Letter of intent regarding pastoral visit to the Netherlands by a member of the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mr. Steven Lett from the USA and possible Protest actions.
- Introduction : On Saturday afternoon February 24, 2024 in Breda, the Foundation Against Watchtower Shunning (hereafter: SAWS) consulted with Patrick Haeck from Belgium. Together with him, the Dutch SAWS supporters officially decided to organize a Silent March followed by a Silent Protest. The reason for this is the pastoral visit of a member of the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses from the USA to the Jehovah's Witnesses in the Netherlands; for this pastoral visit the Johan Cruijff Arena Stadium in Amsterdam/South East has been rented.
The SAWS is very grateful to Mr. Jonas Plat from Norway for bringing out the news through a JG insider from the Netherlands that Mr. Steven Lett, member of the Governing Body, is coming to the Netherlands for a pastoral visit. This message was the trigger for action.
In the Netherlands, the SAWS will take on the direction/leadership to organize the Silent March and subsequent Silent Protest. The chairman of the SAWS will therefore take on the task of ensuring that everything runs orderly and with respect. The SAWS supporters decided to do this in Breda. A responsible task.
- The Declaration of Intent Through this Declaration of Intent, the SAWS therefore wishes to express its desire to organize an International Protest Action in an orderly and respectful manner with Patrick Haeck from Belgium and Jonas Plat from Norway, expressing the wish that other countries also join. How specifically to organize the Silent March and Silent Protest will be arranged in cooperation with Belgium and Norway....
This statement of intent explains the reasons why the SAWS tacked on to protest for the first time at a large meeting of Jehovah's Witnesses. It has become known both nationally and internationally that the SAWS has held several playful protest actions in front of the Branch Office of Jehovah's Witnesses in the Netherlands. Whereby it is noted, that the Dutch Government, police and judiciary and the national and local administrators plus press and media, have great respect for the SAWS actions and political lobbying, as well as the legal battle against the compulsory from on high imposed intolerant, rigid and discriminatory Watchtower-Shunning Policy, where especially children suffer.
- The Declaration of Intent Through this Declaration of Intent, the SAWS therefore wishes to express its desire to organize an International Protest Action in an orderly and respectful manner with Patrick Haeck from Belgium and Jonas Plat from Norway, expressing the wish that other countries also join. How specifically to organize the Silent March and Silent Protest will be arranged in cooperation with Belgium and Norway....
This statement of intent explains the reasons why the SAWS tacked on to protest for the first time at a large meeting of Jehovah's Witnesses. It has become known both nationally and internationally that the SAWS has held several playful protest actions in front of the Branch Office of Jehovah's Witnesses in the Netherlands. Whereby it is noted, that the Dutch Government, police and judiciary and the national and local administrators plus press and media, have great respect for the SAWS actions and political lobbying, as well as the legal battle against the compulsory from on high imposed intolerant, rigid and discriminatory Watchtower-Shunning Policy, where especially children suffer.
- Who does SAWS target and what are the main areas of focus?
- First and foremost, the top leadership of Jehovah's Witnesses and in addition, of course, the national Watchtower leadership. The SAWS considers it an opportunity to once again call for dialogue, for reform regarding the discriminatory Watchtower-Shunning Policy and to call attention to this when a member of the Governing Body comes to the Netherlands. The SAWS has by means of seven letters repeatedly called for dialogue, in which the letters have always expressed the wish of the SAWS, that the national board of the Christian congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses in the Netherlands would have the courage to be a trendsetter and present to the head office in the USA the question and wish to reform the discriminating Watchtower Shunning policy. Until now, the SAWS has always received zero response.
The SAWS sees it as an opportunity to join with Belgium and Norway in calling for the pastoral visit of the member of the Governing Body, Mr. Steven Lett, to actually make a hopeful pastoral visitation to the Netherlands. The SAWS does not mean this ironically but sincerely. In the hope that people will begin to see pastorally that the Watchtower Shunning Policy imposed from on high is anything but pastoral.
On Feb. 24, 2024, SAWS took the decision with its supporters that by means of a large LED screen, which may be driven around and on which members of the Governing Body will be shown each time with their inhumane statements, about how to treat excluded persons and apostates, among other things. It was decided that members of the Governing Body would not be mocked through videos on the LED screen.
The SAWS wishes to explicitly mention this to those, who wish to come to the Netherlands from Belgium and Norway, plus other Scandinavian countries. The SAWS therefore intends to write a letter to the Dutch Branch of Jehovah's Witnesses, requesting that they arrange for the SAWS and some fellow activists from abroad to be able to have prior dialogue with Mr. Steven Lett, the USA member of the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
- The second target group, which the SAWS has in mind, is of course all those Jehovah's Witnesses and in addition the possible interested parties who will travel to Amsterdam on April 20, 2024 for the important pastoral visit from the USA. It requires creativity to use enticing texts on placards and banners to elicit triggers from the visitors to the pastoral visit, so that they wake up and begin to see that they are in a religious totalitarian system.
- The third target group concerns the ordinary Dutch public that knows little or nothing about the organization behind the name Jehovah's Witnesses. By means of a flyer, which has yet to be produced, it must be made clear to them that the SAWS and its supporters, plus the International EX-JG activists coming to the Netherlands, are not against the existence of Jehovah's Witnesses. But they are against the Watchtower Shunning policy imposed from on high. For the Dutch public it must then become clear, who is imposing everything from on high, within the Watchtower Organization.
- Concerns:
The main concerns are, that the SAWS feels that all the above-mentioned audiences, which does not include the press and media, should be given clear notice that children are suffering under the Watchtower Shunning Policy.
The possible Silent March and subsequent Silent Protest, will be No-Violent. But with a decisive message, that Universal Children's Rights are being violated by the Watchtower Organization. On that, the following three points of interest:
- Children are required and forced to be baptized as early as between the ages of ten and eighteen, totally unable to comprehend the scope if they become deloyal to the Watchtower Organization after their baptism. Because to be baptized, one must answer the two well-known baptism questions. And baptism question two in particular is disastrous: "Will you remain faithful to God's visible Organization here on earth?" If a child "goes wrong" after his or her baptism, according to the JG Organization, then one faces harsh church discipline, rather than loving pastoral care.
- It is very traumatic and downright sad when children face mandatory Watchtower Shunning from on high. Especially those who live in the so-called divided households where one parent is still an active Jehovah's Witness and the other parent is an excluded - or even withdrawn Jehovah's Witness. Then a child faces a sad and dual conflict of loyalties. Choosing on the one hand between mom and dad and, on the other hand, between Jehovah God or Satan the devil.
- Over the past three years, the SAWS Foundation has been in contact with many excluded individuals who have been doubly affected; on the one hand, dealing with the discriminatory Watchtower Shunning Policy and, on top of that, were unfortunately victims of child sexual abuse within the Watchtower Organization. The exclusion took place precisely often after a victim of child sexual abuse made his or her story known, and among the elders, the fence was especially rigged when a victim (rightly) reported it.
With the above resumé, the possible protest and before that the Silent March is precisely to highlight the theme of Children's Rights.
By means of this declaration of intent it should be clear to all international ex-JG activists why SAWS in the Netherlands, through a legal battle and political lobbying, is working against the compulsory Watchtower Shunning Policy imposed from above. The issue of children's rights and the protection of children within the Watchtower Organization has top priority for SAWS.
Finally, this statement of intent is intended as an explanation for all International EX-JG Activists. Further concrete details for the April 20e 2024 will follow. First of all, the permit application must be arranged.
Henri F. Dahlem, Chairman - SAWS
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