Path: nntp.farm.idt.net!news.idt.net!newsfeed.direct.ca!logbridge.uoregon.edu!zdc!szdc!super.zippo.com!newsp.zippo.com!miranda From: tallulah@mail.storm.ca (tallulah@storm.ca) Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology Subject: Helsinki Watch and the CoS - What's Going On? (UPDATE) Date: Thu, 08 Jan 1998 02:06:28 GMT Organization: Zippo News Service [http://www.zippo.com] Lines: 59 Message-ID: <691c60$mep@snews1.zippo.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: p-255.newsdawg.com X-Newsreader: News Xpress 2.01 The following statement from Mike Farrel, co-chair of the California Committee of Human Rights Watch, should be of interest to those following the curious case of Helsinki Watch. (Pssst: the third paragraph is the kicker.) >For the information of everyone out there who is concerned about this very >distressing recent development regarding Helsinki Watch, I offer the >following: > >I am the co-chair of the California Committee of Human Rights Watch, the >world's largest U.S. based human rights organization.  HRW is based in New >York and has offices in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Brussels, Hong Kong >and other cities depending on need.  Human Rights Watch, which was started >almost twenty years ago, was originally formed to further an understanding >of the human rights guarantees in the Helsinki Accords and was known as >Helsinki Watch.  The Helsinki Accords, and thus Helsinki Watch, focused on >human rights violations in Eastern Europe, behind what was then known as >the Iron Curtain.  As the organization grew and began to focus on human >rights violations in other parts of the world it developed branches which >dealt with other geographical areas (Americas Watch, Middle East Watch, >Asia Watch, Africa Watch) and special projects (Women's Rights Project, >Children's Rights Project, Arms Project).  All of these branches, or >divisions, now operate under the umbrella of Human Rights Watch. > >Because of the importance of the Helsinki Accords and because of the >leadership of Human Rights Watch in this area, the name Helsinki Watch >still attaches to our work in many respects, though it should properly be >known as Human Rights Watch, Helsinki (or Helsinki Division).  And, because >of the work of many people and national organizations in the Europe and >Eastern European area, there are a large and confusing number of smaller >local organizations in the region which use the word Helsinki in their >names. > >This background is only intended to be helpful in the understanding of the >larger situation so that I can make the further point that NEITHER HUMAN >RIGHTS WATCH NOR HELSINKI WATCH received the letter currently being >discussed on the Internet that evidently criticized Scientology and was >somehow subsequently turned over to a representative of Scientology.  Nor >did Human Rights Watch or Helsinki Watch issue a statement supporting >Scientology's claims of their rights having been violated. > >There is an organization in Greece which is known either as The Helsinki >Monitor or the Greek Helsinki Monitor.  This organization is not part of >Human Rights Watch and is not properly known as Helsinki Watch.  The >possibility exists that this organization, rather than Helsinki Watch/Human >Rights Watch, may have received the above-mentioned letter. > >I hope the above is helpful to those who have been confused by recent >developments.  We at Human Rights Watch deplore the idea of having a >confidential communication turned over to the organization of which it is >critical.  Even if we disagreed with or chose not to involve ourselves in >whatever the issues were, we would not operate in that manner. > >For further information on Human Rights Watch, please go to http://www.hrw.org > >Thanks for your attention. > >Mike Farrell