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Order of the Solar Temple
Ordre du Temple solaire
AbbreviationOTS
Predecessor
  • Fraternité de la pyramide (1975-1978)
  • Fondation Golden Way (1978-1984)
  • Ordre international chevaleresque de Tradition solaire (1983-1984)
Formation1984
Dissolved1997
TypeNeo-Templarism, Rosicrucianism, New Age movement
HeadquartersSaconnex d'Arve (1984-1993)
Region
Founder
Joseph Di Mambro
Grand Master
  • Luc Jouret (1984-1991)
  • Robert Falardeau (1991-1994)
Key people
Michel Tabachnik

The Order of the Solar Temple (Template:Lang-fr, OTS), founded as the International Chivalric Order of the Solar Tradition (Template:Lang-fr, OICTS), or simply The Solar Temple, was an esoteric religious group, often described as a cult, that claimed to be based upon the ideals of the Knights Templar.[1][2] The OTS was founded by Luc Jouret and Joseph Di Mambro in 1984 in Saconnex d'Arve, Switzerland. It is best known for a series of murders and mass suicides that claimed 74 lives in Switzerland, France, and Canada in 1994, 1995 and 1997, and for the controversies that followed.[3] The group's actions were a major factor in the toughening of the fight against cults in France.[4]

History

Joseph Di Mambro, known as "Jo", was a jeweler employed by a company specializing in the processing of gold,[5] who spent six months in prison for fraud.[6] In the 1950s, Di Mambro began practicing spiritualism and frequented a successor group to the Service d'Action Civique (SAC), founded by Charles Pasqua. In the late 1960s, he became a member and lodge leader of the Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis (Template:Lang-fr, AMORC) in Nîmes, France. In 1974, he founded the Template:Lang-fr (CPAN) in Collonges-sous-Salève.[7]

Fraternité de la pyramide

Since 1975, a Geneva-based community known as the Brotherhood of the Pyramid (Template:Lang-fr) began meeting regularly in a house in the Geneva countryside, for community, discussion and mutual support on topics such as diet and spirituality.[8] Orchestral conductor Michel Tabachnik attended, enjoyed the atmosphere, and became a member.[9] In 1977, he met Joseph Di Mambro, who suggested he take over the community and structure it. The following year, the two men created the Golden Way Foundation, of which Tabachnik became president.[10][11]

Golden Way Foundation

Based in a villa in Saconnex-d'Arve, Switzerland, the Golden Way Foundation (Template:Lang-fr) aimed to discuss issues of pollution, the environment and social ties. It aimed to develop knowledge about the evolution of future quality of life, such as healthy living, organic farming and alternative healthcare techniques.[8] Through conferences (with guests such as Iannis Xenakis, Alexis Weissenberg, Nikita Magaloff, Hubert Reeves and Michel Jonasz), research and television interviews, the foundation opened up to public and political life.[9] In the early 1980s, Joseph Di Mambro and Michel Tabachnik, both interested in philosophy, esotericism and spirituality, decided to bring a mystical and religious vision to the foundation. A room called the "Sanctuary" was set aside for meditation and rituals designed to "connect with the world of the invisible". Members wore white capes with symbols such as the Rose cross and the Templar cross.[9] Michel Tabachnik held several conferences on esotericism. Di Mambro also set up the Amenta society to disseminate the ideologies of the Golden Way Foundation and recruit new members.[7] Joseph Di Mambro was perceived by Foundation members as a medium, a "walk-in" being (a being who takes on the body of another).[9]

In 1982, Di Mambro announced that a "great mission" awaited the foundation. He also announced that a "child-king" was to be born into the community.[9] Di Mambro soon had the idea that Dominique Bellaton, a young drug-addicted woman who had been hunted by pimps who joined the order at her parents' request, was the surrogate mother of the "cosmic child". A ceremony in the order's crypt, organized with special effects, helped to confirm to the members the supernatural powers of "theogamic conception" without sexual intercourse, when in fact Dominique was Di Mambro's mistress and had been pregnant for several weeks.[12] Their child, Emmanuelle (also given the cosmic name Chris, as a Christ-bearer), was born on March 22, 1982.

In 1981, Camille Pilet suffered a heart attack and met Belgian homeopath Luc Jouret. In the wake of Camille Pilet's situation, Jouret began to take an interest in alternative medicine and therapies such as macrobiotics and iridology, and developed an interest in esotericism.[7][a] In 1982, he founded Club Amenta (later renamed Atlanta).[13] He subsequently gave a number of lectures in which he defended the existence of a link between a spiritual approach and homeopathy. Having noticed Luc Jouret's good elocution and communication skills, Di Mambro decided to meet him.[9] At the same time, Di Mambro became involved with the Renovated Order of the Temple (Template:Lang-fr, ORT), a revival of the Ordo Templi Orientis that had been created by former Rosicrucians in 1968. In 1983, after the death of Julien Origas, leader of the ORT, Di Mambro urged Jouret to take over the order, and he became its new Grand Master the same year, before he was expelled by Origas's daughter.[14] Luc Jouret's appointment immediately triggered a split within the Renovated Order of the Temple, giving rise to the International Chivalric Order of the Solar Tradition (Template:Lang-fr, OICTS), of which he became head.[15]

Order of the Solar Temple

In 1984, the Golden Way Foundation and the International Chivalric Order of the Solar Tradition merged to form the Order of the Solar Temple (Template:Lang-fr, OTS), combining various principles of the previous structures and bringing together several members from French-speaking countries. Luc Jouret was the lecturer and recruiter, and became the Grand Master, although the organization's true head and master of finance was Di Mambro.[16]: 276 

The organization often changed its inspiration, but was mainly inspired by esotericism and occultism, due to its belief in the existence and effectiveness of practices that are not recognized by religions or science, and which required special initiation.[7] The group's stated aims were:[17]

  • To recognize and bring together a spiritual elite in order to prepare it, through the study of the High Sciences, to participate in work aimed at perpetuating the ONE Consciousness and LIFE in time and space.
  • To take a leading and active role in building Life Centers.
  • To form a worldwide chain of true brotherhood, in the service of positive forces and the unified Temple, constituted by the Order of the Solar Temple.

In 1985, Di Mambro decided to set up a survival center in Canada in the event of nuclear war. An estate, named Sacré-Coeur, was purchased in Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade, Quebec, to create an organic farm.[18] The organization set up several subsidiaries, both official and hidden, to finance these real estate purchases. More often than not, Di Mambro made a profit by reselling its stakes in the various real estate projects to sect members:[7] Joseph Di Mambro, Luc Jouret, Dominique Bellaton and Camille Pilet bought four semi-detached chalets on Chemin Belisle in Morin-Heights, Quebec and, with members' money, several other houses for OTS activities (including a farm in Cheiry, Canton of Fribourg) managed by member Albert Giacobino).

The same year, Di Mambro asked Tabachnik to draw up a series of writings to inspire him to rise in ranks within the order, called "Les Archées".[9] These, 21 in number, were written by Michel Tabachnik using the esoteric library inherited from his father, and borrowings from esotericists Raymond Bernard (founder of the Rosicrucian order AMORC), Carl Jung and Jacques Breyer, who inspired references to the Knights Templar and gave a number of lectures at the OTS.[19] These writings, not easily understood by members, were then explained by several lectures Tabachnik gave around the world.

First disagreements

As early as 1986, OTS member Antonio Dutoit spoke of the leaders' megalomania, deceit and embezzlement. He denounced the behavior of Joseph Di Mambro, who was leading a lifestyle contrary to his teachings. He also accused the chiefs of staging magic tricks during ceremonies. Later, Di Mambro's son, Elie, revealed his father's shady financial dealings. In the light of this information, some members and several donors (including dignitaries, industrialists and landlords) demanded partial reimbursement of the funds they had committed, even though this money was diverted to invest in fictitious companies, owned by or for the founders, who often used the money for personal luxuries.[20][21] Joseph Di Mambro promised to return the sums requested, but several OTS members resigned in quick succession. The villa in Saconnex-d'Arve was sold and Di Mambro kept only the most devoted members, who were very close to him. The other members were no longer trully aware of OTS meetings and events.[7]

In the 1990s, Luc Jouret, having given up his profession as a homeopath to devote himself fully to the OTS, began lecturing on personal development at various companies, universities and banks, mainly in Quebec but also in Switzerland, France and Belgium. Di Mambro, who had a dim view of these lectures as "disseminating the ideas and principles of the OTS to the public", began sabotaging Jouret's lectures, who eventually abandoned his activities and became totally dependent on Di Mambro.[22] Jouret was removed from his position as Grand Master, which was handed over to Robert Falardeau. Back in Europe, Di Mambro, Camille Pilet and Alexandre Borgeaud bought land in Salvan (Valais) and built three chalets (Luc Jouret lived in Di Mambro's chalet).[22]

Joseph Di Mambro, faced with increasing criticism from members, decided to modify his teachings and preach a transit to another planet. In the spring of 1994, he summoned all OTS members and followers, and explained that the Temple's mission was coming to an end and that OTS leaders would disappear on the star Sirius. The remaining members would have to take up the torch.[7] The leaders began to monitor members who said they wanted to leave the OTS. Some were spied on, others had their phones tapped.

Structure

The templar cross used by the group.

According to the literature of the OTS, the central authority was the Synarchy of the Temple, whose membership was secret. Its top 33 members were known as the Elder Brothers of the Rosy Cross (an alternative name for the Rosicrucians), and were headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland. The Council of the Order formed Lodges that were run by a Regional Commander and three Elders. Progression in the Order was by levels and grades, with three grades per level—the levels being The Brothers of Parvis, The Knights of the Alliance and the Brothers of the Ancient Times, in ascending order. There were many organizations associated with the OTS, including the International Archedia Sciences and Tradition, Archedia Clubs, Menta Clubs, Agata Clubs and Atlanta Clubs, all of which offered the teachings of Luc Jouret both to the general public and privately to OTS members. The Lodges had altars, rituals and costumes. Members were initiated at each stage of advancement in ceremonies which included expensive purchases, jewellery, costumes, regalia, and the payment of initiation fees. During ceremonies, members wore Crusader-type robes and were to hold in awe a sword, which Di Mambro said was an authentic Templar artifact, given to him a thousand years ago in a previous life.

The Order of the Solar Temple was also based in Spain, especially in the Canary Islands. In 1984, the founder of the OTS, Luc Jouret, lectured on the island of Tenerife.[23] The leader of the order's branch in Spain lived on the south of the island.[24] The only Spaniard who died in the suicide of the Order of the Solar Temple was a barber from Tenerife.[25] In 1998, a sect was suspected of plotting ritual suicide in the Teide National Park. Both Spanish and German police initially linked the group to the Order of the Solar Temple.[26] Another attempted mass suicide of the remaining members was thwarted in 1998.[27] Some historians allege that the Solar Temple was founded by the French author Jacques Breyer, who established a Sovereign Order of the Solar Temple in 1952.[citation needed]

Mass murders and suicides

Given the scale of the setbacks, the decision was taken to "transit" to Sirius. To prepare for the transit, Joseph Di Mambro entrusted special missions to his most devoted close members. Several stages were organized:[7]

  • the elimination of traitors;
  • the execution of members who agreed with the principle of transit, but not necessarily by physical death;
  • the execution of members who agreed with the principle of transit and accept physical death.

First massacres

On September 30, 1994, Dominique Bellaton lured the couple Antonio Dutoit and Suzanne Robinson, along with their 2-month-old baby Christopher-Emmanuel, to Di Mambro's chalet at 199 chemin Belisle in Morin-Heights. Di Mambro ordered the murder, regarding the baby as the Antichrist, because his own daughter (who he believed had divine powers) was named Emmanuelle and he had not been consulted in the naming of the infant, and had to be eliminated by two knights of the sect, Jerry Genoud and Joël Egger, to prevent his reappearance. He believed that the Antichrist was born into the order to prevent Di Mambro from succeeding in his spiritual aim.[28][29] The baby was stabbed through the heart with a wooden stake, and the parents, ex-members, were then murdered.[30]: 1  Bellaton and Egger left for Switzerland at 10.10pm on September 30,[31] while Genoud and his wife Colette cleaned up, set fire to the chalet and killed themselves.[7]

On the night of October 4 to 5, 1994, two fires broke out in Switzerland: one at around 11:55 p.m. at the "La Rochette" farm in Cheiry, and another in three chalets at "Le Fond du Ban" in Salvan. When the fire department arrived, they found 23 people dead in Cheiry and 25 in Salvan. The victims were, in most cases, "dressed in a white, black or gold ritual cloak, depending on the degree of initiation reached".[32] In Switzerland, many of the victims were found in a secret underground chapel lined with mirrors[33] and other items of Templar symbolism.[34] Jouret was among the dead in Salvan. Many bodies were burned beyond recognition, and Jouret and Di Mambro's bodies had to be identified via dental records.[35] Di Mambro, in addition to his wife and child, were also among the dead.[36]

In Cheiry, twenty victims died from one or more bullets to the head, two suffocated with plastic bags around their heads, and another probably in the same way on October 3. Twenty-two people had flunitrazepam in their blood, and one had theobromine. The building, closed from the inside, was then set on fire the following day by an automatic ignition system.[7] The bodies were dressed in the order's ceremonial robes and were in a circle, feet together, heads outward, most with plastic bags tied over their heads; they had each been shot in the head.[9] The inner circle members, called the "awakened", ingested poison. An additional 30, "immortals", were shot or smothered; 8 others, declared as "traitors", were also murdered.[30]: 1 

The plastic bags may have been a symbol of the ecological disaster that would befall the human race after the OTS members moved on to Sirius; it's also possible that these bags were used as part of the OTS rituals, and that members would have voluntarily worn them without being placed under duress. There was also evidence that many of the victims in Switzerland were drugged before they were shot. Other victims were found in three ski chalets; several dead children were lying together.[9] The tragedy was discovered when officers rushed to the sites to fight the fires that had been ignited by remote-control devices. Farewell letters left by the believers stated that they believed they were leaving to escape the "hypocrisies and oppression of this world."[9]

In Salvan, it transpired that the victims had been injected (or had injected themselves) with a curare, opioid and benzodiazepine-based poison. The cottages were then locked from the inside and set on fire using an automatic ignition system. Bodies were found in only two of the three cottages.[7] A mayor, a journalist, a civil servant, and a sales manager were found among the dead in Switzerland. Records seized by the Quebec police showed that some members had personally donated over C$1 million to Di Mambro. All the suicides/murders and attempts occurred around the dates of the equinoxes and solstices in relation to the beliefs of the group.[citation needed]

On the morning of October 5, Di Mambro instructed Patrick Vuarnet (Jean Vuarnet's son), a member of the sect, to send 300 items of mail to the media, other followers and a number of political and public figures, including Charles Pasqua.[35] These various letters mainly contained messages taken from the order's beliefs.[31] It was at this point that outsiders discovered the desire to transfer to the star Sirius.

Swiss investigation

When the bodies were discovered on site by the police, it was discovered that the fires at the Cheiry farm and the Salvan chalet had been started by ignition systems. However, some of these systems had failed, leaving behind a large number of OTS documents, books and video cassettes. Thanks to these, the police were able to understand the workings of the community and recognize some of its members, including Michel Tabachnik (in concert in Denmark at the time of the massacres).[22] He was questioned for three days by the investigating judge André Piller, and was cleared of having been the perpetrator of the massacre. Other former OTS members were also questioned, such as Thierry Huguenin, who testified that he had been called to Salvan on October 4 on the promise that money owed to him would be returned that day.[b] However, sensing danger, he left the scene. He went on to explain that he believed the plan was to assassinate him and the others in order to reach the number of 54 victims, in connection with the 54 knights of the Order of the Temple executed at the stake on March 18 during the reign of Philip IV of France.[31][c] After the event, some other members declared their continued support for the sect's ideas, and even regretted not having been chosen for the "transit".[37]

The investigation finally concluded that Di Mambro and Luc Jouret had orchestrated mass suicide. The investigators ordered the destruction of the site "so as not to shock believers or attract the curious", a decision that was controversial.[32]

Second massacre

On the night of December 15 to 16, 1995, sixteen people - thirteen adults and three children aged 2, 4 and 6 - were immolated in a star-formation[citation needed] at a place called "Le Trou de l'Enfer", in an isolated clearing on the Vercors plateau, near Saint-Pierre-de-Chérennes (Isère) in France.[37][38] On 23 December 1995, the 16 bodies were discovered.

The investigation conducted by the Grenoble Gendarmerie Nationale Research Section, which entrusted technical expertise to the Institut de Recherche Criminelle de la Gendarmerie Nationale (IRCGN), determined that fourteen people had been killed by one or two bullets from a .22 Long Rifle pistol, after having been sedated, and then set alight with wood and petrol. According to the investigators' theory, the two killers were inspector Jean-Pierre Lardanchet and architect André Friedli. They each shot themselves in the head with a 9×19mm Parabellum (the weapons found near their bodies) as they threw themselves into the fireplace. The Grenoble Public Prosecutor opened an investigation into murder and criminal conspiracy, with the possibility of external complicity. One of the dead included Olympian Edith Bonlieu, who had competed in the women's downhill at the 1956 Winter Olympics.[39]

In the wake of these events, fear of cults took hold of the French and Swiss populations.[37]

On December 23, 1995, during the journal de 13 heures program on the French channel TF1, journalist Gilles Bouleau mentioned that the sect had survived and united behind Michel Tabachnik, thus indirectly declaring that Tabachnik was the mastermind behind the Vercors massacre. This information was picked up by the media, leading Tabachnik to give a public denial. It was revealed that in September 1994, Tabachnik gave two lectures in Avignon at Di Mambro's request. These lectures were preparatory sessions for the massacres that were to take place in October of the same year. It was later said that Tabachnik had indeed taken part in these conferences, but without knowing the outcome of the massacres, and that it had been a set-up by Di Mambro.

At the time of the investigation, due to the death of the two leaders in Salvan in 1994, Tabachnik was the only defendant in the case. The examining magistrate considered that Tabachnik, through his writings and his conferences, could have incited followers to commit suicide. He was therefore charged with participation in a criminal conspiracy to commit a crime.[37] In his defense, Tabachnik published Bouc émissaire. Dans le piège du Temple Solaire, with a preface by Pierre Boulez. On November 17, 1998, investigating judge Luc Fontaine presented the conclusions of his inquiry into the second Vercors massacre.

In the run-up to the criminal court trial against Michel Tabachnik, the families of the victims, all of whom believed it to be a mass suicide, filed a civil action. Having consulted the experts' files, the civil party identified a number of inconsistencies in the investigation, such as the fact that the organic environment around the bodies of the immolated victims was completely intact and showed no trace of fire. The civil party then asked for counter-expertise and questioned the theory of collective suicide.[37] According to Alain Vuarnet, son and brother of two of the victims, who has been conducting a parallel private investigation since 1995,[40] the "collective suicides" of members of the Order of the Solar Temple in December 1995 in the Vercors region have still not been fully explained. He complained about the lack of cooperation from the justice system, which has always refused to investigate the possibility of murder. According to the expert, Professor Gilbert Lavoué, commissioned by Mr. Vuarnet, phosphorus was found at the scene, indicating the use of a flamethrower, which would imply that there had been no suicide, but a staged event.[41]

According to Mr. Vuarnet, "My father and I remain convinced that it wasn't with a few damp branches that these sixteen bodies were charred to such an extent".[40] The results of the expert analyses revealed "an excess of phosphorus of between 21% and 40%";[42] and that some of the victims had plastic bags over their heads, which, according to the investigators, was explained as a ritual sign; additionally, some of the victims had been drugged.

Trial
Grenoble's former museum-library, specially fitted out for the trial between April 13 and June 25, 2001.

On April 13, 2001, at the Grenoble Museum-Library, which had been transformed for the occasion, the criminal court trial of Michel Tabachnik (defended by Francis Szpiner) for "criminal conspiracy" began. However, the plaintiffs' side split into two camps: one led by Alain Vuarnet, those who felt that the trial should not focus on Tabachnik's responsibility, but on the investigation itself, which they feel did not go all the way in their research; and on the other, led by the Union nationale des associations de défense des familles et de l'individu victimes de sectes (UNADFI), who believed that Tabachnik and his writings were the cause of the mass suicides, and that cults must be eradicated.[37]

On the seventh day of the trial, several former OTS members took the stand and testified. Among the testimonies, two visions confront each other: some were shocked, angry at the sect and the acts committed, while others remained faithful to the acts, to Di Mambro and to the transit to Sirius.[37] On the eighth day, Tabachnik was finally interviewed and told of having been manipulated and fooled by Di Mambro. On the tenth day, the prosecutor demanded 5 years' imprisonment for Tabachnik's alleged role in the conditioning of the Temple's followers.[43] On June 25, 2001, the Grenoble Criminal Court acquitted Tabachnik on the basis of the benefit of the doubt.

The public prosecutor, still accusing him of having, through his writings, pushed followers into a mass suicide, appealed against the criminal court's decision, and Tabachnik was tried again in 2006. French prosecutors appealed against the verdict and an appellate court ordered a second trial beginning 24 October 2006.[44] With this appeal, the plaintiffs, led by Alain Virante, hoped to prove that the investigation by examining magistrate Luc Fontaine had been mistaken, and that the followers had indeed been murdered. At their request, Professor Gilbert Lavoué was asked to remove any traces of phosphorus from the victims' remains, which were then dug up. The bodies were found to contain excess phosphorus. In the end, the forensic experts considered that this analysis added nothing new to the case and did not call into question Judge Fontaine's decision.[43] The public prosecutor, considering that Tabachnik was not an active member of the order and that "his responsibility for the deaths had not been established", did not request any sentence against him. He was acquitted a second time in December 2006.[45]

Third massacre

On March 22, 1997, five more members were found dead in Saint-Casimir, Quebec.[46] The members had taken their own lives in order to reach Sirius by "transit", before the house was set on fire by an automatic ignition system. Three teenagers, aged 13, 14 and 16, the children of one of the couples that died in the fire, were discovered in a shed behind the house, alive but heavily drugged.[47]

Controversies and conspiracy theories

According to sociologist Françoise Champion, this group had a "cobbled-together Templar filiation".[48] Jean-François Mayer described some of the group's beliefs, such as the notions of "transit"[49] (the soul's journey to another planet, by means of suicide, a notion similar to that of the Heaven's Gate group) or the importance of "transporting the germ of life to another planet", as the causes of the subsequent drift.[48] Many of the Order's concepts and principles were inspired by Tabachnik's "hermetic" writings, "Les Archées".[50]

The order's hierarchy was absolute.[51] Ritual ceremonies were allegedly staged by a member by the name of Tony Dutoit.[16]: 26  In the words of the 2001 judgment for Michel Tabachnik, the places of worship were "the scene of apparitions and manifestations perceived as supernatural during ritual ceremonies. [Numerous witnesses have reported seeing [...] materialized objects or figures". One former follower claims to have witnessed "the appearance of the Masters, the Holy Grail, the sword Excalibur, the Twelve Apostles and even Christ".[31] In reality, the Master's supernatural apparitions, accompanied by deafening cosmic music and holograms, were the acts of Di Mambro's wife Jocelyne Di Mambro perched on a stool.[21]

In France, the OTS is considered a cult by the 1995 report of the Parliamentary Commission on Cults in France.[52]

Suicide or murder

In Yves Boisset's documentary on the case, Bernard Geiger, an official of the Valais cantonal police, declared:[53]

Je le vois davantage comme un meurtre collectif. Je rejette formellement la thèse du suicide collectif décidé par tous – cette idée est du pur cinéma.[d]

Boisset's documentary builds its argument around the question: "74 dead and no one to blame?"[54] At the 2001 trial, the courts also emphasized "the improbability of this new massacre more than a year after the disappearance of the leaders" and the investigations that confirmed "a mass murder followed by the suicide of the assassins", while establishing that, according to witnesses, most of the 1995 victims, like those in 1994, had "made the sacrifice of their lives".[31]

In addition to Alain Vuarnet, other members of the victims' families, René and Muguette Rostan and Willy and Giséla Schleimer, requested in 2001 and again in 2004 that the case be reopened to contest the theory of collective suicide.[31] Jean-Pierre Brard also requested reopening the case in 2006. Maurice Fusier, a reporter for Radio France, reiterated the same phosphorus assassination theory in 2006.[55]

Political mafia lead

Some sources, including psychiatrist Jean-Marie Abgrall, supported the idea that the affair had a political mafia origin, citing possible links between Luc Jouret and members of Gladio.[51] In 2006, filmmaker Yves Boisset also denounced the "political mafia" trail, which the investigators had allegedly overlooked. In particular, he highlighted Di Mambro's links with Jean-Louis Fargette, a Toulon "godfather" murdered in 1993. The filmmaker has made a film, Les Mystères sanglants de l'OTS, to set out his point of view.[56] He claimed he sees "the shadow of Charles Pasqua in this affair"[56][57] and spoke of "arms trafficking between Canada and Angola", which the newspaper Le Monde dubbed Angolagate, an article which makes no reference to the OTS.

Yves Boisset also claimed that Judge Piller burned evidence by destroying the chalet, the scene of the crime.[58] He also stated that Inspector Jean-Pierre Lardanchet, found dead in the Vercors, was an agent of the intelligence service and close to Charles Pasqua.[59] Lardanchet was presented by other sources as an agent of the Police de l'Air et des Frontières or as a "mole" infiltrated into the order.[60]

Audio cassettes

Several months after the affair, two journalists from France 2 visited the ruins of the Salvan chalet and found, in the kitchen garbage can, audio cassettes in excellent condition, recording telephone conversations between followers who had been spied on by Di Mambro.[61] Extracts from the tapes were broadcast and deemed to be in line with the order's beliefs and theses.[62]

The Yann Piat affair

Boisset's investigation led him to find a link with the Yann Piat affair (former deputy for the National Front from 1986 to 1988, then deputy for the 3rd Var constituency under the UDF label from 1988 until her death), who had taken an interest in an OTS member's real estate project shortly before she was murdered by two motorcyclists on February 25, 1994. Arnaud Palisson, a former analyst at the Direction centrale des Renseignements généraux (DCRG) in Paris, believes that Boisset "was swept aside by the prodigiously fallacious arguments of provincial journalists looking for their Watergate in the Vercors".[63]

Text by Jocelyne Duplessis

During the search of Joseph Di Mambro's apartment, a document was found which was attributed to Jocelyne Duplessis, Di Mambro's wife, which read:

Suite au tragique Transit de Cheiry, nous tenons à préciser, au nom de la Rose + Croix, que nous déplorons et nous nous désolidarisons totalement du comportement barbare, incompétent et aberrant du docteur Luc Jouret. Prenant la décision d’agir de sa propre Autorité, à l'encontre de toutes nos règles, il a transgressé notre code d'honneur et est la cause d'un véritable carnage qui aurait dû être un Transit effectué dans l'Honneur, la Paix et la Lumière. Ce départ ne correspond pas à l'Éthique que nous représentons et défendons face à la postérité.[e]

Notes

  1. ^ He also collaborated with the Filipino psychic surgeons who he had met with in Manila on several occasions.
  2. ^ By summoning the members wanting to be reimbursed, Di Mambro was attempting to get rid of the "traitors" of the group.
  3. ^ Thierry Huguenin's claim about the date of execution of the 54 Knights Templar at the stake is inaccurate, and confuses two events: the burning at the stake of 54 relapsed knights on 12 May 1310, and the burning at the stake of dignitaries Jacques de Molay and Geoffroy de Charnay on 18 March 1314.
  4. ^ "I see it more as collective murder. I formally reject the idea of collective suicide as decided by all - this idea is pure fantasy."
  5. ^ "Following the tragic Cheiry Transit, we wish to make it clear, on behalf of the Rosy Cross, that we deplore and totally disassociate ourselves from the barbaric, incompetent and aberrant behavior of Doctor Luc Jouret. Taking the decision to act on his own authority, against all our rules, he has transgressed our code of honor and is the cause of a veritable carnage that should have been a Transit carried out in Honor, Peace and Light. His departure does not correspond to the Ethics we represent and defend to posterity."

References

  1. ^ "1994: Cult members die in 'mass suicide'". BBC News. 5 October 1994. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  2. ^ Parvex, Marie (2 April 2023). "L'univers des dérives spirituelles est devenu tentaculaire" [The world of spiritual aberrations has become tentacular]. 24 heures (in Swiss French). Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  3. ^ Broussard, Philippe (24 December 1999). "L'enquête sur le Temple solaire révèle le monde des sociétés secrètes" [Solar Temple investigation reveals world of secret societies]. Le Monde (in French).
  4. ^ L., F. (17 April 2001). "L'OTS, facteur déclencheur de la guerre contre les sectes" [The OTS, a trigger for the war on cults]. TF1 (in French). Archived from the original on 26 August 2010.
  5. ^ Reynolds, John Lawrence (2007). Le monde des sociétés secrètes: des druides à al-Qaida [The world of secret societies: from Druids to al-Qaeda] (in French). Les Editions Fides. p. 288. ISBN 978-2-7621-2804-8.
  6. ^ "Les millions de l'Apocalypse" [The millions of the apocalypse]. L'Hebdo (in French). 13 October 1994. Archived from the original on 27 February 2014.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Gouvernement du Québec : Bureau du Coroner : Roger C. Michaud (20 June 1996). "Rapport d'investigation du Coroner" (PDF). infosect.freeshell.org (in French). Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  8. ^ a b Droux, Antoine; Tinguely, Marion (8 February 2023). "La série "La Fraternité" offre un "regard neuf" sur l'horreur de l'Ordre du Temple solaire" [The "Brotherhood" series offers a "fresh look" at the horror of the Order of the Solar Temple]. Radio Télévision Suisse (in Swiss French). Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Haught, James A. (1995). "And Now, the Solar Temple" (PDF). Free Inquiry. 15 (1): 31. ISSN 0272-0701. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  10. ^ "L'Ordre du Temple Solaire" [The Order of the Solar Temple]. La Croix (in French). 17 April 2001. ISSN 0242-6056. Archived from the original on 17 August 2016. Retrieved 6 September 2011.
  11. ^ Pueyo, Serge (25 October 2006). "Ordre du Temple solaire : les larmes de Tabachnik" [Order of the Solar Temple: Tabachnik's tears]. Le Figaro (in French). Archived from the original on 9 November 2006. Retrieved 6 September 2011.
  12. ^ Pivois, Marc (19 April 2001). "De l'épée volante à l'enfant cosmique" [From the flying sword to the cosmic child.]. Libération (in French). Archived from the original on 28 February 2014.
  13. ^ Braitberg, Jean-Moïse. "Ordre du Temple Solaire. Des sectes s'auto-proclament héritières du Temple" [Order of the Solar Temple. Sects claim to be heirs to the Temple]. www.prevensectes.me (in French).
  14. ^ Palmer, Susan J. (October 1996). "Purity and Danger in the Solar Temple". Journal of Contemporary Religion. 11 (3): 303–318. doi:10.1080/13537909608580777. ISSN 1353-7903.
  15. ^ Mayeur, Jean-Marie; Hilaire, Yves Marie; Chantin, Jean-Pierre (2001). Les marges du Christianisme: "sectes", dissidences, ésotérisme [The margins of Christianity: "cults", dissidences, esotericism]. Dictionnaire du monde religieux dans la France contemporaine (in French). Vol. 10. Paris: Beauchesne. ISBN 978-2-7010-1418-0.
  16. ^ a b Marhic, Renaud (1 December 1996). L'Ordre du temple solaire [The Order of the Solar Temple]. Enquête sur les extrémistes de l'occulte (in French). Vol. 2. Horizon Chimérique. ISBN 978-2-907202-58-9.
  17. ^ "Qu'est-ce que l'Ordre du Temple Solaire ?" [What is the Order of the Solar Temple?]. Centre contre les manipulations mentales (in French). December 1994. Archived from the original on 3 July 2022 – via www.prevensectes.me.
  18. ^ Teisceira-Lessard, Philippe (4 October 2014). "Survivre à l'OTS" [Surviving the OTS]. La Presse (in Canadian French). Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  19. ^ Boisset, Yves (2005). Les Mystères sanglants de l'ordre du temple solaire [The Bloody Mysteries of the Order of the Solar Temple] (Television production) (in French). France 2.
  20. ^ Laske, Karl (29 December 1995). "Les comptes à découvert du Temple solaire. Supposée richissime, la secte frôlerait la déroute financière, selon la police suisse" [The Solar Temple's overdrawn accounts. Supposedly wealthy, the sect is on the verge of financial collapse, according to Swiss police]. Libération (in French).
  21. ^ a b Gaetner, Gilles (27 March 1997). "Les secrets du Temple solaire" [The secrets of the Solar Temple]. L'Express (in French). Archived from the original on 10 November 2008.
  22. ^ a b c Pierre Morath & Eric Lemasson, La Fraternité, Point Productions, RTS Radio Télévision Suisse, SRG SSR , Yuzu Productions, les productions du moment, 2023, épisode 2.
  23. ^ de Tollenaere, Herman (1998). "Spanish police state they prevented mass suicide by Atma (Isis Holistic) Center cult". www.stelling.nl. Archived from the original on 21 February 2004. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  24. ^ Rosales, Jaime Rubio (10 March 2008). Historia Oculta de Canarias [Hidden History of the Canary Islands] (in Spanish). Lulu. p. 128. ISBN 978-84-604-4766-5.
  25. ^ Herrero, Antonio (4 January 2011). "Tres sectas destructivas campan en Tenerife" [Three destructive sects in Tenerife]. La Opinión de Tenerife (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 7 January 2011. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  26. ^ Ordaz, Pablo (18 January 1998). "La líder de la secta de Tenerife recaudó 300 millones entre sus fieles" [Tenerife cult leader raised 300 million from her followers]. El País (in European Spanish). Archived from the original on 7 February 2015. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  27. ^ Alves, Jose (9 January 1998). "Une Secte Issue De L'ordre Du Temple Solaire Suicide Collectif Evite Aux Canaries" [A Sect From The Order Of The Solar Temple, Mass Suicide Avoided In The Canaries]. Le Soir (in French). Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  28. ^ Farnsworth, Clyde H. (20 November 1994). "Quebec Police Say Baby Was Target of Cult". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
  29. ^ Moran, Sarah (1999). The Secret World of Cults: From Ancient Druids to Heaven's Gate. Surrey: CLB. pp. 66–71. ISBN 9781841001326.
  30. ^ a b Lewis, James R., ed. (2006). The Order of the Solar Temple: The Temple of Death. Controversial New Religions. Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0-7546-5285-4. OCLC 1027650107.
  31. ^ a b c d e f "Ordre du Temple Solaire Procès du 25 juin 2001 à Grenoble" [Order of the Solar Temple Trial of 25 June 2001 in Grenoble]. CESNUR (in French).
  32. ^ a b Tenoux, Jean-Pierre (15 August 2006). "Hécatombe à la secte" [Massacre at the sect]. Le Monde (in French). Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  33. ^ Davis, Erik (25 October 1994). "Solar Temple Pilots: Reading the End Times with Luc Jouret". The Village Voice. Retrieved 30 September 2023 – via techgnosis.com.
  34. ^ Mayer, Jean-François (13 November 1998). Apocalyptic Millennialism in the West: The Case of the Solar Temple (PDF) (Report). Critical Incident Analysis Group at the University of Virginia. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  35. ^ a b Serrill, Michael S. (24 October 1994). "Remains of the Day". TIME. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  36. ^ "Swiss Police Identify Cult Leader's Body; Cause of Death Unknown". Los Angeles Times. 14 October 1994. Retrieved 16 June 2009.
  37. ^ a b c d e f g Pierre Morath & Eric Lemasson, La Fraternité, Point Productions, RTS Radio Télévision Suisse, SRG SSR , Yuzu Productions, les productions du moment, 2023, épisode 3.
  38. ^ "L'affaire de l'Ordre du temple solaire revient devant la justice" [Order of the Solar Temple case returns to court] (in French). Reuters. 19 September 2003. Archived from the original on 27 January 2022 – via www.prevensectes.me.
  39. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Edith Bonlieu Olympic Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 6 January 2009. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  40. ^ a b Durand, Jacky (14 August 2003). "Le retour du mystère du temple solaire" [The return of the solar temple mystery]. Libération (in French). Archived from the original on 24 June 2013.
  41. ^ "Alain Vuarnet : "La justice a fait fausse route"" [Alain Vuarnet: "Justice has taken a wrong turn"]. France Soir (in French). 1 October 2007. Archived from the original on 19 November 2007. Retrieved 4 October 2023. Le phosphore ne peut être utilisé que par une arme militaire de type lance-flammes. Sur les lieux du massacre, aucune arme de ce type n'a été retrouvée. L'usage du phosphore explique pourquoi il manquait des membres sur six des seize victimes. [Phosphorus can only be used with a military weapon such as a flamethrower. No such weapon was found at the scene of the massacre. The use of phosphorus would explain why six of the 16 victims were missing limbs.]
  42. ^ Vézard, Frédéric (20 September 2003). "Nouvelle expertise à la veille du procès" [New expert report on the eve of the trial]. Le Parisien (in French).
  43. ^ a b Pierre Morath & Eric Lemasson, La Fraternité, Point Productions, RTS Radio Télévision Suisse, SRG SSR , Yuzu Productions, les productions du moment, 2023, épisode 4.
  44. ^ Chrisafis, Angelique (25 October 2006). "Conductor on trial over cult killings in France, Switzerland and Canada". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  45. ^ "Conductor cleared of cult deaths". BBC News. 20 December 2006. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
  46. ^ "Affaire de l'Ordre du Temple solaire" [Affair of the Order of the Solar Temple]. Patrimoine de la Sûreté du Québec (in Canadian French). 2020. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  47. ^ Palmer, Susan J.; Geoffroy, Martin; Gareau, Paul L. (2020). "The Solar Temple in Quebec and the Saint-Casimir "Transit"". The Mystical Geography of Quebec. Palgrave Studies in New Religions and Alternative Spiritualities. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 217–245. ISBN 978-3-030-33061-3.
  48. ^ a b Champion, Jean-Françoise (1997). "Les Mythes du Temple Solaire" [The Myths of the Solar Temple]. Archives de sciences sociales des religions (in French). 43 (98). School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences: 91–92. Retrieved 8 October 2023 – via Persée.
  49. ^ "Ordre du Temple Solaire Procès du 25 juin 2001 à Grenoble" [Order of the Solar Temple Trial of 25 June 2001 in Grenoble]. CESNUR (in French). "Transit pour le futur" [Transit for the future] contains the following passages: "Notre Transition Consciente et volontaire entraîne avec elle, tous ceux qui partagent, consciemment ou non, ce noble héritage et acceptent en eux le Feu Christique d'une façon vivante. Parce que nous savons qui nous sommes, d'où nous venons, où nous allons, conscients de notre futur, nous concrétisons aujourd'hui les conditions d'un Plan préétabli en d'autres temps" [Our conscious, voluntary Transition is taking with it all those who share, consciously or unconsciously, this noble heritage and accept the Christic Fire within them in a living way. Because we know who we are, where we come from and where we're going, and are aware of our future, we're fulfilling today the conditions of a Plan drawn up in other times]
    "appartenant depuis toujours au Règne de l'Esprit, nous incarnant sans rompre le lien subtil qui unit la Créature au Créateur, nous rejoignons notre Demeure. […] La race va irréversiblement vers son autodestruction. La Nature entière se retourne déjà contre ceux qui ont abusé d'elle, l'ont corrompue et profanée à tous les niveaux. L'homme en payera le lourd tribut car il n'en demeure pas moins le seul responsable. Attendant les conditions favorables d'un Retour possible, nous ne participerons pas à l'anéantissement du règne humain, pas plus que nous ne laisserons nos corps être dissous par la lenteur alchimique de la Nature, car nous ne voulons pas courir le risque qu'ils soient souillés par des fous et des forcenés." [having always belonged to the Reign of Spirit, incarnating without breaking the subtle link that unites the Creature to the Creator, we're joining our Home. [...] The race is irreversibly heading for self-destruction. The whole of Nature is already turning against those who have abused it, corrupted and profaned it at every level. Man will pay a heavy price, for he alone is responsible. Waiting for the favorable conditions of a possible Return, we will not take part in the annihilation of the human kingdom, any more than we will let our bodies be dissolved by the alchemical slowness of Nature, because we don't want to run the risk of them being soiled by madmen and maniacs.]
  50. ^ Lecluyse, Eric (31 October 2006). "Tabachnik épargné par le parquet" [Tabachnik spared by the prosecution]. L'Express (in French). Reuters. Archived from the original on 16 December 2013.
  51. ^ a b Bédat, Arnaud; Bouleau, Gilles; Nicolas, Bernard (23 February 2000). L'Ordre du Temple solaire: Les Secrets d'une manipulation [The Order of the Solar Temple: The Secrets of Manipulation] (in French). Flammarion. ISBN 978-2-08-067842-3.
  52. ^ "Commission d'enquête sur les sectes" [Committee of inquiry into sects]. National Assembly (in French). 22 December 1995.
  53. ^ "Le procès de l'ordre du Temple solaire" [The trial of the Order of the Solar Temple]. www.sectes-infos.net (in French). Archived from the original on 21 November 2008.
  54. ^ Tshidimba, Karin (2 February 2006). "L'obscur Temple solaire" [The dark Solar Temple]. La Libre Belgique (in French).
  55. ^ Fusier, Maurice (2006). Secret d'Etat ? : Ordre du Temple Solaire 10 ans après le drame du Vercors [State secret? Order of the Solar Temple 10 years after the Vercors tragedy] (in French). Editions des Traboules. ISBN 978-2-915681-16-1.
  56. ^ a b "Le cinéaste Yves Boisset dénonce une affaire politico-mafieuse" [Filmmaker Yves Boisset denounces a political mafia affair]. Agence France-Presse (in French). 26 October 2006. Archived from the original on 13 June 2021 – via www.prevensectes.me.
  57. ^ Camy, Gérard; Riou, Alain (2002). 50 films qui ont fait scandale [50 films that caused scandal] (in French). Corlet-Télérama. p. 146. ISBN 978-2-85480-772-1.
  58. ^ Chuard, Patrick (4 October 2005). "Yves Boisset enquête sur le scénario de la piste mafieuse" [Yves Boisset investigates the mafia lead scenario]. 24 heures (in Swiss French). Archived from the original on 2 December 2021 – via www.prevensectes.me.
  59. ^ Boisset, Yves; Pascuito, Bernard (17 November 2011). La vie est un choix [Life is a choice] (in French). Place des éditeurs. ISBN 978-2-259-21632-6.
  60. ^ Bédat, Arnaud; Bouleau, Gilles; Nicolas, Bernard (1997). L'Ordre du Temple Solaire: Enquête et révélations sur les chevaliers de l'apocalypse [The Order of the Solar Temple: Investigation and revelations on the Knights of the Apocalypse] (in French). Montréal: Libre Expression. p. 341. ISBN 978-2-89111-707-4.
  61. ^ Envoyé spécial. Episode 244 (in French). 21 March 1996. Event occurs at 08:45–09:38. France 2. C'était encore l'hiver, c'est-à-dire qu'il y avait de la neige partout, les chalets de Salvan étaient intacts et à l'intérieur, c'était absolument incroyable parce qu'il y a avait encore tout c'est-à-dire les murs calcinés, la vaisselle cassée, et ce qui était très surprenant c'est qu'il y avait des objets qui manifestement auraient pu intéresser la justice et la police. C'est-à-dire qu'on trouvait par exemple des petites fioles de médicaments avec écrits 'Luc' comme 'Luc Jouret' dessus et le caméraman a vu une poubelle de cuisine avec des détritus à l'intérieur. Il prend la poubelle et je lui dis "mais on va quand même pas fouiller les poubelles", il me dit "au point où on en est, allons-y". et il descend comme ça les détritus qu'il y avait à l'intérieur de cette poubelle et à l'intérieur, il y avait une enveloppe avec 3 cassettes. [It was still winter, that is to say there was snow everywhere, the Salvan chalets were intact and inside, it was absolutely incredible because there was still everything, that is to say charred walls, broken crockery, and what was very surprising was that there were objects that obviously could have been of interest to the justice system and the police. For example, there were small vials of medicine with 'Luc' written on them, like 'Luc Jouret', and the cameraman saw a kitchen garbage can with garbage inside. He took the garbage can and I said to him "but we're not going to go through the trash are we", he said "at this point, considering where we are, let's go". And he took down the garbage inside this garbage can and inside, there was an envelope with 3 cassettes.]
  62. ^ Envoyé spécial. Episode 244 (in French). 21 March 1996. Event occurs at 09:49–10:08. France 2. De toute façon, c'est prévu, on ira sur Jupiter. Alors Vénus, pour finir, ça tombe à l'eau. Moi j'ai l'impression qu'on va d'abord aller sur Vénus. Moi je m'en fous, l'essentiel c'est d'aller là où on doit aller. Moi je pense qu'on va d'abord aller sur Vénus car d'ici à ce que Jupiter soit prêt, ça va aller loin. [In any case, as planned, we're going to Jupiter. Then Venus, at last, has fallen through. I have the impression we will first go to Venus. I don't care, the main thing is to get where we must go. I think we'll go to Venus first because by the time Jupiter is ready it's going to be a long way off.]
  63. ^ Palisson, Arnaud (25 January 2012). "L'Ordre du Temple Solaire et la théorie du complot : Les "X-Files" d'Yves Boisset" [The Order of the Solar Temple and the conspiracy theory: The "X-Files" by Yves Boisset]. Rapports minoritaires (in French).
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