Anonymous: 9,000 on Operation Reconnect? (updated)

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April 13, 2008

Libération publie aujourd'hui mon papier sur le fascinant "mouvement" Anonymous de protestation contre la Scientologie, vu des Etats-Unis, avec une page de portraits d'"Anonymes" parisiens rejoints par Nono Le Clown lors de la troisième manifestation mondiale, surnommée "Operation Reconnect" samedi après-midi (lire le compte-rendu de Renaud Lecadre.) Je n'ai pas pu assister à la manif de Washington (pour cause de vacances hors des Etats-Unis), mais les forums des Anonymes semblent dire qu'il y avait entre 200 et 300 manifestants, à peu près autant que le 15 mars quand j'étais tombée sur leur rallye festif par hasard.

Today's French daily Libération ran my story about the fascinating Anonymous movement critical of Scientology (click here for a Google Translation), as seen from the U.S. The paper version has a gallery of photos of masked "Anons" taken during the Paris demonstration on Saturday, complete with their somewhat inspirational leader Nono Le Clown (read Renaud Lecadre's account of the very small demonstration here.) This third edition of Anonymous' global protest was called "Operation Reconnect" and I wish I could have attended the Washington demo but I'm on vacation outside of the U.S. Anonymous forums seem to say that between 200 and 300 people showed up in the U.S. capital, roughly as many as on March 15, when I came across their previous demonstration by accident:.

Au niveau global, la mobilisation serait égale ou inférieure à celle du mois dernier, à en croire plusieurs "leaders" régionaux. Des Anons chargés du recensement sur Enturbulation.org estime qu' "Operation Reconnect" a rassemblé 9 000 personnes dans une centaine de villes du monde entier (le chiffre n'est pas définitif: voir discussion et carte mondiale.) Ces estimations me paraissent un peu optimistes, car les villes championnes du mouvement comme L.A. ou Londres ont vu 300-400 personnes chacune, mais de nombreuses autres comme Moscou, Lausanne ou Paris n'ont réuni qu'une toute petite poignée d'Anonymes. Ce qui n'enlève rien au caractère jamais vu de ce réseau.

On a global level, participation was the same or less than last month, according to several regional "organizers." Anons in charge of the headcount Enturbulation.org estimate that "Operation Reconnect" has gathered some 9,000 demonstrators in a hundred cities around the world (stats keep changing: see thread and world map.) . Which seems a tad optimistic to me, given that leading cities such as L.A. or London had perhaps 300-400 people, but numerous other cities such as Moscow, Lausanne or Paris only had a handful. Which doesn't take anything from the uniqueness of this never-seen before network.

CONNECTIVITE LIMITEE EN FRANCE / FRENCH CONNECTION LIMITED

Faute de davantage de place dans le journal, un encadré sur la faiblesse du mouvement en France a sauté: "Je ne pense pas qu’ [Anonymous] existe vraiment en France," estime Karin Pouw, porte-parole de l’Eglise de Scientologie Internationale, tout en se réjouissant d’ "un changement de situation" (en février, la directrice de cabinet de Nicolas Sarkozy, Emmanuelle Mignon, s’était interrogée sur la pertinence du mot "secte" pour qualifier la Scientologie.)

Explications avancées pour ce manque de mobilisation: le tout-anglais jusqu'à tout récemment sur les sites-clefs d’Anonymous et "le manque de visibilité de la Scientologie en France", selon un informaticien membre-pivot de la branche française. Face à une secte reconnue en tant que telle, "les gens n’ont pas la même motivation [qu’aux Etats-Unis] pour rejoindre la cause." A noter que des opposants comme Nono Le Clown affirment décrocher des rendez-vous avec des élus politiques "de différents partis" pour exprimer leurs inquiétudes face à la Scientologie.

Due to the lack of space, the paper didn't end up running a sidebar on the surprisingly low participaion in France: "I don't think that [Anonymous] really exists in France," said Karin Pouw, a Church of Scientology International spokeswoman, before mentioning with satisfaction that "the situation has changed" (in February, French president Nicolas Sarkozy's Head of Cabinet, Emmanuelle Mignon, questioned the use of the word "cult" to describe Scientology.)

Here's how French Anons explain the lack of involvement in the usually demonstration-happy France: this is due to the English-only (until very recently) content on Anonymous' main websites and forums and the fact that "Scientology is just not visible in France," according to a young computer guy and key French Anon. When a cult is recognized as such in a country, "people don't have the same motivation [as in the U.S.] to fight for the cause." A point worth mentioning: CoS opponents such as Nono Le Clown seem to be able to line up meetings with elected officials "of different parties" to express their concerns about Scientology.

Aux Etats-Unis, c'est autrement plus difficile. Et c'est un aspect qui n'a pas pu être exploré longuement dans l'article de Libération. J'ai contacté plusieurs plusieurs lobbyistes, hommes politiques concernés et l’Association Américaine de Psychiatrie (la Scientologie lutte activement contre cette discipline) qui ont décliné ou ignoré des demandes répétées de commentaires pour cet article. «Beaucoup d’élus et de leaders religieux craignent de dire publiquement ce qu’ils me disent en privé: certains affirment avoir déjà été intimidés par la Scientologie,» me disait le révérend John Wetzel, un pasteur luthérien qui agit en «lobbyiste» bénévole des critiques de la scientologie à Washington. Arnie Lerma, un ancien membre de la Scientologie devenu activiste critique affirme carrément: "Nous menons un combat façon guerrilla car il n'y a aucun courage à Washington."

Getting to talk to your representative about Scientology is another story in the United States, and I wish this aspect could have been mentioned in more detail in the Liberation article. I contacted several lobbyists, politicians who have a reputation for being weary of cults, and the American Psychiatric Association (Scientology is actively fighting against psychiatry) and they either all declined or ignored my requests for comments for this article. "Many elected officials and religious leaders are afraid to say publicly what they tell me privately: some of them tell me that they've already been intimidated by the Church of Scientology," said Rev. John Wetzel, a critic who acts as a de facto unpaid "representative" for Scientology detractors in Washington. Arnie Lerma, a former CoS member turned opponent is more blunt: "We’re fighting in guerilla warfare style because there is no courage in Washington.”

Formerly Fooled, le blog de "Mary McConnell", une ancienne scientologue activiste / Formerly Fooled, a blog by "Mary McConnell," a former scientologist-turned-activist.

Pour une couverture française d'Anonymous, le site Bakchich / Bakchich: a French website covering the French Anon movement since the get-go.

Le nouveau portail vidéo de la Scientologie / CoS's new video portal: Scientology.org
Le clip de la Scientologie qui dénonce Anonymous: Anonymous Exposed... et la réponse d'Anonymous / CoS' video denouncing Anonymous: Anonymous Exposed... and Anonymous' response réponse d'Anonymous.

The Village Voice: Scientology's First Celebrity Defector Reveals Church Secrets

Photo in Los Angeles: Sklathill. In the London Tube: a photo by a London Anon.

Posted by Emmanuelle at April 13, 2008 7:45 PM | TrackBack

Comments

Hi Emmanuelle! I'm glad to see you are reporting on this! I found out about it because Arnie Lerma posted a link on alt.religion.scientology. :)

Posted by: Beth at April 14, 2008 10:12 AM

Thank you Thank you Thank you for having the courage to report the truth!!!

Posted by: Steve at April 14, 2008 12:53 PM

The story about Emmanuelle Mignon, the Office Director of Sarkozy, whom I visited for more than an hour some weeks ago after her public declaration about cults, is far from what Karin Pouw said. It is now totally false indeed, here is the story.

Miss Mignon was'nt informed correctly 'from under', and did ignore some facts about cults when she spoke of it first.

Just after her speech about scientology and cults (two very short sentences where she said "Cults are a no-problem", a short utterance she denied having said, and "Regarding Scientology, I don't know them, but one can wonder"), three TVs including a russian one, four radios and some newspapers interviewed me about what she had said.

I thought what was the best solution, being convinced that she could'nt have pronounced these sentences if she had really known the problems caused by cults.

I decided to say that I'll ask her a rendez-vous. I did two days later and got an answer very fast; I met her more than an hour along on a friday evening, with not the least interruption, announcing her that on saturday, she would find a great article also in the media - that was the Boublil affair. I gave her my book 'La Secte'.

Besides, Miss Mignon met also Catherine Picard, the President of the french "CAN" (UNADFI) and an ex-congresswoman.

Later, she went to the General annual Assembly of the UNADFI to say she was sorry to have possibly hurted those who were working against cults; and later, she also came the MIVILUDES, the french official interministerial mission working against cults felonies and crimes, for a similar intervention.

So, Pouw is very wrong saying that the climate changedabout cults, since as soon as Miss Mignon had spoken, medias exploded of articles insisting on the cults problems.

The president Sarkozy was immediately alerted and said, sort of, that there was no doubt, and the Prime Minister announced that the MIVILUDES possibilities would be reinforced. Now we have evidences that scientology is indeed more under enquiry than ever before.

Posted by: roger gonnet at April 14, 2008 11:22 PM

Your article is very well done, and gives a clear explanation of the French point of view. Fortunately, Roger Gonnet was able to spent an hour with Mme. Mignon shortly after her statement, to educate her about the darker aspects of Scientology.

Posted by: Eldon Braun at April 14, 2008 11:55 PM

emmanuelle BIG THANKS again
I was so glad to read and see pictures in our daily national paper and well good search and good points and facts
NONO LA PATATE
clown des batignolles
say NO to church of $ciencefictionology

Posted by: nono la patate at April 15, 2008 1:39 AM

Thanks for your comments and to Mr. Gonnet for all these interesting details: That's when I'm glad to have a blog, to hear feedbacks like yours and find out about events that I was not aware of, such as your meeting with Mrs. Mignon.

To clarify, though: Karin Pouw never commented directly on Mrs. Mignon's remark (that paragraph including CoS's side of the story was reduced during the editing process.) She just told me how satisfied she was to see how Europe is changing, with Spain recognizing CoS as a religion, and how the situation is changing in France too, which led to that mention of Mrs. Mignon's comment, a major win for Scientology. "Europe is a very different ballpark now" said Karin Pouw.

Posted by: Emmanuelle at April 15, 2008 7:01 AM