Congressman Sonny Bono Uses His Power to Help Scientology In Sweden

Associated Press/October 18, 1997

Stockholm, Sweden -- Under pressure from the United States, Sweden has agreed to stop allowing public access to a Scientology publication that the controversial church guards closely.

The decision comes in a case that placed Sweden's law on open public records in conflict with international copyright regulations and prompted complaints from U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky and Rep. Sonny Bono, R-Calif.

Goeran Schaeder, legal affairs chief at the Swedish Justice Department, said Saturday that the decision was made ``to protect our international contacts.''

``This is extremely good. It is exactly what we expected,'' said Tarja Vulto, spokeswoman for Scientology in Sweden.

The case began last year when a copy of the church's training manual was sent to the Swedish Parliament. Swedish law permits the Parliament to provide the public with copies of documents filed with it.

It is not clear how the person who sent the manual, Zenon Panoussis, obtained it. But dissident church members have made secret publications available elsewhere and have posted them on the Internet.

The church filed suit against Panoussis, claiming the submission violated its copyright. Barshefsky cited the copyright issue as one of two trade concerns with Sweden and said the matter could be taken before the World Trade Organization.

Last month, Bono wrote to Justice Minister Laila Freivalds and asked her to order a stop to the release of material copyrighted in the United States.

Scientology, with adherents worldwide including many celebrities, is frequently in disputes between those who say it is a legitimate religion and those who contend it is a cult or a commercial operation. The church won tax-free status as a religion in the United States in 1993 after a 25-year campaign.

Scientology was founded by science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard in 1954.

Hubbard contended that mankind's trouble began when Xenu, leader of an intergalactic federation 75 million years ago, attempted to solve a population problem on federation planets. He transported surplus populations to Earth, where they were chained to volcanoes and blown up with hydrogen bombs. Their essence, or ``thetans,'' were implanted with imperfections, and they remain the cause of people's troubles today, according to Hubbard's writings.

Through the use of a so-called E-meter, somewhat like a lie detector, church members undergo exercises and counseling to eliminate negative mental images and achieve a ``clear state.''

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