Swedish royals deny Scientology link after video (Reuters; 04/06/98)

STOCKHOLM, April 6 (Reuters) - Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia on Monday firmly denied any links to the Church of Scientology after footage of the royal couple was used in a promotional video.

Palace spokeswoman Cecilia Wilmhardt said old television footage, dating back 10 years, was used with a voice-over saying the king expressed his approval of the work of anti-drug agency Narconon, which is linked to the Scientology Church.

"The royal couple had no idea they had been linked to the Church of Scientology until a Swedish television channel saw the video," Wilmhardt told Reuters.

She said the only contact the royals have had with the church was, indirectly, in 1997 when the King sent a telegram of congratulations to Narconon which was celebrating 25 years in Sweden.

Wilmhardt said this was the usual procedure when organisations in Sweden celebrated a special anniversary.

"Narconon has now apologised and they have assured us that they will withdraw the section of the video with the royal couple," she said.

Since the New Year the video has been shown in an unknown number of Scientology churches around the world.

Narconon is a international drug rehabilitation and education charity whose rehabilitation programme was developed by L. Ron Hubbard, the American founder of Scientology.

{Reuters:International-0406.00174} 04/06/98

A national TV station here in Sweden yesterday showed some interesting footage that was never intended for Swedish viewers. It was taken from a Narconon propaganda movie, a real piece of Oscar-winning material which apparently has been received with standing ovations in the Scientologic communities outside Sweden.

To make it fairly brief:

"Sweden, right in the middle of the drug swamp, is fighting a losing war against dealers and pushers." Well, I live in Sweden and this is certainly news to me.

"…The highest crime rate in the Western world." Bullshit squared and cubed. Check any non-scientology reference work you want.

"The police, which has stood powerless against the onslaught has finally recognised the solution - Narcocon" (and a no-sound clip of a smiling policeman picking up a book from a table). Just as well there was no sound — the news reporter let the same policeman speak this time, and this is what he said: "I had no idea they were from Narcocon!" He wasn't smiling anymore, either.

Then a whole bunch of frontpages from our major newspapers were displayed, all of them praising Narcocon — and all of them forgeries.

And to cap it all, another silent clip, this time of our King and Queen discussing something with their aides, with an ecstatic speaker claiming that they, too, now give Narcocon their full and undivided support. Mrs Tarras-Wahlberg, spokesman for the Royal Court, had this to say: "The King does not support Narcocon. The video was from a private workgroup concerning something entirely different, and I have no idea how it has come public. We will speak seriously with Narcocon about this."

To summarize: a collection of slander, lies, and forgeries. Had the Scientology church been a nation, damned if we wouldn't have declared war on it!

Berlin Kurier of April 7, 1998

Royal Couple Annoyed with Sect

Stockhold  - Sweden's Royal Couple is in a clinch with a sect. In a propaganda film by Scientology, which is distributed all over the world, King Carl Gustaf and his wife Silvia appear as supporters of the sect program Narconon — without their permission.

Court information chief Elisabeth Tarras-Wahlberg is shocked. "The Royal Couple does not support this organization in any way. We have made contact with Scientology and demanded that the segment with the Royal Couple be edited out."

In the film, Sweden was presented as a country with many drug addicts and the highest rate of theft in the world. A speaker said to a picture of a the Royal Couple in a working session, "Even His Highness King Carl Gustaf has realized that Sweden has a solution for drug abuse. It is called Narconon." Mrs. Tarras-Wahlberg said, "The pictures are ten years old." Narconon Sweden, in the meantime, has apologized.

Following the TV 4 News (a major Swedish channel) coverage of the Narconon-King of Sweden story yesterday, several newspapers carry the story today 6 April 98. The two biggest national papers, Aftonbladet and Expressen, run it as the major front page story.

"The King and Queen used in propaganda film by religious cult. The Royal Court says: we don't know how they got hold of the pictures" (Aftonbladet head line)

"The King does not support this activity. Their majesties do not want to figure in this kind of context, and has also not been asked for permission" says Court spokesperson Elisabeth Tarras-Wahlberg to Aftonbladet.

Apparently, the Scn video contains footage from an internal Court meeting, probably up to 10 years old, according to the Court spokesperson. The King and Queen were invited to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Narconon Sweden last year, but declined. Then Narconon asked for a congratulatory cable message (which the King routinely sends out to organizations celebrating anniversaries), and got one of those, which is shown in the video.

The Varby Gard (area where Stockholm Narconon is located) chief of police, Lars Serenander was also shown in the video. He says "Nobody said anything about Scientology" (Aftonbladet)

Narconon Sweden spokesman Thomas Lillhannus says in Aftonbladet: "We have apologized to the Court and to the police. The Church of Scientology will have to cut out the scenes from the Court. He further blames this whole thing on an american TV team from CoS, and says: "We would never have approved this video if we'd seen the final result. Somebody from the CoS has made a f* mistake. There are several incorrect statements in the video."

On top of this, TV 3 news yesterday, and some papers today (I've seen it in Aftonbladet and Goteborgs-Posten so far) tell about a new book on cults in Sweden which will be released today, "Att leka med elden" (Playing with Fire). It's written by Karl-Erik Nylund, a priest who's been studying cults for years. He calls Scientology "the most dangerous cult in the world".

(It's the first time here I've seen Scientology mentioned in two different news items on the same day.)

[Original article not available; see <1998061121252900.RAA26140@ladder03.news.aol.com > where original is quoted in its entirety.-ed.K]

From our secret Swedish correspondent:

Some must steal and forge. Others inspires confidence even among kings and queens.

When the so called Church of Scientology earlier this year made a propaganda video, OSA used a stolen ten year old amateurs movie to give the impression, that the King and Queen of Sweden had something to do with the sect. A representative of Narconon had afterwards to apology repeated times in the Swedish media. He promised, that the offending video would be changed, but that was almost certainly never done with the version distributed in US.

June 6 1998 Sweden celebrated, that the King, H.M. Charles XVI Gustavus, has been sovereign during a quarter of a century. There was held a morning service in the Lutheran Cathedral in Stockholm in the presence of the Royal Couple. A part of the Mass was conducted by Komminister [Assistant Vicar] Karl-Erik Nylund.

Nylund who?

He is the author of "To Play with the Fire", an erudite and well-written treatise on cults and sects [Sellin & Partner Publishing House, Stockholm 1998, in Swedish]. He comes to the conclusion, that the so called Church of Scientology is the most dangerous sect in the world. No 2: The Unification Church [Moon]. No 3: Value Creating Society [Soka Gakkai - Komeito]. No 4: Family of Love.

His views about Scientology is stinging, and based on many years of observation of the sect. He is now and then used by Swedish Courts as an expert witness in lawsuits against cults and sects [but not in Zenon Panoussis' case]. Nylund knows, what he is talking about. He is the most respected expert in Sweden on the Church of Scientology.

The celebrations was followed a huge TV audience. It is true, that Komminister Nylund is on the permanent staff of the Stockholm Cathedral, but His Majesty could very well have chosen someone else clergyman for this honorary task. His choice must be interpreted as an indeed refined retaliation for the Church's abuse of the names of the Royal Couple.

A Big Win, Church of Scientology?