Theos-Talk Archives (May 2008 Message tt00717)

--- In theos-talk@yahoogroups.com, "Anand" <AnandGholap@...> wrote:


> > Please see extract of Rule 10 (e) below about what General 
> > Secretaries should inform their members about before they vote: 
> > 
> > "Each General Secretary, Regional Secretary, Organizing Secretary 
and 
> > Presidential Representative shall make known the names of the 
> > candidates and their biographical data to the members in his area 
and 
> > take the votes in accordance with the instructions in Appendix B 
to 
> > these Rules of the individual members on the rolls of his 
National 
> > Society or area of administration who have been members in good 
> > standing for two full years as on the date of the call for 
> > nominations, and shall communicate the results to the Secretary 
in 
> > accordance with the instructions given in Appendix B to these 
Rules."

> Names of the candidates and their biographical data was enclosed in
> every envelope that contained voting papers. I received that from 
the
> Indian Section, and I think most other sections also have sent the
> same papers to their members. Once  "names of the candidates and 
their
> biographical data" is sent to the members, General Secretaries have
> done their duty, as far as complying with the above rule is 
concerned.
> Above rule does not ask General Secretaries to send medical reports
> and other things.


True. Rule 10 explains the procedure for the election as such. As 
there was a letter, dated 29 March 2008, from the Board of the French 
Section to all the TS members in that country saying, among other 
things, that Radha Burnier had "brain damage", "was deprived of a 
large part of her memory", "in conversation, she no longer 
understands anything but short and simple sentences", and that nine 
other TS Sections had decided to write to their members "in a similar 
vein", the Election Committee sent a letter to the General Secretary 
of that Section enclosing the two medical certificates and asking her 
to take immediate action to counteract the impression created in the 
letter referred to above.
 
 
> > One would think that at the least in the TS an international 
election 
> > should be fair to all candidates. That is what the Rules of the 
> > Society determine. If members in France and in the US were told, 
by 
> > their own General Secretaries, that Radha Burnier's mental state 
was 
> > one of "brain damage", "misfunctioning brain", "incoherence", 
etc., 
> > and since those GSs received copies of the medical certificates, 
> > which were sent to them by the Election Committee, attesting to 
the 
> > contrary, would it not be only fair and just that those GSs 
should 
> > pass that information to the members so that they could have an 
> > alternative view? 

> Election Committee had not ordered General Secretaries that they
> should send medical reports of Radha to members. So if they have not
> sent these reports to members, it is not a violation of any rule.  
In
> elections sometimes false propaganda is made to discredit the 
opposite
> candidate. But my observation is such false propaganda is not
> generally considered as violation of rules. 


In a Society whose motto is "There is no Religion higher than Truth" 
is it fair to write to hundreds of members about one of the 
candidates (Radha Burnier), before they voted, such things as: she 
had "brain damage", "was deprived of a large part of her memory", "in 
conversation, she no longer understands anything but short and simple 
sentences", among other things, and that nine other TS Sections had 
decided to write to their members "in a similar vein"? 


Pedro