Several articles from the German press reveal some of the behind-the-scenes action in the Church of Scientology's attempt to infiltrate Albanian society. Translations by Joe Cisar.
| Subject: |
Haag, Engrams from Albania |
|---|---|
| From: |
German_Scn_News <german_scn_news@hotmail.com> |
| Newsgroups: |
alt.religion.scientology |
| Date: |
Tue, 31 Jul 2001 15:25:32 -0400 |
| Msg-ID: |
<Pine.LNX.3.96. 1010731152124.119B-100000 @darkstar.zippy> ![[offsite]](img/outlink.gif) > |
The notorious Scientology sect has its eyes on Albania. Of help to the infiltration of developing countries are the federal commerce ministry, agencies and politicians.
Bonn, Germany
December 24, 1993
IG-Metall, Nr.23, 1993, p. 10
Dr. Michael Scheele, an attorney with a plush address on Munich's
Prinzregentenplatz, is interested of all places in the most
impoverished country of Europe: Albania. On December 7, 1992, he
verified for the "Cooperation Office of German Commerce" in Berlin
that he was participating in the "Commerce meeting on Albania."
Included on the guest list were the Albanian ambassador, staff of the
federal commerce ministry and representatives from banks and
industry. Also his client, Gerhard Haag, would be coming, wrote
Scheele; specifically, Haag would be preparing a "major investment
project in Tirana," the Albanian
capitol ![[sic]](img/sic.gif "capital")
city.
Apparently taking part in the commerce meeting paid off for Haag and Scheele. That same month, Scheele was summoned into the Albanian constitutional commission and, since then, has had close contact to the Albanian government.
Gerhard Haag also obtained official aid from Bonn. The federal
commerce ministry verified on March 26, 1993, that he and his company
"Albanien Bau und Handel" ("Albanian Building and Trade")
"
would be provided construction work "in the interest of broadening
the cooperation and commercial relations between the Federal Republic
of Germany and the Republic of Albania in the infrastructure and in
the building of that country." In actuality, Haag, the big
Scientology investor, went to Albania the end of last year and there,
in the service of the sect, started its "Project A." In Tirana he
wants to raise a
multi-storied trade center
which would "harbor … and bring into this country"
Scientology's technology, as the sect center in Clearwater, Florida
revealed. Thanks to aid from many sides, Haag was able to climb up to
"preferred German investor," according to an inside source.
Suspicions abound that Haag's attorney, Scheele, will be providing
valuable service with his government contacts. Surely the fact that
CSU federal representative Dr. Juergen Warnke (CSU), former
development aid minister, was, up until recently, Scheele's partner
in his law office on Prinzregentenplatz, will be of use.
According to a binding contract from August, 1992, Scheele and his partners Andreas Zielke and Juergen Warnke carried out the sale of Haag's former company, the "Stahlbautechnik Neckar" (STN), which helped him prepare his move to Albania. For doing that the attorneys took in over 300,000 marks. According to the contract, signed by Scheele, Warnke, who until recently was the CSU chairman, was supposed to help with the sale or the restoration of STN.
Warnke disputes having been aware of this deal with Haag. He said neither had he given his agreement to taking on a client. At the end of October, Warnke suddenly left the law offices on Prinzregentenplatz. Just in the nick of time. Several days later the state attorney's office went there and confiscated numerous files because of the connection to Haag.
(Michael Linkersdoerfer, from IG-Metall, Nr.23, 1993, p. 10)
Staff warned of sect attack.
Stuttgart superior court confirms developments in Tirana
Munich, Germany
March 7, 1998
Sueddeutsche Zeitung (SZ)
Munich (SZ) — In early 1993, top Scientologist Gerhard Haag was making his way from Lichtenwald, Swabia to start Project A. Behind that move he plan[ned] to penetrate the new construction market taking place in Albania with the teachings of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, and to install an SC (Scientology Church) center in Albania. To get his foot in the door, Haag, who at the time was being sought on an international arrest warrant because of suspicious movements of money and other peculiarities in his Swabian steel company, got a letter of recommendation from the federal commerce ministry. The government agency wrote the businessman a confirmation that his Albania Building and Trade company would be performing valuable construction work.
Shortly prior to that, the CSU aligned Munich Hanns-Seidel Foundation
(HSF) had decided to try its luck in Albania. The young project leader,
Michael Kosmala from Amber in Oberpfalz, was
send
by the HSF to
Tirana in order to get acceptance from Albania's management and
institution offices. Not a small part of Kosmala's activity consisted of
making Albania's minister or minister president aware of the presence of
CSU greats in Tirana. CSU guests to Albania in 1993 included Munich's
federal representative Erich Riedl as well as former traffic minister
Juergen Warnke.
Warnke and his law office partner, the Munich attorney and known Scientology defender Michael Scheele, petitioned the Albanian government chiefs, who, in turn, took the lawyers' client, Gerhard Haag, under their wing and put things in motion at the government offices for the businessman from Swabia. Today Kosmala claims that Warnke also must have been aware of the open arrest warrant for Haag at the time. Haag was already investing in Albania, and a part of the delegation could view the project at the invitation of the German Embassy.
Both Scheele and Haag intended on making good money in Albania through the CSU aligned Hanns-Seidel Foundation. While Warnke's partner offered the Albanian justice minister a legal study from his Albanian Business-Consult [sic] for approximately 200,000 marks, which the HSF was supposed to co-finance, Scheele, Warnke and Haag looked for offices in the HSF building in Tirana. Michael Kosmala sounded the counter-attack. In numerous memoranda and letters the project leader instructed the HSF foreign director Rainer Gepperth and HSF business manager Manfred Baumgaertel to keep the foundation's money and offices out of the clutches of Scheele, Warnke and Haag. Kosmala also wrote that Warnke had tried to extort money from him. The CSU representative was said to have advised him about a share in a Haag company. Obviously the matter was highly uncomfortable for Gepperth. He wrote to his law office partners that he could do without offices for at most two months. A little later Gepperth learned that Scheele had planned a big dedication ceremony in the the HSF building in Tirana. Unfortunately, as the foreign director wrote, he could not participate: "You are nevertheless at liberty to undertake the opening of your office."
Kosmala, who was getting desperate and who saw his foundation being infiltrated by the Scientologists, ran to the Albanian justice minister, Hudret Cela, and warned him about Scheele. Haag's attorney did not receive the lucrative contract that he had already been promised for the study. An ARD TV team also learned about the contact between the Hans-Seidel Foundation and Scientology. Kosmala wanted to tell the complete story to the ARD journalists, but Baumgaertel delineated exactly which lines he could say. The wording was neutral.
Then began the professional decline of the project leader. Kosmala had to sign a draft letter to Minister Cela in which he apologized for his statements about Scheele and in which he took back everything. The text was conveyed to Kosmala through HSF southeast Europe director Klaus Fiesinger. Gepperth said to me, "Kosmala, you have done great damage, see to it that it is repaired," reported the man from Amberg. A little later Kosmala received a written warning from Gepperth. The foreign chief let his staff member know that he would, in the future, be more reserved with his statements. In early 1996, Kosmala was then let go. Due to cut-backs, the HSF could no longer use him, it was said.
Now the 39-year-old man from Amberg has made a last attempt at reinstatement and he hit paydirt in the CSU, which is still his party at heart. The Stuttgart superior court, in a decision concerning a "Suedkurier" newspaper, which reported on the Albania affair, sided with the former project leader. Kosmala's statements that Scheele, along with Warnke, were involved with the Scientologist Haag, were plausible, according to the judge. The presentation by Scheele, who had sued the "Suedkurier," appeared to be less likely. Warnke's sworn statement, in which he emphasized that he had never given Haag a recommendation, could not convince the judge.
With a pile of evidence, Kosmala then approached Bavarian Culture State Secretary Monika Hohlmeier and Joachim Herrman, the CSU General Secretary. The matter has to be cleared up within the CSU, Kosmala demanded. He was rejected by both. "I have to ask myself what else Mr. Kosmala would really like," Monika Hohlmeier told the SZ. The old procedures have been cleaned up, Herrman believes. He said he did not want to interfere with the affairs of the Hanns-Seidel foundation. Nevertheless, Kosmala's opposition to the SC endeavors has earned him respect. Warnke communicated through his office in Bonn that he had never had anything to do with Scientology. He had nothing else to say about it. But the man from Amburg will not settle for that.
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