Another Worldwide Protest Against Scientology

CLEARWATER, FLORIDA. March 8, 2008 . As Project Chanology continues, thousands of people worldwide will stage a protest on March 15th against the Church of Scientology ’s corruption, and abuse of its members and critics.

The group Anonymous, will picket at local Church of Scientology centers around the world, beginning at 11 a.m. local time in each respective time zone. Anonymous has been increasing awareness for the cause, whilst simultaneously acquiring and spreading new information about the Church of Scientology obtained from their increasing number of informants within the organization, as part of its campaign to “systematically dismantle the Church of Scientology in it’s present form”.

A number of former Scientology members who had previously been afraid to give their own testimonies for fear of retribution from church officials have joined the movement, and a number of new websites informing the public about Scientology have been launched. Of special note is ExScientologyKids.com[1], known as “ESK” within the critic community. The ESK website is owned and administered by Kendra Wiseman, Astra Woodcraft and Jenna Miscavige-Hill. All three women are former members who grew up in Scientology, and are related to high ranking officials of the Church of Scientology and its associated front-groups. Kendra Wiseman is the daughter of the President of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR)[2], and niece of the President of Narconon[3]. Jenna Miscavige-Hill is the niece of the Chairman of the Board of Religious Technology Center (RTC) David Miscavige, who is generally considered to be the “Leader” of the Church of Scientology.

Both Kendra and Jenna have been “disconnected” by their family since leaving the church. Astra, whose mother is a high-ranking Sea Org[4] member, fled the Sea Org when they insisted she terminate her pregnancy. ESK tells these stories, and the stories of many other former Scientology children. Kendra Wiseman has said that in light of the recent efforts of Anonymous, and because of the efforts of those who have supported her over the last two years while she dealt with her families disconnection from her, she has been made to feel safe in speaking out and now wants to afford the same luxury to others, who may not feel as safe. Douglas Frantz, a former editor at the L.A. Times who has covered Scientology for the New York Times in the 1990s has said “Before this Internet onslaught, they were always able to go after their critics and do a good job of being able to discredit or intimidate them”[5].

The date of the March 15th Protest, referred to as “Operation Party Hard” and “The Ides of March” has been chosen as it falls near a major Scientology holiday, the birthday of Church founder L. Ron Hubbard. The 15th also marks the death of Ellie Perkins, a Scientologist who was killed by her son Jeremy. Jeremy, a sufferer of the disease of schizophrenia was denied Psychiatric drugs, and was instead treated with vitamins and auditing[6]. Anonymous intends to continue its campaign to educate the public about the true nature of the Church of Scientology; with the March 15th protest, and future events such as Operation Reconnect.

Scheduled to take place during April, Operation Reconnect[7] will shine a spotlight on families torn apart by the Church of Scientology. The aim is to bring these families together, with a number of the “disconnected” giving detailed accounts of their experience with Scientology and making public pleas to their families to “reconnect” with them.

On the 15th of March, Anonymous intends to bring “cake, good will and the gift of knowledge.” As usual, Anonymous have contacted and worked with city officials to ensure safe and law-abiding protests. Many protesters will wear masks, scarves and other facial obstructions to protect their identities due to organization.s practice of intimidating and silencing those that speak out against it.

Promotional Videos:

- March 15th - Operation Party Hard - The Ides of March -
- [mp4 format] - http://img1.anonbw.com/press/MARCHPRESS.mp4

- April 12th - Operation Reconnect -
- [wmv format] - http://img1.anonbw.com/press/Reconnect.wmv

About Anonymous:

Anonymous is a collective composed of many Internet users, combined under one name. The group have gained influence both on the Internet and in the real world.

Anonymous have launched campaigns against various White Supremacy entities, and played a major role in the capture of Canadian pedophile Chris Forcand.

Anonymous has been referred to as a “Cyber Vigilante Group” by The Toronto Sun[8], “Internet Activists” by The Economist[9], “the latest thorn in Scientology’s side” by Newsweek[10] and “cyber-terrorists…reminiscent of Al Qaeda spreading anti-American hatred and calling for U.S. destruction” by the “Church” of Scientology[5].

References:

[1] http://www.ExScientologyKids.com
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_Commission_on_Human_Rights
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narconon
[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_Org
[5] http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-scientology3mar03,0,7615291,full.story
[6] http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/JeremyPerkins/
[7] http://www.reconnect.org
[8] http://torontosun.com/News/TorontoAndGTA/2007/12/07/4712438-sun.html
[9] http://www.economist.com/world/international/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10609174
[10] http://www.newsweek.com/id/109410

Anonymous : Project Chanology Information:

http://www.march15.org
http://www.reconnect.org
http://www.WhyWeProtest.net
http://www.enturbulation.org
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Chanology

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