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CAP
LC 2012
www.coordiap.com |
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Ecrivez-nous : 37, rue St Léonard 44000 Nantes |
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| contact@coordiap.com | |
REPORT ON DISCRIMINATION AGAINST SPIRITUAL AND THERAPEUTICAL MINORITIES IN FRANCE
Testimonies
: Introduction 1st
page 2nd 3rd
4th 5th 6th
7th Conclusion
Conclusion
In
recent months, various groups have been arbitrarily labeled "cults"
and systematically attacked in the media. The result: People of goodwill have
been ostracized in their communities and have suffered severe financial loss,
such as loss of livelihood, and other hardships. These groups include not
only new religious groups, but also those which promote a healthy life or
the use of natural or alternative medicine. The testimonial sessions organized
throughout France by the Alliance of Associations and Individuals for Freedom
of Thought have made it possible to assess the damage caused by this witch
hunt. Altogether, the Alliance has collected some one hundred testimonies,
several of which have been included in this report.
Recognizing that the term "cult" has become a new weapon used to
destroy innocent groups, the Alliance has put forth five proposals aimed at
the eradication of discrimination in France:
1. The establishment of international investigatory committees sponsored by
public organizations such as the United Nations or the OSCE, as well as private
organizations, such as the International Helsinki Commission, so as to diligently
conduct independent studies on members of spiritual groups or groups using
alternative medicine.
2. The repeal of any discriminatory law containing the word "cult,"
"sect," "cultic," or "sectarian." Indeed, the
Alliance wishes it to be recognized that the law should not specify groups
as "sectarian" or "cultic" as, in a democracy, all individuals
and groups should be treated equally and in the same manner. Existing criminal
law is perfectly adequate to punish any and all abusive behavior, whether
committed by religious or non-religious individuals and groups and the labeling
of certain groups as "cults" and "sects" is unnecessary.
3. The withdrawal of public subsidies granted to groups and associations which
attack spiritual or religious movements.
4. The dissolution of the MILS [Interministerial Commission against Sects]
as its very purpose, "to fight against sects," is an affront to
the French Constitution which guarantees the religious neutrality of the State
and the principle of separation of Church and State.
5. The creation of an "Observatory" of new forms of spirituality
and religion, composed of learned and unbiased experts such as university
professors, sociologists of religion, attorneys and lawyers, historians and
religious leaders. The aim of this organization would be to inform the public
and authorities, as objectively as possible, in a spirit of tolerance and
in a way that respects the principle of debate.
This observatory would set up a center to provide information and documentation
to the public on all new forms of spirituality and religion. It could also
act as a mediator in cases of conflict between a member of a group and his
or her family. Such organizations exist in Great Britain (INFORM) and in Canada
(Information Center on New Religions.
_________________________
Translation of an article from the French regional newspaper
l'Yonne Républicaine
Tuesday
June 20, 2000
SOCIETY:
Dr. Yves Jullien committed suicide on March 6 at "L'Isle-sur-Serein."
The
Story of a Rumor that Kills
Accused
of being the guru of a cult, a doctor was the victim of destructive harassment.
"The thing I find the most difficult is the way others look at me,"
wrote Dr. Yves Jullien shortly before he died. A meeting some days ago in
the "château" of L'Isle-sur-Serein (in the Avallon region),
where Yves Jullien founded a therapy center in 1993, brought to light the
reasons that pushed him to commit suicide.
An irrational act by definition, suicide "always has multiple causes,"
said Maya Blache, his wife. This one, so it seems, was triggered by a persistent
rumor. The rumor spread for several years in the county of Yonne until this
irreproachable doctor became viewed as the guru of a cult. Members of the
so-called Epinoia cult lived in the Castle of L'Isle-sur-Serein and had, according
to their detractors, strange and suspicious activities.
Yves Jullien's former colleagues, friends and patients with their parents,
came to testify at Epinoia, where Dr. Jullien once helped drug addicts and
psychotics among others. Their purpose was to restore the good name, dragged
through the mud, of a decent, respectable man.
"A man who had nothing to do with imprisoning others inside a cult."
Often we heard that Epinoia was a cult, including from official sources. They
made a mistake. Evidently, they too were victims of the rumor, spreading it,
in all good faith, without knowing...
Patients, nurses and doctors were unanimous. Accusations against Yves Jullien
and his association were completely baseless, even ridiculous: "This
center was totally the opposite of a cult. Such allegations are just unthinkable."
"The association was original and human at the same time." "Patients
were pretty much free. The atmosphere was warm and friendly." "Yves
Jullien was an honest, independent man who had nothing to do with imprisoning
others in a cult."
It's a strange cult indeed that receives patients sent for treatment by the
Auxerre psychiatric hospital and even by the courts. You can't be more official
than that. Moreover, the center managed by Yves Jullien was successful and
well known. So, why these rumors? Why pretend that this doctor was no longer
a doctor, that he was barred from the Medical Association? This rumor went
on for months, though it was obviously unfounded.
The members of Epinoia lived in a community inside the castle of L'lsle-sur-Serein:
Their sixties look was obviously out of place there and it didn't take much
for the locals to conclude that Epinoia was a cult.
A matter of norms
Last summer a city regulatory agency closed down Yves Jullien's center. The
reason given was that the premises didn't meet city requirements. Was that
a pretext? Hard to say. In any case, that is what Yves Jullien's close friends
claim.
Who had a vested interest in seeing the center closed down? Local notables?
"For a year my husband was persecuted by the administration and the police,"
said Maya Blache. "He was slandered. I am here today to prevent a similar
occurrence."
The closing of the premises devastated Yves Jullien. It shattered his soul,
his work denied and despised. But this terrible disillusion cannot, all by
itself, explain his suicide.
Yves Jullien was stamped down because he used his own therapeutic techniques,
he worked outside the beaten paths, with a close-knit group of people who
didn't conform. People found this disturbing, even though he didn't openly
oppose the system. He simply asked for the right to be different. This right
was denied him.
A generous and efficient man
Yves Jullien, originally from Paris, started his career as a medical doctor
in 1975. A family practitioner up to 1983 in Montmorency near Paris, then
a toxicologist in Paris, he founded a health center in Corbigny in 1985. This
center, where patients and nurses lived in community, welcomed drug addicts
amongst others.
An advocate of the anti-psychiatry movement, he attended seminars of the famous
psychoanalyst Jaques Lacan for several years.
Yves Jullien and his wife, Maya Blache, left Corbigny... in 1993 after the
DDASS (the agency that enforces sanitation regulations) told them that their
premises weren't meeting all the requirements. They settled at the "château
de l'Isle-sur-Serein" near Avallon in Burgundy. There, they founded the
Epinoia association with Yves Jullien as its director and president. The association
employed a State qualified nurse, a qualified educator and six counselors.
This center treated drug addicts and persons suffering from serious psychological
disorders.
Yves Jullien also worked in Auxerre. He collaborated with the psychiatric
hospital's methadone center and nutrition center as a toxicologist. He also
operated an office of psychoanalysis with Maya Blache.
A father of four, this unusual doctor was extremely interested in philosophy.
His intellectual sharpness and quick ability to solve problems were apparently
envied. "People were jealous of my husband," says his wife. "He
loved everything spiritual. He was a generous and bright man. Some people
didn't like that."
Hubert Besson
Testimonies : Introduction 1st page 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th Conclusion