppose all I do is validate to people that their suspicions about the WT are correct and I'm grateful that I can do that. This board also validates, but it's great asset is to offer support. There are literally thousands leaving the WT and it's good that you all are here for many of them. Also, it's wonderful that so many newly out of the organization are activists informing others about WT's practices that inflict so much harm on people's lives, especially the kids.
Thank you for being there for me and giving me support when I need it too.
Barbara
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Some JWs are exhibiting signs of violence because of WT hate speech. Read the threat to me and others posted at Topix yesterday
by AndersonsInfo inyesterday, i opened a topix account so i could post the information about watch tower representatives attending the political ocse meeting in poland for two weeks and the proof that they are an ngo.
one of the posters responded with these words: .
"barbs-info," eh?
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AndersonsInfo
Yesterday, I opened a Topix account so I could post the information about Watch Tower representatives attending the political OCSE meeting in Poland for two weeks and the proof that they are an NGO. One of the posters responded with these words:
"Barbs-info," eh? Then you would be the morally bankrupt, libeling opportunist Barbara Anderson, correct?
He then went on to make many false statements about me.
Then another poster wrote this:
Shoot the messenger, not the message huh?
That is usually the best JW apologists can do.http://www.topix.com/forum/religion/jehovahs-witness/TU09UVPE91M1MCQEK
Then my critic went on to say,
My criticisms of the morally bankrupt, libeling opportunist that's calling herself, "barbs-info" go beyond, "shooting the messenger."
However, when the messenger is DISHONEST, and supports dishonest people and groups - Bill Bowen, Dateline, Randall Watters, AJWRB et al - then the messenger deserves to be shot.Yes, hate speech does incite threats of violence and I'm so happy that Cedars and the other posters involved were able to alert the media and the police to this situation and now the message of what we former JWs have been up against for too long is getting good press coverage. If Watch Tower leaders don't stop publishing vile things about XJWs, it's only a matter of time before someone does get hurt by some JWs who are obsessed by their religion.
Barbara
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Poland: Latest info on WTBTS's involvement with OSCE (Organiztion for Security and Co-operation in Europe). Meetings begin Oct. 26th and end Oct. 7th
by AndersonsInfo inthe 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.. .
the osce maintains special relations with 12 countries, which are known as partners for co-operation.
mediterranean partners for co-operation.
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AndersonsInfo
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 DenominationTuesday, 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.
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Tuxedo Park, NY: WT pays 3.2M for building
by AndersonsInfo inhttp://www.costar.com/news/article/watchtower-bible-and-tract-society-of-ny-pay-$32m-for-flex-building/132207.
watchtower bible and tract society of ny pay $3.2m for flex buildinginternational paper company sells research and development facility in tuxedo parkby erica dollseptember 21, 2011. watchtower bible and tract society of new york, a non-profit association, acquired the flex building in tuxedo park, ny from international paper for $3.2 million, or about $17 per square foot.
the building was delivered in 1969 at 1422 long meadow road.
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AndersonsInfo
Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of NY Pay $3.2M for Flex Building
International Paper Company Sells Research and Development Facility in Tuxedo Park By Erica Doll September 21, 2011
Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, a non-profit association, acquired the flex building in Tuxedo Park, NY from International Paper for $3.2 million, or about $17 per square foot.
The building was delivered in 1969 at 1422 Long Meadow Road. It totals about 184,900 square feet on 50 acres in the Orange County Industrial submarket.
RJ Smith from R.J. Smith Realty represented the buyer. Stephen Perfit and Peter Malone from Pyramid Hudson Valley NY Brokerage represented the seller.
