Abuses persecutions and threats >>> WHO PULLS THE STRINGS: Manipulated Media

Since 2002 Romanian press has repeatedly been convicted for libelous allegations and sensational reporting concerning Mr. Gregorian Bivolaru. The convicted allegations cover a spectrum from polygamy to illegal cigarette business with the common aim to create a picture of immorality as well as intellectual and economic fraud. The convictions also contain speculations about sexual activities at MISA events. The intense press campaign has partly succeeded in creating public sensational and discriminating speculations concerning Mr. Gregorian Bivolaru and MISA. Yoga students all over have come to be met by suspicion, in some cases resulting in students loosing their jobs and being excluded from society. Unfortunately these allegations have also started to appear in the Swedish media since Gregorian Bivolaru’s application for asylum in Sweden.

For detailed information please read:
The media campaign started years before the 2004 in order to convince the public that Gregorian Bivolaru is already "guilty as charge".

Press campaign in Romainia

The Romanian press campaign against MISA and the yoga master Gregorian Bivolaru started in 1990, not long time after the fall of the communist political regime from Bucharest . The virulence and intensity grew in time, and attained a maximum in 1995. At this time a couple of newspapers were punished as a consequence of court complaints of MISA against them (for example Corneliu Reu, from Tinerama and Cristian Negureanu, from Romania Mare) creating a false impression that the state can control the hostility against the movement.

The media campaign against MISA continued in 1997. Scores of extremely defaming made up articles were constantly published in most of the dailies or broadcasted by radio and TV programs accompanying intimidating actions performed by the police. Due to the medias hostile attitude and accusing articles, Mr. Gregorian Bivolaru was constantly forced to report his activities to the police.

Students or friends of the Romanian yoga school sustained by MISA found themselves victims of another abusive and violent press campaign in 2003. Daily newspapers published detailed lists of them containing names, addresses and working places, with allegations of brain wash, immorality, usage of illegal substances etc, urging the population to react aggressively against them. Several people lost their jobs. They become “pariahs” in their surrounding society, rejected by their own families.

The virulence of the press campaign attained its climax in March 2004. The following excerpts from newspapers (the TV materials sounded very much the same) published right after the police intervention, prove, in themselves, the instigating character of the presentations: “During the raids, various substances have been found, of which we cannot tell for sure if they are drugs or not” (Cotidianul, March 22 nd); “the raids were triggered by complaints made by several citizens regarding prostitution and drug dealing activities in several slums of Bucuresti”; “the state authorities raided buildings where pornographic and erotic video-chat activities were going on” (Ziua, March 20th ) and so on. The term “sect” was deliberately used to describe MISA. The media, therefore, supported the police brutal intervention, trying to persuade the public opinion that those raided and searched on March 18th were guilty of crimes.

Basically, most media tried to turn the population against MISA members and trigger a “witch-hunt”. Significant, in this respect, was the information, proved to be false, that Gregorian Bivolaru was taken to the police station by a group of people. The way the information was announced represented an invitation for the people to hunt down MISA members. The culmination of these unacceptable violations of privacy was the release in the media of a personal diary of a minor, Madalina Dumitru, and its publication. The author declared that the diary contained her erotic fantasies. However, the diary was the ground on which Gregorian Bivolaru was later arrested.

Example of media persecution:
The Romanian press campaign starting with 18 March 2004