German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel, 5 November 1997

While Kinkel was in Washington for talks with US President Bill Clinton the papers report Kinkel as saying,
"...he encountered pro-Scientology demonstrators at all his stops in Washington on Wednesday and in Canada on Tuesday."

Kinkel says Scientology must not affect U.S. ties
01:31 a.m. Nov 06, 1997 Eastern

WASHINGTON, Nov 5 (Reuters) - German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel said on Wednesday that differences between Washington and Bonn over the U.S.-based Church of Scientology must not cloud the relationship between the two states.

"We have to be careful that this does not impinge on our relationship," he told a news briefing, adding, "But I don't see that."

Kinkel, in Washington for wide-ranging talks with U.S. President Bill Clinton, senior government officials and lawmakers, refuted allegations that Germany discriminated against the U.S.-based group.

The issue, a long-time area of conflict between Bonn and Washington, leapt back on the agenda last week when the U.S. House of Representatives' International Relations Committee approved a resolution urging Germany to stop discriminating against religious groups, and Scientology in particular.

Kinkel said the accusation was "completely unfounded," and stresssed that religious freedom was enshrined in Germany's constitution.

He said senior U.S. officials had distanced themselves from the U.S. House action.

"The reaction was that this should not become a burden on our relationship, but it's also clear that the administration's position is different from what is going on in other places," he said, refering to the House action.

Kinkel said he encountered pro-Scientology demonstrators at all his stops in Washington on Wednesday and in Canada on Tuesday.

The Church of Scientology has accused Germany, which has placed it under surveillance for possible anti-constitutional activities, of persecuting it in the same way Jews were treated during the Nazi period.

The group issued a statement late on Wednesday accusing Kinkel of "totalitarian-style suppression of a free press" because he allowed only German reporters to attend his Wednesday afternoon briefing.

They said Kinkel also asked two German Scientologists to leave the briefing.

"Mr. Kinkel finds the American concept of a free press alien to his government's thinking," said Rev. Heber Jentzsch, president of the Church of Scientology International.

"He cannot control U.S. press as they report freely on his government's discrimination. He can control the German press and through them he hopes to manipulate the international media into ignoring his government's human rights abuses."

Germany believes Scientology to be a purely economic organization exploiting the weaknesses of its members for profit.

Top of Harassment | More Scientology Information.