-Caveat Lector- Source: The Scotsman http://www.scotsman.com/ Click on World News, Scroll Down Spaceship cult raises fears of another Waco LOUISE BRANSON In Washington FEARS of another Waco in the making are growing over an isolationist cult - the United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors - which has set up a compound outside a small Georgia town and claims to be a sovereign nation. The Nuwaubian leader, Dwight York, says he is from a galaxy called Illyuwn and that a spaceship will pick up him and 144,000 chosen people in the year 2003. He and his followers have created an "Egypt of the West" compound on 400 acres outside the town of Eatonton, complete with two 40ft pyramids, a mile-long labyrinth, a multi-coloured obelisk and a giant statue of a sphinx. The comparisons with David Koresh and his Branch Davidian sect are striking. The Davidians perished in a blaze at their compound outside the Texas town of Waco six years ago after disputes and a 51-day siege by the FBI. Mr York's dispute, for the moment, is not with the FBI but with town officials who charge he has violated zoning regulations over the building of a nightclub and market. They also accuse him of having plans to take over the county. Mr York has already been in trouble with police - he served three years in prison in New York in the 1960s for assault, resisting arrest and possession of a dangerous weapon. The Nuwaubians, who are mostly black, say the dispute boils down to racism - and that has brought regional black leaders to their cause. "I think the sheriff and the courthouse gang have a fear that the Nuwaubians could pose a threat to the political order," said Tyrone Brooks, head of the Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials. "If this was a group of wealthy white developers who bought 400 acres of land and said we want to build and develop, they would co-operate with them." Federal mediators have already been called in, along with a so-called "common-law judge" who in the past has been linked to white supremacist groups. Until now, the town of Eatonton and the wider county of Putnam had prided themselves on their racial tolerance. The county of 18,000 calls itself the "Dairy Capital of Georgia". It is home to two famous writers - the Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alice Walker, who is black, and the white creator of the famed Uncle Remus tales. The town went through peaceful desegregation in the 1970s, has elected blacks to office and named a street after the black civil rights leader Martin Luther King. But even some blacks in the town see forces far more sinister than racism at work. "The majority of our folks are Baptists, Methodists and Holiness [Pentecostalists]," said Ulysses Rice, a town councillor. "These folks don't come in and mix with them." Though Mr York lives with some 150 followers on the compound, up to 400 other members live throughout the county and have become politically active as a group, including affiliating themselves with such black organisations as the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP). Howard Sills, the local sheriff, said he had an armed confrontation with the Nuwaubians' security guard when he tried to escort a building inspector onto the compound - a requirement to establish compliance with zoning laws. Mr Sills said the potential for another Waco-style conflict was very real. "It's my opinion that they want a confrontation, that they're pushing for a confrontation," he said. ©The Scotsman Publications Ltd -- Dan S DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
