Theos-Talk Archives (August 2009 Message tt00126)

Current Rules vulnerable for highjacking by GC

The ultra secret and now infamous disenfranchisement move by a quartet of GC
members, should be an eye opener for any sharp  member. There is a very
serious defect in the current rules of TS. It allows GC to unilaterally make
changes to the rules without telling members.  This combined with lack of
transparency, is a trap that can eventually kill TS as we know it, thus
fulfilling the warning in the 1900 letter. This can happen in the next
decade if it is not fixed now.

Already changes have been made in the past, which may, in retrospect seem to
be self serving. Two changes stand out. One is the addition of the education
of the candidate in the ballot. The other is the addition of the nominators
names in the ballot.

Who proposed them, when, and what were the reasons behind the changes, we do
not know. Members are in the dark due to the collective secrecy maintained
by the General Council members. The lack of transparency makes one to reason
that these two were specifically put in to influence the votes of uninformed
and new members who may be swayed by the candidateâs past academic
achievements (which may have nothing to do with the fitness of the candidate
for the office) and the name recognition of nominators may also sway the
votes of the uninformed and new members. The nominators names also may play
into the conscious or unconscious biases or prejudices of members based on
other factors.

Members do not know, what other changes have been made in the recent years.
Many of them at first glance may seem innocuous; but those who are
responsible for the changes may have made them with long-term self-serving
motives. Due to the secrecy of the GC meetings we will never know what was
discussed and how the decision was made to make the changes. One should not
forget that the human nature is weak everywhere and nothing should be ruled
out.

To protect TS, it looks like the current rules should be modified so that
any changes to the rules should be approved by members world-wide in a
direct vote. Introducing full transparency by allowing members to attend the
GC meeting as observers will also add another layer of protection.

Without such a protection, one day all the rules may changed and all our
rights done away with overnight without any notice.  Then the only recourse
is to seek redress from the courts. This would cost a lot of money and time.
Those in power have access to the TS treasury and they can keep on fighting
for a long time and members would be worn out when they run out of money.

I think that all members should contact their General Secretaries and raise
the above issue without delay.

MKR

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