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Brief information on Tvind
FAQs for non-Danes by Jes Fabricius Møller
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Update (scroll down, latest news first) This
site is closing The
News Update is migrating to http://tvindnewsupdate.blogspot.com/ 2009, Dec. 9, The
Northern Light (Washington) Tvind donation bins deceive residents. 2009, Nov. 20, several
media: The Danish Tvind schools have lost a trial that goes back to 1999 when
the High Court (Højesteret) overruled a law passed in 1996 that intended to
prevent the schools from getting state subsidies. In spite of this overruling
the government has refused to give the schools any grants for ten years now.
The schools took legal actions against the government, a case they have now
lost. 2009, Nov. 16,
Tvindalert. Late october Hans la Cour died at the age of 55. Hans la Cour was
the author of one of the best accounts of Tvind, "The Traveller"
(Den rejsende). 2009, Nov. 16, KiroTV. Millions
In Clothing Donations Diverted From Charity. 2009, October 30, New
Richmond News. Red boxes, red flag? Donation boxes placed by for-profit
business. 2009, July 12, Politiken, A report from
Tvind activities in Luanda, Angola, and on the general expansion i Africa. My
view: They could have credited Tvindalert for actually running the story one
week earlier, see July 5. 2009, July 5, Tvindalert, Tvind
is now gaining ground in Congo and the francophone Africa. 2009, June 24. The official report on Danish Security
and Intelligence Service (Politiets Efterretningstjeneste or PET)
1945-1989 also includes a chapter on the surveillance of Tvind, mainly in the
years 1979-1981. It was commonly known already in the early 80's that Tvind
was being watched by the Intelligence Service. The new and very detailed
report confirms the suspicion that Tvind had contacts with groups like ZANU,
POLISARIO, PFLP, M-19 and was tied to the regimes in Cuba and North Korea.
Generally PET did not consider Tvind a major security risk. http://www.petkommissionen.dk/fileadmin/bind/pet_bind9.pdf see pp 343-363 2009, June 9, Follow up
on the Fox
TV investigation (see May 12th) 2009, May 15, Folketidende,
Tvind is collecting used clothes in the town of Nykøbing Falster from a
lorry. My comment: other organisations have experienced organised theft from
their used clothes containers which is probably why Tvind has switched to
collecting directly from individual households. 2009, May 12, Fox
TV investigates Tvind/Planet Aid 2009, May 7, Dagbladet
Holstebro Struer, The Tvind Fund Fælleseje has to pay back a loan of 22
mill DKr prematurely to the now bankrupt Icelandic Kauthing Bank. 2009, April 14, DR (Midt
& Vest) Local authorities in Jutland still use Tvind for troubled
youths. The social services of four municipalities spend more than 1 mill
Euro annually on Tvind facilities. 2009, March 19, Berliner Zeitung, Volunteers in
Berlin's Tvind second hand shops feel exploited. 2009, March 18, Danmarks Radio
Only 12 % of the turnover of the British branch of Planet Aid goes to
charity. 2009, March 17, The Beaver, Tvind/Humana/DAPP has
been thrown out of the London School of Economics after the discovery of
financial irregularities. 2009, Feb. 11, (Pressespiegel IFD) A spokesperson
for the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development now denies
that Humana is a partner. (See Feb. 2) 2009, Feb. 11,(Tvindalert) BBC TV airs a critical
investigation of Planet Aid in Birmingham. 2009, Feb. 5. Critical
reports about the dealings of Humana in Germany continue. Link 2009. Feb. 2 (Pressespiegel IFD) The German
Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit (Federal Ministry for Economic
Cooperation and Development) has accepted Humana – People to People as a
partner in their volunteer program. This has caused concern among the
opposition (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen). 2009, Jan. 20. Poul
Jørgensen has been convicted to 2½ years of unsuspended jail. 2009, Jan. 9. Today is
Amdi Petersen’s 70th birthday. Tadaa. Still no sign of him in
public. A verdict in the continuing court case against Poul Jørgensen is
expected later this month. The daily newspaper Ekstra Bladet went to the
Mexican estate and made this little congratulatory clip and
this. 2008, Dec., The Tvind
School has received the “Europäischer
Solarpreis 2008” for its pioneering work with the wind turbine in
Ulfborg. 2008, Oct. 23, Randers Amtsavis, A 19 year old student at Tvind
has been arrested for arson. 2008, Sep. 11. DR, On the first day of the trial in the court
of appeal (Vestre Landsret) only Poul Jørgensen has appeared. My comment: The
prosecution says that they have changed tactics and will put all blame on PJ.
That is not tactics. It's pure necessity since they can't find the others.
It's somewhat of a fiasco since PJ has been more of an errand boy than an
actual leader. 2008, August 22, BBC4,
Read transcript
of BBC4 program 2008, April 13, Fyn.dk,
The veteran ships owned by Tvind are being moved from Nyborg to Faaborg, both
on Funen. 2008, Jan. 20, tvindalert:
A Tvind alert photographer has taken a picture showing what is most likely
Amdi Petersen at the new HQ in Mexico in november 2007. My comment: Tvindalert
writes: "He constantly evades an international arrest warrant."
This is actually not very precise. He has been but is not a fugitive. After
the acquittal in August 2007 he left Denmark legally. Only after some days
the prosecution decided for an appeal. When they tried to serve the summons
for Amdi Petersen he was nowhere to be found. In other words: He is not
wanted for a crime. According to the Ringkoebing Court he is innocent. He is
wanted because the prosecution wants another go at him. Now we ask ourselves:
Is there an Interpol Red Flag to his name? He is not on the Interpol list of internationally wanted persons.
(Please note that this list represents only a very small proportion of the
full list. The prosecutor indicates that she is looking for Amdi Petersen by
all means at her disposal - whatever that means.) By the way: If it is Amdi
Petersen on the picture he is dying his hair and generally looking younger
than a year ago. 2008, Jan 14, tvindalert:
The 10 million dollar Tvind mansion on the Pacific in northern Mexico is
nearly finished. See link for pictures. 2008, Jan 8, Ritzau, In
spite of the 1999 supreme court overruling of the 1996 "Lex Tvind"
Tvind schools are still - now on an administrative basis - denied any state
funding. A Tvind school in Juelsminde had sued the Ministry of Education
but today's appeals court ruling denies the school any compensation for the
loss of state funding after 1999. 2007, Dec. 4, Lemvig Folkeblad: Being unable to serve a summons
to Amdi Petersen the Minister of Justice, Lene Espersen, will now introduce a
bill that will make it easier for the courts to proceed when people cannot be
found. The minister makes no official reference to the Tvind case but off the
record the disappearing of Amdi Petersen is named as the reason for the new
bill. 2007, Dec. 3, Information:
ADPP (local Humana-branch) in Mozambique educates 20 % of all teachers in the
country. They learn classic teaching skills at a lower level than teachers
graduated from government colleges but the "Tvind"-teachers are
mainly known for their ability to involve local communities and to teach
about gender and sex. 2007, Nov. 30, Portugalnyt: The Tvind ship "Store
Bjørn" ("The Big Bear") has recently visited Cascais in Portugal. 2007,
Nov. 7. Kristeligt
Dagblad. In a remarkable article two old - and certainly former - friends of
Amdi Petersen, Carsten Ringsmose and Ole Hansen, revise the story of Amdi
Petersen short carreer as a teacher in the early sixties. Amdi Petersen himself
says that he was dismissed as a teacher for his political opinions and his
hairdo. They claim that it was because of his "very close and personal
relations to the female students". My comment: In a roman
à clef by Ole Hansen "Umagen værd" from 2005, you will find a
Amdi Petersen-like character having "close and personal relations"
to young girls. Sexual relations to followers is standard modus operandi
for a cult leader. 2007, Nov. 8, several
media: The Tvind case reopens at Vestre Landsret (first court of appeal)
today. Meanwhile there is no trace of Amdi Petersen, and the Minister of
Justice is considering a reform that will make it easier to serve a summons.
As it is now it has to take place in person which is an obvious archaic mode
of operation in a globalized world. 2007, Oct. 9, private blog: a woman tells about a terrible experience
with Tvind in Syria 25 years ago. 2007, Aug. 30, De bergske
blade, A new trial date is set for the 7th of November. 2007, Aug. 16, Ritzau:
Poul Jørgensen's lawyer, Jan Erik Kornerup Jensen, has become ill and the
trial is now postponed for a month. 2007, July 7, Dagbladet
Holstebro-Struer: The balance sheet shows that the Tvind foundation Fælleseje
has made a total profit of 93,5 Mill. DKr. over the past five years, and 37
Mill in 2006 alone. 2007, May 17, TV2 Fyn:
The Tvind institution, Nakkebølle, near the town of Faaborg, has opened its
doors to the public for one day to enable people to form their own opinion
about Tvind. 2007, Apr. 18, Ritzau:
The public prosecutor announces that Grethe Flintegaard cannot be considered
a member of the Amdi Petersen household. (See Apr. 10) It is not sufficient
to share an adress with a person to fall under that category, and Petersen,
Larsen Pipps and Gunst still haven't been legally summoned. 2007, Apr. 10, Tvindalert:
Mogens Amdi Petersen, Kirsten Larsen, Christie Pipps and Marlene Gunst have
now been legally summoned to the the new trial. According to law it is
sufficient to hand over the summons to a member of the household and the
police managed to summon all four through Grethe Flintegaard with whom they
share an adress in the town of Grindsted. 2007, Apr. 4, Fyn.dk
(Fyens Stiftstidende). UFF/Humana
is struggling to get their used clothes collection boxes back into the town
of Svendborg. 2007, Mar. 6, DR: Since
Poul Jørgensen is the only one of the six accused in the court appeal who
could be located - and since also he has a right to a speedy and fair trial -
the case will go on as planned with him alone, says public prosecutor Elsemette Cassøe. His first day in court will be on 22nd
of August. Preliminary hearing will be held tomorrow. 2007, Jan. 4, Ritzau: The
Landsret (court of appeals) decided that the appeal case against Tvind will
begin with a preliminary hearing in March and continue from August with two
weekly sessions. 2006, Dec. 17, CBS5, Bay
Area: Brillant piece on Campus California and The Green Boxes for used
clothes collection. Gaia representative admits that it is not a charity
organisation. See online: http://cbs5.com/30minutes/local_story_018142322.html 2006, Dec. 3,
Ekstra-Bladet: A Danish tourist has seen Amdi Petersen and Kirsten Larsen in
Singapore. He notified the police, but nothing has come out of it. 2006, Nov. 24, DR: The
planning of the trial is going on although the prosecution still hasn't been
able to reach Amdi Petersen, Larsen, Gunst, Fuglsbjerg and Byrner. 2006, Oct. 29, Politiken:
As reported by Tvindalert some months ago the TG has bought
a huge estate on the mexican pacific coast just south of the US border, where
they are building what is likely to be a new headquarter, designed by Jan
Utzon. The Politiken reporter tried to visit the building site but was not
allowed access. Several locals accuse Tvind of using illegal methods. Tvind's
ownership to the land is disputed. My comment: A move to
Mexico is not very unlikely considering the unstable situation in Zimbabwe,
where the current HQ is situated - also designed by Jan Utzon by the way (not
to be confused with Jørn Utzon, his father, who designed the Sidney Opera
House). 2006, Oct. 23,
Jyllands-Posten: Mogens Amdi Petersen, Kirsten Larsen,
Marlene Gunst, Kirsten Fuglsbjerg and Sten Byrner are now wanted
internationally - not to be arrested but simply to be able to announce to
them in person that the verdict has been appealed by a representative of the
public prosecutor, typically a policeman. This has not officially been
confirmed by the prosecutor, Elsemette Cassøe. 2006, Oct. 2, DR2: In a
remarkable interview on national television Simon Lichtenberg told about his
role in the TG. He explained that his company, Trayton Group, is growing by
appr. 20 % p.a. and an annual turnover of 'several hundred million DKr'. He
stressed that the TG does not have a singular agenda or ideology. The TG is
about individual projects with separate aims. His own appearance on TV, he
said indirectly, was an example of how he has chosen a different approach to
the general public than other members of the TG. My comment: SL now carries
so much weight in the TG that this appearance can be interpreted as his
suggestions for a new policy for Tvind and his - and perhaps others - wish to
take over leadership in the organisation. 2006. Sept. 25, Ritzau:
The police have now located Poul Jørgensen and handed him the subpeona. One
down, five to go. 2006, Sept. 20, DR, The
police are searching for Poul Jørgensen, Mogens Amdi Petersern, Kirsten
Larsen, Christie Pipps, Steen Byrner and Marlene Gunst in order to announce
in person that a new trial is beginning. Only problem is that they are
nowhere to be found. The morning news on DR caught Poul Jørgensen on the
phone and he promised that he would be at his office regularly. "The
police should know where to find me. They have ransacked my place before."
he joked. 2006, Sept. 13, several
media: The prosecution has decided for an appeal. The case is being trimmed
down to concern things done after 1989, thus excluding Bodil Ross Sørensen
and Ruth Sejerø-Olsen from further trial. 2006, August 31, all media:
Only Steen Byrner has been convicted. He was sentensed to 1 year suspended
jail. Since his confession earlier he was the most probable scape
goat. The other 7 walk free. The prosecutor has not yet decided to appeal or
not. An abstract of the verdict in Danish is to be found on the court house website. The verdict itself with documentation consists of 4000 pages. 2006, August 27,
Jyllands-Posten: A big well-researched article shows that more than 50
schools and institutions in Denmark are run by Tvind with a total annual
budget of 150-180 DKr. The paper fails to mention that a similar
investigation was made 4 years ago with approximately the same result. Se March
10th 2002 2006, July 6, Fyens
Stiftstidende: The Tvind school for troubled youths ' Småskolen Carene Star'
based in Skodborgskov, Rødding, south Jutland, is closing. The main acitivity
of the school was sailing with an old sailing ship 'Carene Star'. In the
summer the ship was leased out for shorter trips with tourists. The town of
Faaborg on Funen now regrets that visitors will not be able to take trips
with 'Carene Star' this summer. 2006, July 5, DR-online: By rule of the court The Tvind
foundation Fælleseje is going to pay 6,1 mill Dkr the costs of a big
examination of the three Tvind foundations, Fælleseje, Thomas Brocklebank and
Estate. Today Fælleseje has taken over the activities of the two other
foundations. Please note: this case is not the same as the big criminal case
against the Tvind leadership. 2006 June 30,
Jyllands-Posten: Tvindalert.com has won a case against Simon
Lichtenberg who wanted the internet provider, TDC, to shut down the website
because of its critical view of his affiliation with Tvind. Personal note:
congratulations. 2006, june 29, several
media: The last of a total of 170 days in court since December 2002 has been
held in the case against the Tvind leadership. A verdict is expected on
August 31st. 2006, June 23, Berlingske
Tidende: Tvind's lawyers claim that authorities years ago were fully aware of
the nature of the transactions of the foundation. Their lack of intervention
suggests that nothing illegal was done. 2006, June 23, DR Online:
OFID - OPEC Fund for International Development -
presented on June 13th its first annaual 100.000$ award to HUMANA for its
work for the underpriviledged. 2006, May 16,
Frederiksværk Ugeblad: The local authorities are moving one step closer to
approving the sale of Asserbohus. (see Feb. 8) 2006, April 12,
Jyllands-Posten, Final trial hearings and procedures are expected to be held
in the first days of May. The judge and the two lay-men judges will probably
reach a verdict in August. The written conclusion of the court will include
about 4000 pages of documentation. 2006, April 3, De bergske
blade: The foundation at trial (see June 27th 2001) now without its Tvind board is
still collecting money from former members of the Teachers Group, who
obviously complain that the new board are continuing what they were supposed
to stop. 2006, February 8,
Frederiksborg Amtsavis: The Tvind property owner "Faelleseje" wants
to sell one of its schools in Denmark, Asserbohus, to a property developer.
The school is worth more than 25 mill DKr. The building has been empty since
august 2005. 2005, August 29, 3F newsletter (formerly SID-newsletter): Tvind
plantation Las Italias in Ecuador managed by Bjarne Hjort has improved its
relations with the workers union, says local chairman Guillermo Touma. A new
and better agreement has been signed and the workers are now fully health
insured. Las Italias is the only remaining Tvind plantation in Ecuador. Rio
Culebra and Santa Rita were sold in 2002. 2005, August 4,
Jyllands-Posten: A letter from the Malaysian government saying that Tvinds
activities in the country are indeed protecting the enviroment may very well
be a forgery. Mr. Herman Anjin, who is supposed to have written the letter,
testified in court that it wasn't his signature on it and that it lacked the
letterhead of his office. 2005, June 9, Tvind
Alert: The Tvind clothing factory in Casablanca is closing down. 2005, May 25, Ritzau/BT:
Now answering questions from his own defence-lawyer Amdi Petersen denies
having had the role of a leader or anything like it. 2005, May 18, Ritzau:
Amdi Petersen is being questioned by the prosecuters. He denies having had
any influence on the foundation other than that of an advisor in spite of 10
witnesses saying the opposite. 2005, April 29, Ritzau:
The Tvind foundation 'Faelleseje' is sueing a lawyer on St. Vincent for 10
mill Dkr. Tvind owned the 3300 acres Orange Hill Estate but the St. Vincent
and Grenadines government expropriated it in 1993 and payed reparations
through the lawyer, Othniel Sylvester, who according to Tvind kept some of
the money for himself. 2005, April 7, Ritzau:
The court case has past its 100th session out of an estimated total of 160
days in court and has until now cost 30 million Dkr (4½ mill Euro) + 10 mill.
Dkr (1½ mill E.) in expences. Defence lawyer Merethe Stagetorn suggests that
court procedures are reformed to prevent cases like this to clog the system.
If would save a lot of time if you didn't have to read so many documents
already known to the parties out loud in court. 2004, Dec. 30, Børsen:
The court case against Amdi and the Tvind Top Seven is far from a conclusion.
Originally it was supposed to end about now but since the beginning of the
case the estimated total number of days in court has risen to 120. The eight
highly profiled - and very well-payed - lawyers are busy people, and planning
has become increasingly difficult. Now the judge says that the case in his court
will last until april 2006. Whatever the result it will certainly be appealed
to Landsretten - the first court of appeals - which usually takes even
longer. 2004, Sep. 29, Horsens
Folkeblad/Ritzau: A part of the Tvind property "Kysthospitalet" in
Juelsminde, east Jutland, has been sold to developers who want to build
housing with large expensive flats. Poul Jørgensen says that Tvind doesn't
need all that space due to lack of students. 2004, Sep. 23,
Jyllands-Posten: The United Nations World Food Programme is no longer
cooperating with DAPP in a number of african countries. WFP provided
transportation for food aid distributed by DAPP. WFP spokesman Mikael Bjerrum
apparently has no complaints about the actual work being done by DAPP. He
says rather vaguely that they are "concerned about the structure of
their partner". 2004, Sep. 4, Politiken:
according to the local newspaper The Herald, the government of Zimbabwe is
planning to expropriate some land belonging to Tvind. Nobody - including
spokesman Jørgensen - seems to have precise information on the matter. Tvinds
headquarter for all activities in southern Africa just outside Harare may be
in danger of seizure. 2004, Aug. 29,
Jyllands-Posten: Interview with Simon Lichtenberg, who tells about his career
and the Trayton Group in China, a company with 1.500 employees manufacturing
and marketing furniture in China and Japan. He is a member of the TG but the
Trayton Group is his own company. He shares parts of the profits with the TG.
The rest is being reinvested in the company. He is not being modest but
apparently he also has something to brag about. 2004, Aug. 20, several
media: Court is in session again after the summer break. All 8 defendants
appeared with a suntan and in a chearful mood. They have probably spent the
summer in Zimbabwe. 2004, April 29, several
media: Not very surprisingly witnesses like Steen Thomsen confirms the
accusations made against Amdi Petersen. He on the other hand felt sick and
had to leave court yesterday accompanied by Kirsten Larsen by his side. He
has succeeded in giving the public the general impression that he is a weak
old man. Steen Byrner and Kirsten Fuglsbjerg were absent with the permission
of the court. 2004, March 27, De
bergske blade (local papers from around Tvind's headquarters. Trustworthy):
Real Madrid football club has donated 1200 pieces of club sportswear to
Humana People to People. The gift was presented at the Santiago Bernabeu
stadium by vice president Enrique Sánchez and coach
Carlos Queiroz, who is himself from Mozambique. 3 years ago the club made a
similar donation to HPtP. 2004, March: Press
reports from the court sessions are as in February. The case is ecpected to
end late 2005. Hans la Cour has that the "global research" project
was a scam. It only donated the tax free money to the TG's own projects.
(March 10) Birgitte Hector Nielsen - chairwoman of
IFAS that gave money to "global research" - on the other hand has
testified that everything Tvind does - i.e. the selling of used clothes in
Mozambique - is to the benefit of everybody except Tvind. (March 2) 2004, February: Press
reports from the court sessions are few and quite trivial: TG-members say
they didn't do anything illegal. Former members of the TG on the other hand
say that they did. Poul Jørgensen turned 60 on the 27th of this month. He is
still referred to as the spokesman of Tvind. In that case he is the most low
key spokesman ever, but he is still active as loyal manager in TG-businesses. 2003, Nov 6, Ritzau: The
court ruled today that interrogations of the British accountant (see Aug.
7th) were not carried out in accordance with Danish law of procedure. Police
investigations cannot continue during trial. The parties accuse each other of
stalling. A sentence can be reduced due to prolongation of the case. In
combination with considerations for his age it is likely that Amdi P. has
served his time. 2003, Oct. 24, several
media: A court session earlier this month was postponed because Amdi Petersen
was ill - at least that was what he said. He sufferede from "an allergic
reaction" during a stay in Zimbabwe. A handwritten declaration from a
doctor in Harare was eventually faxed and accepted by the court as
documentation. Reading between the lines the judge is sceptical. My guess is
that Tvind is doing what they do best in dealing with authorities: stalling.
And Amdi P. is known to be somewhat of a hypocondriac. On Oct. 22 he was back
in court, hiding his face in a full beard thus keeping his rash or absence of
such from public scrutiny. 2003, Aug. 23, DR:
UFF/Humana in Finland risks losing its state funding of 600.000 Euro
annually. 2003, Aug. 8: A spectator
was arrested in the court room audio taping the trial yesterday. Frede
Farmand who - as a witness in the trial himself - is banned from being in the
court room during witness interrogations is suspected to be the initiator of
the illegal taping. 2003, Aug. 7: Several
boxes of documents have been confiscated from the office of the British
accontant David Swain who has worked with Tvind companies. 2003, July 15: The brutal
killing and possible sexual abuse of a 12 year old girl near Ringsted on the
island of Sealand on the 27th of June has drawn a lot of public attention
during the past weeks. Yesterday a suspect was finally arrested, a 22 year
old man with a history of theft and petty crime in the local area. He has
admitted the killing before a judgde today. He returned - according to BT -
just a few months ago from a social rehabilitation program on a Tvind ship. I
don't expect any journalist to use this angle but you never know. 2003, June 18,
Urban/Ritzau: Amdi Petersen recently left the country to fly to London. He is
free to travel between court sessions and he has left the country several
times. 2003, Apr. 10, Jyllands-Posten:
The defence wishes to call 91 witnesses including high ranking officials from
ministries and government offices. The defence also suggests that the court
should go on fact finding missions to Western Jutland and Brazil. The judge
demonstrated a dry sense of humour by saying: "I am disappointed that we
don't get to go to Tahiti." 2003, Mar. 14: Frede
Farmand's book about Tvind is published. It contains a great amount of
documentation about the financial transactions and copies of letters. Several
documents seem to come from the public prosecutors office. Mr. Farmands
relation to the police and the prosecution is still a mystery. 2003, Mar. 10,
SID/FAgbladet: The city council of Copenhagen has decided to ban the
Humana/UFF used clothes containers from the city. 2003, Mar. 7,
SID/Fagbladet: Tvind is leaving Ecuador. Local workers union representative
says that Tvind has sold the Rio Culebra to a local sugar farmer. The Santa
Rita plantation was sold October last year and the third Tvind farm, La
Italia, is also up for sale. 2003, Mar. 6, Ritzau: The
trial officially started wednesday and apart from all 8 pleading not guilty
the day was spent disagreeing about and planning the next 80 days in court.
It is now scheduled to last until October next year. 2003, Mar. 5, Ritzau:
Amdi P. did actually show up for the trial this morning. Some people had
feared that he might flee. 2003, Feb. 26, Ritzau:
The controversial private investigator Frede Farmand Rasmussen announces the
publication of documents concerning the trial against Amdi Petersen et.al.,
among them are confidential official documents. Public prosecutor, Gade,
wonders how that is possible without a criminal leak in the police force. So
do we. 2003, Feb. 20,
Jyllands-Posten: A group of former TG-members are preparing a lawsuit against
Tvind. They say that the leadership were spending their money on luxury for
themselves in stead of the original purpose. This invalidates the contract
that was signed on entering the TG and opens up for reparations, says lawyer
Lars Mumm, Aarhus. 2003, Feb. 21,
Jyllands-Posten: A dispute over the salaries of the 12 lawyers appointed by
the court involved in the defence of the 8 TG members in the pending court
case is not settled yet. The lawyers want Dkr. 18.500 each (appr. 2.500 Euro)
per day in court. The standard fee is 12.000 Dkr. 2003, Feb. 19. DR-TV: In
a documentary DR journalist Anni Pape tells about the reunion of a group of
Tvind students and teachers who in 1972 rebelled against the Tvind system.
Much of the documentary was spent on a silly "search" for Anni
Papes then lover, Ole Friis Laursen, who defected in 1979 but is still loyal
to Amdi Petersen. 2003, Feb. 13,
SID/Fagbladet: 5 leaders of Tvind plantations i Latin America have each
written a letter to SID saying that the accusations against them are biased
and misleading. 2003, Feb. 3,
SID/Fagbladet: The British organisation, Banana Link, is accusing Tvind of
using child labour in Ecuador. 2003, Jan. 29, Ekstra
Bladet/TV2: The TG owned yacht, the Butterfly Macqueen (built 1987 by the TG
in Denmark and named after an american actress who starred in Gone With the
Wind) is for sale for about half its estimated value of 50 Mill. DKr. in the
port of Auckland, NZ. 2003, Jan. 29, Ritzau: 15
former TG members are being listed as witnesses for the prosecution when the
case against Tvind reopens on March 5th. No names mentioned.
2003, Jan 21, Dagens
Nyheter: UFF/Humana Sweden is now officially bankrupt. The organisation
stopped supporting developing projects last year claiming that their depts
had to be payed first. They owe IRS 1,6 mill SEK and more than ten million
SEK to other creditors. Who the creditors are is unknown. You can't help
suspecting that the bankruptcy is staged? 2003, Jan 15, Ritzau: In
a brief press release Amdi Petersens lawyers, Anders Boelskifte and John
Korsø Jensen, announce that Amdi P. will not be giving any interviews to the
press during the trial. 2003, Jan 10, Ritzau:
Amdi Petersen was released from the prison in Holstebro and went to Grindsted
in a Mercedes. (Not a BMW - see Nov. 29th) The reason for his release was
that there is a risk that his time in prison so far - appr. 11 months - will
exceed the expected time that he would have to serve if convicted. The
appeals court did not take the flight risk into consideration. In my view it
is small. 2003, Jan 9, Ritzau: The
appeals court decision on MAP's release is expected tomorrow. 2003, Jan. 8,
Jyllands-Posten: The Fisher Island flat (See Oct. 28th 2001) has been sold
for 4,85 mill $. Its estimated value is 6 mill $. The sale was a rush job
says the real estate agent. Cash problems? we ask.
2002, Dec. 8, DR-TV,
Soendagsmagasinet: Documents show that MAP in the early 90's planned to place
TG money in overseas tax havens through 36 different companies. The documents
name Farmer's Trust as the key money bin holding 90 Million U$D. 2002, Dec. 3, Dagens Nyheter (Sweden) Research documents, that
an estimated several million kroner profit from collecting used
clothes in Sweden is channeled to tax havens. Top guy, Dan Wallin, has left
UFF Sweden for the same reason. 2002, Dec. 3, Ritzau: MAP
is staying in jail until Dec. 19th and probably also during the holidays. 2002, Nov. 29,
Jyllands-Posten: Members of the TG has bought a BMW X5, a V8 4x4 that costs
appr. 1 mill. DKr. in Denmark (ca. 150.000 Euro). The paper speculates about
the expensive ride that MAP is going to get when he is released. 2002, Nov. 24, DR-TV,
Soendagsmagasinet: Documents originated from Tvind show the Top 30 of the TG
hierarchy. Names are visible on the screen. (Amdi Petersen is second to
Kirsten Larsen!) Tvind spokes-person, Karen Hesselbjerg, says that the papers
are old and only show the division of tasks in the TG and that all TG members
are equal. 2002, Nov. 20, Fagbladet,
The workers that were fired from the Rio Culebra plantation in Ecuador are fighting
to get proper compensations. They have been offered a few hundred dollars but
say that they have a right to much more. 2002, Nov. 18, Ritzau:
The police can't have the emails from non-charged members of the TG,
according to a ruling by the court in Ringkoebing. 2002, Nov. 13, DR: The
police are trying to get hold of more encrypted emails to and from the Tvind
leadership. They say that they still haven't established who gave the conrete
instructions in the TG. 2002, Nov. 7, Ritzau:
Amdi Petersens jailing has been prolonged by another four weeks according to
a ruling of the court in Ringkoebing. 2002, Nov. 6, Roskilde Avis: Another Tvind institution for problem kids is opening in Roskilde, "Anden sal til Hoejre". 2002, Oct. 22,
Jyllands-Posten: For the first time Amdi Petersen has agreed to give his
version of the story to the police and thereby given up his right to silence. 2002, Oct. 10, Berlingske
Tidende: Amdi Petersens time in custody has been prolonged by four weeks. The
police argues that judging by AP's personal notes confiscated in Los Angeles
he was planning to establish a new TG refuge in Pulgas, Mexico. The costs of
the court case will be 33 mill. Dkr. or appr. 4½ mill Euro. 2002, Oct. 9, Ritzau (De
bergske Blade): Bodil Ross Soerensens lawyer, Bent Unmack Larsen, has excused
himself from the case due to old age as he explains it. Ms Soerensen hopes to
be able to employ the highly profiled defence attorney Merethe Stagetorn. 2002, Oct. 9, Dagbladet:
The town council of Roskilde is considering banning the UFF/Humana collection
boxes from public space. 2002, Oct. 4, Ritzau: The
8 leading members of the TG have now been formally charged. The details have
not been published yet 2002, Sep. 30,
Jyllands-Posten: Chances are slim that Amdi Petersen could be released before
the case against him starts Feb. 19th next year. 2002, Sep. 27, BT: The
appeal case in Vestre Landsret (district court?) went against Amdi Petersen.
He is staying in custody waiting for the criminal case against him. The
prosecutor argued that Amdi Petersen had a double identity. He had two sets
of business cards when arrested in LA. One set with the name M. Pedersen
(with a 'd' instead of a 't'. This is probably why he regularly is called
Pedersen in the documents concerning the case.) The other set was in the name
M. Cordoba. 2002, Sep. 16, Ritzau:
Amdi Petersen is to stay in jail, says Ringkoebing judge. 2002, Sep. 15, Ritzau:
Former TG economy manager, Steen Byrner, has sent
a letter of support for Amdi Petersen to the court taking responsibility for
some of the transactions in question. Steen Byrner lives in Ecuador and
claims to have no connection with Tvind or the TG. At the court hearing today
Amdi Petersen pleeded not guilty. He appears to be in good shape. The courts
decision - whether Amdi P. should stay in custody - will be published Monday
morning. 2002, Sep. 15, Politiken:
Amdi Petersen arrived at noon Saturday September 14th in Copehagen airport.
Hiding his face police rushed him to the court jail in Ringkoebing. 2002, Sep. 14, Politiken:
Amdi Petersen is on his way home. 2002, Sep. 10, Ekstra
Bladet: Amdi Petersen has asked for another lawyer. Two lawyers have been
appointed to Poul Joergensen and Amdi P. wants the same priviledge for
himself. 2002, Sep. 6. Berlingske
Tidende: Kirsten Fuglsbjerg (AKA Christie Pipps) has been added to the
original list of 7 people being charged. See Feb. 7th 2002 2002, Sep. 5, Fagbladet:
The last 120 of 230 workers have been fired from the Rio Culebra plantation
in Ecuador. Armed guards barred them from going to work. Earlier attempts by
the workers union to start a dialogue with the Tvind ownership have now
failed. 2002, Sep. 3, Berlingske
Tidende: A paper made by some (leading) members of the TG wants to explain
why Amdi P. is innocent. Berlingske Tidende tries to sell it as a sensational
disclosure of internal Tvind affairs but the paper is really just a
compilation of arguments that we already know. 2002, Aug. 30, Kristeligt
Dagblad: UFF (Humana Denmark) are still keeping their incomes and
expenditures a secret. 2002, Aug. 25, Berlingske
Tidende: UFF/Humana are selling used clothes to cheap to Channel Island
companies run by Tvind. This way Tvind drain the humanitarian activities to
the benefit of purely commercial companies that are selling the clothes at
high prices in Eastern Europe. An eye witness and documents support the
allegations, says journalist Michael Bjerre. (See also Dec.
29th, 2001) Tvind
claim that the low prices are due to a slow market for used clothes. 2002, Aug. 23, TV2:
Anders Boelskifte expects the extradition to take place within a few days. 2002, Aug. 23, Kristeligt
Dagblad: Denmarks largest chain of supermarkets (COOP Danmark, formerly FDB)
has banned the UFF boxes from their grounds, appr. 150 in total. They are to
be replaced by Red Cross boxes. COOP Sweden has similar plans. 2002, Aug. 22. Kristeligt
Dagblad: Tvind is not complying with regulations when collecting money on the
streets of Denmark for the TCE (Fighting AIDS). 2002, Aug. 21, TV2:
Anders Boelskifte recommends an unconditional extradition. 2002, Aug. 21,
Jyllands-Posten: It seems that the State Department needs to review the
paperwork before allowing the extradition. This could take weeks. The terms
of the extradition are that no further charges can be brought against Amdi
Petersen without the consent of the American authorities. 2002, Aug. 20,
Jyllands-Posten: During the court hearing Monday in LA Amdi Petersen himself
requested to be transferred to Denmark against the advice of Robert Shapiro -
who is losing a client - but in accordance with his Danish solicitor, Anders
Boelskifte. Only a few days of paperwork stand in the way of extradition now. 2002, July 7, Ritzau: A
Tvind institution in Frederikshavn, "Nordlys", has been closed by
the authorities. 2002, July 5,
TV2/Tvindalert: 8 Members of the Tvind leadership, Flemming Gustavson,
Kirsten Fuglsbjerg (Christine Pipp), Joop Nagel, Anne Hansen, Birgitte Krohn,
Birgitte Ring, Marlene Gunst, Else Jensen, have been charged with money
laundering in an amount of 3 mio € in Belgium. The case is due to begin Dec.
19th. 2002, June 1, Politiken:
Amdi's lawyer is still trying to cut a deal with the Danish public prosecutor
- extradition against a guarantee that Amdi is not being imprisoned during
trial. Such deals are very rare in the Danish judicial system and the
prosecutor has refused the proposal. 2002, May 30, Ekstra
Bladet: R. Shapiro, is appealing for the release of his client to The United
States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Los Angeles. 2002, May 26,
Søndagsavisen: Another Tvind Fund, Foreningen til Almene formål af 22. august
1989, has been removed from the list of funds and organizations that can
recieve tax deductible donations. 2002, May 22, Fyns Amts
Avis: Tvind's used clothes collection boxes are no longer wellcome in the
town of Svendborg, one of the most profitable collection sites of UFF/Humana
Denmark. 2002, May 18, Fagbladet:
The conflict at the Rio Culebra plantation in Ecuador is escalating. 2002, May 7, Dagens
Nyheter: IKEA has previously information on Tvind done business with Trayton
Group but has now decided to break off any connection with the Tvind owned
company. 2002, May 4: Fyens Stiftstidende: At a Tvind plantation in Ecuador
the workers are on strike not only because their wages are lousy but because
they haven't been paid for weeks. The manager Ole Toft Andersen is under
police protection. 2002, May 2: Berlingske
Tidende: Tvind's furniture company in China, Trayton Group in Shanghai, is
under local police investigation for smuggling, that is lack of proper
paperwork when importing goods into China. 2002, Apr. 16, TV2:
Police confirm that UFF Denmark (=Humana) is under investigation for
chanelling funds from charity to the teachers group. 2002, Apr. 3,
Jyllands-Posten: Amdi P. has volonteered to come to Denmark if the police
would drop the embezzlement charges and only charge him with tax fraud.
Danish police will not make such a deal. 2002, Mar. 30,
Jyllands-Posten: Amdi Petersens extradition case is due in court in August.
Unless he agrees to extradition before that time he is going to stay in jail
all summer. 2002, Mar. 29,
EkstraBladet: Judge Nora M. Manella in the LA District Court decided Thursday
that Amdi P. is not to be released on bail. 2002, Mar. 25, Dagens
Nyheter (Sweden): UFF Sweden is restructuring but TG still seem to have a
firm grip of the organization. 2002, Mar. 24, Dagens
Nyheter (Sweden): IKEA has been buying furniture from the Tvind controlled
company, Trayton Group in Shanghai. 2002, Mar. 21, BBC4 broadcasts a ½ hour feature about Tvind in
Denmark. 2002, Mar. 19,
Radioavisen: The hearing today in LA has been postponed for a week by request
of Shapiro. 2002, Mar. 16, Politiken:
Some Tvind institutions operate without authorization or have been closed by
authorities due to mismanagement or controversial pedagogical methods. 2002, Mar. 14, Berlingske
Tidende has made a sound recording from the first LA court hearing on Feb.
19th public on the internet. Amdi Petersen says "yes, sir" when
asked to confirm his identity and you hear a few other short answers to some
basic questions. 2002,
Mar. 10,
Politiken: local authorities still send many problem kids to Tvind
institutions in Denmark. Tvinds earnings in this line of business are ca. DKr
180 mio. 2002, Mar. 8, BT:
According to Thom Mrozek of the US Justice Department Shapiro has filed an
appeal for the release of his client. 2002, Mar. 1, several
media. The usual suspicion is being stirred up over the last two weeks about
Tvinds business at home and abroad but there is no substantial news. Amdi is
lawyering up as they say in american films and no one knows the outcome of
the next hearing on March 19th. 2002, Feb. 25, Politiken:
Amdi P. stays where he is. Next court hearing is set for March 19th. In
Denmark a person goes through three stages before a conviction: mistanke,
sigtelse, tiltale. In the US there is only two: suspicion and charge.
"sigtelse" and "tiltale" generally both translate into
charge but persons under "sigtelse" can also be seen as suspects.
(A person under "sigtelse" has the right to legal representation
and to remain silent under interrogation) Robert Shapiro is trying to
convince the LA court that Amdi P. is only a suspect and has not been formally
charged (i.e. "tiltalt") but since a warrant for his arrest has
been issued by Danish court(s) (local judge AND appeal court) there is no
doubt about the legality of the Danish request following a mutual extradition
agreement between Denmark and the US. A photo of Amdi P. seen from behind
entering a bus for transportation to the jail is NOT the first of its kind in
23 years. A similar photo (by Rick Catlin of TheCayman Compass) from 1990
shows him entering a plane on Grand Cayman Island also seen from behind. 2002, Feb. 23,
Søndagsavisen: Tvind is still expanding in Denmark, founding institutions for
troubled children and youths. 2002, Feb. 22,
BT/Berlingske Tidende: Amdi P. is being held in Kern County Jail,
Bakersfield, California. The FBI has for unknown reasons picked him up at the
jail to bring him to LA. Hearings about his extradition have been postponed
until 19.30h CET friday. Local DA is recieving help from Danish colleagues.
Kirsten Larsen and Ruth Sejeroe-Olsen stand by their man and have been
photographed outside the court room. Only a drawing from the court room
indicates how Amdi P. looks today - no press photos of him yet. 2002, Feb. 20, DR etc.:
Amdi Petersen is still being held in prison in the LA area after the first
hearing, but he has hired Robert Shapiro who used to represent O.J. Simpson
and who has worked extradition cases before succesfully. Shapiro descripes
Amdi P. as a great benefactor. 2002, Feb. 19,
BT/EkstraBladet/Jyllands-Posten: Speculations are numerous about Amdi P. who
is to appear before a federal magistrate in LA today. Danish justice
department want him extradited. If he agrees to extradition it will last only
a short time. If he denies trials and imprisonment in the US may last up to
1½ year. Poul Joergensen maintains his and Amdi P.s innocense. Amdi P. is
sitting in a cell at the Metropolitan Detention Center as prisoner no
21047/112. The arrest "came a day after the U.S. Department of
Transportation assumed ultimate authority over passenger and luggage
screening at all 429 U.S. airports." LATimes) 2002, Feb. 18, Ritzau:
Amdi Petersen has been arrested by the Los Angeles Police by request of the
Danish police. He was in transit from Africa to Mexico when apprehended. 2002,
Feb. 7, Fyens
Stiftstidende: Eva Vestergaard is no longer a suspect in the case against the
humanitarian foundation. The seven persons charged are: Poul Jørgensen, Amdi
Petersen, Bodil Ross Sørensen, Kirsten Larsen, Malene Gunst, Ruth Sejerø
Olsen and Steen Byrner. (see Feb. 6) 2002, Feb 6, Horsens Folkeblad:
MP Troels Lund Poulsen is now taking up the case of Tvinds small schools in
Vejle Amt (county of Vejle) as a result of the case from Raadved (see Jan.
24) 2002, Feb. 6,
Radioavisen/Holstebro Dagblad: Another four people are now under suspicion and
have been charged in the case against the humanitarian foundation. At the
same time the police are giving up investigations against one person, which
means that altogether seven people are on the list. 2002, Feb. 2, Fyens
Stiftstidende: Tvind is trying to get another small school running on the
ship 'Hans Christian Andersen' of Nyborg. 2002, Jan. 26, Politiken:
A Tvind foundation for fine arts (Kunstforeningen af 1985) has given up a
sponsorship (appr. 3 mill Dkr.) for Karl-Heinz Stockhausen's opera "Mittwoch".
After Stockhausens unfortunate remarks on 9.11 co-sponsors have been hard to
find for the 3 Mill D-mark show. Chairman Sune Joergensen says that the
foundation hopes it will be able promote "Mittwoch" at a later
date. 2002, Jan. 24, Horsens
Folkeblad/Vejle Amts Folkeblad: Local residents protest against a planned
Tvind small school in Laerkenfeldt, Raadved. 2002, Jan. 23, Roskilde
Avis: The town council of Roskilde is considering a termination of their
cooperation with one of the Tvind schools in Roskilde (Heldagsskolen ved
Roskilde Fjord) due to the schools very bad economy. 2002, Jan. 22, Ritzau:
Plans have been made for The Tvind school in Faaborg, Nakkeboelle, to become
partly a centre for refugees from Iraq and Afghanistan. Local authorities protest
because they consider the mix of troubled youths and asylum seekers to be
dangerous. 2002, Jan. 18,
JydskeVestkysten: The former Tvindschool Lakolk on the island Roemoe, which
was bought by Tvind as early as 1980, has now been sold and is being reconstructed
as a hotel. 2002, Jan. 1, Ekstra
Bladet: An updated survey of Tvinds property in Denmark. 2001,
Dec 29, Dagens
Nyheter (Sweden): UFF Sweden is on the verge of bankrupcy with a dept of 4,9
mill SEK to public and private creditors. UFF spokesman Thomas Gregersen says
that second-hand business is in a crisis and won't give any specific figures.
Donations of used clothes amount to 8900 t in Sweden alone which indicates
that the turnover is at least 200 mill SEK. 2001, Dec 29, Ekstra
Bladet: A large amount of evidence incl. 100.000 documents from the Tvind
computers are slowing down police investigations says Jens Kaasgaard. 2001, Dec 29, Berlingske
Tidende: Tvind pressure on Hans la Cour (see Dec. 2) seems to backfire.
Twenty former TG-members now want to tell their story to the police according
to chief-of-police in Holstebro Jens Kaasgaard (Important notice: In Denmark
the chief-of-police is also the public prosecutor). They have changed their
minds because they are angry about the way la Cour is being treated by Tvind. 2001, Dec 11, Ritzau: In
a case against Den rejsende Hoejskole paa Sejrens Vej (Travelling Folk High
School) the Ministry of Education won in the appeal court (Vestre Landsret).
The school has to pay back all state subsidies recieved over several years
amounting to 4,9 mill. Dkr. The case started in 1996 and has no direct
implication on the new fraud case 2001, Dec 11, BT: Tvind
(i.e. Faelleseje) has been convicted of VAT evation. Faelleseje used to lease
cars, furniture and computers to the schools and doing so they avoided paying
VAT for several years. VAT in Denmark is 25% so Faelleseje now has to pay
several mill. Dkr. back. (See press release Sep. 19th 1996) 2001, Dec. 2, TV2, Tvind
wants compensation for public defamation from Hans la Cour, now a resident of
New Zealand and an important witness in the case against Tvind. La Cour says
to TV2 that he feels intimidated and that his first concern is his own
economical welfare and the well being of his family and not the case against
Tvind. 2001, Nov. 30,
Ekstra-Bladet: A former TG-member tells about a speach held by MAP in
Juelsminde, Denmark in 1996, where he compares himself and Tvind with the
lost son of a king in a typical mix of revolutionary and religious rhetorics.
My comment: Ekstra-Bladet says that there were 500 TG-members
present, but Tvinds own well known account of the meeting says 250 which
probably comes closer to the actual size of the TG in Denmark. 2001, Nov. 30, Berlingske
Tidende: Tvind still has several small schools in Denmark and they are now
being accused of overcharging the local authorities by raising the rent of
the houses of the schools to an unrealistically high level. (The buildings
are primarily owned by Faelleseje.) 2001, Nov. 29,
Ekstra-Bladet/Ritzau: According to secret sources Amdi Petersen has declared
that Tvind is to leave Denmark within 2004. Poul Joergensen denies. 2001, Nov. 22, Expressen
(Sweden): Swedish companies and the government have sponsored Tvind. The
Dairy Company Arla have donated some computers to the organisation but they
fiercely refuse to be called "partners" and have demanded to be
taken off the Tvind homepage of sponsors. Some military surplus materials
(don't worry! no guns, mainly clothes) have been donated as well. 2001, Nov. 15, Jyske-Vestkysten:
Tvind is now trying to buy two properties in southern Jutland, a former Motel
in Doestrup and a former Inn in Oedis. The latter should be substitute for
the closed school in Lakolk on the island Roemoe. 2001, Nov. 11,
Jyske-Vestkysten: Amdi hide-out in Grindsted, Jutland, is for sale. The house
was searched during the big razzia in April and Amdi Petersen has stayed
there when i Denmark. (see pictures below)
Tvind (Faelleseje)
owns this property at 23 Aadalen, Grindsted. It was for sale (Oct. 2001) for
2,6 mill DKr. I like the sixties look of it and the surroundings are
beautiful. 2001, Nov. 3,
Jyllands-Posten: A big article describes a Tvind farm in Zimbabwe, where the
headquarters of Humana, UFF, ADPP etc. are located. 2001, Oct. 28,
Jyllands-Posten: In a big scoop feature covering 7 pages 3 journalists
describe in detail the 6 mill. $ flat that a Tvind company owns 5302 Fisher
Island Drive, Fisher Island, Miami. It is being used by Amdi
Petersen. They also published a recent picture of Amdi Petersen. It has been
commonly known that Tvind owns property in Miami Beach but the actual adress
of this flat and some interesting details on the enormous costs of living
there are new. The newspaper Ekstra-Bladet accuse Jyllands-Posten of having
printet a digitally manipulation of an old photo of Amdi Petersen.
Jyllands-Posten admits that the picture could be a manipulated photo (Urban
nov. 1, 2001) but has great confidence in their secret source. My comment:
Ekstra-Bladet's reporter has spent time and money doing futile research in
Florida and he is pissed off. The paper would have loved to tell the same
story. But they have a point. The picture is very clearly digitalized. The
reporters have probably been able to photocopy his picture off some ID-card
(Amdi Petersen is a member of the Fisher Island Golf Club) and then they have
brushed it up with colours and hidden their source by removing the
background, a stamp or any signs of the origin. People who know him say that
it looks like him. The whole story has stirred up a new wave of public
outrage. Inland revenue wants to tax Amdi Petersen for this fringe benefit
extravaganza and some ex-TG-member announce a possible law-suit against Tvind
for being misled. Humana is being accused of fraud and Company Records is
going through the confiscated computers with the police in Holstebro.
Basically it doesn't change anything for the police investigations. For Amdi
P. it's just another day at the job. He is probably mad because his hideout
has been found and he will probably move. Who knows? 2001, Sep. 30,
JyskeVestkysten: Tvind has published confident papers concerning the raid on
April 25th on the internet: http://www.fonden.org/pressemeddelelse.pdf . It is now being investigated if
one of the Tvind lawyers, Jørgen Jacobsen (who has defended Amdi P. since
1969), has comitted anything illegal by letting Tvind have copies of the
papers. The papers clearly show that the police in Holstebro had made an
agreement with the private investigator Frede Farmand that made it possible
for him to be present and videotape the actual raid. In exchange he promised
to give up a surveillance of Tvind headquartes in order to prevent suspicion
of an upcoming raid. Frede Farmand is an old enemy of Tvind. They basically
hate him and try to incriminate him in any way. 2001, Sep. 17, BT: Police
have now retrieved so much information from the confiscated computers that
they no longer consider it necessary to let former Tvind members, incl. Steen
Byrner, appear as witnesses in the trial. 2001, Aug. 25, Ritzau:
Danish government development aid to Zimbabwe has been stopped because of
Mugabes destructive policy. As a result a delegation from the Zimbabwean
government is visiting Denmark tomorrow. The trip is sponsored by Tvind. 2001, Aug. 23,
Civilretsdirektoratet ( http://www.civildir.dk/publikationer/Tvind/presse08-23.htm ) has now appointet a new board
for the humanitarian foundation. Chairman is the lawyer Jesper Lett,
Borgergade 111, DK-1300 København K. 2001, Aug. 15, Berlingske
Tidende: Tvind is negotiating the sale of another house in northern Jutland.
At the same time by way of the courts Tvind is trying to regain control of
the humanitarian foundation and its millions. 2001, Aug. 14, The court
in Viborg has decided that the raid on April 25 was justifiable with a few
minor exceptions. The Police continue investigations into the alleged fraud
made by the board of the humanitarian foundation. 2001, Aug. 9,
JyskeVestkysten: Questions are raised by politicians why criminals are sentenced
to work for Tvind. (Courts can use "samfundstjeneste" - community
service - instead of jail as punishment) 2001 Aug. 8, Berlingske
Tidende: Leader of Tvinds American recycling company, Mikael Norling, has
returned to Denmark to take part in the defence of Tvind at the court
(Landsretten) in Viborg. The court will present its decision whether the raid
on Tvind on April 25 was illegal or not next tuesday. The police have a
strong case since they have succeeded in breaking the codes of the
confiscated Tvind computers revealing incriminating correspondance between
Tvind leaders. 2001 Aug. 7, Berlingske
Tidende: On behalf of danish police, american police (no specifications about
which force, local or FBI etc.) have searched the accounts belonging to Tvind
in the Miami Citi Bank. Danish police hope to get a clearer view of the
international economic transactions of Tvind. 2001 Aug. 5,
JyskeVestkysten: Tvind (i.e. "Fælleseje") is selling a former hotel
on the island of Roemoe, that until recently housed a small school
("Fremtidens Danmark") My comment: This is the first time
that Tvind is selling major property in Denmark except from the selling of
Nebbegaard. It is a sign of the pressure that the authorities are putting on
Tvind. Tvind is probably trying to move their assets to tax havens overseas
before they are being confiscated. According to local sources Tvind owned
houses in Grindsted are now for sale. 2001 Aug. 5: Tvind has
set up a website (in Danish) defending the Humanitarian Foundation that is
being investigated for fraud: www.fonden.org 2001 July 15, Berlingske
Tidende: Erhvervs- og Selskabsstyrelsen (Company Records) is launching a
large scale investigation of Tvinds commercial activities in Denmark on the
basis of the material that was confiscated earlier this year. Sources claim
that many more illegal activities will be revealed. 2001 July 15, Berlingske
Tidende: Some of Tvinds top leaders, including Mogens Amdi Petersen, Marlene
Gunst, Ruth Sejerø-Olsen are emigrating to UK. 2001 July 7, Berlingske
Tidende: Aage Michelsen, professor of tax law at the University of Aarhus and
advisor to the government, is being questioned by the police. He was a paid
consultant to Poul Jørgensen and the Tvind foundation now being investigatet
for fraud. The police want information on his business relations with the
foundation and they also want to know if he can be made liable for the
illegal administration of the foundation. 2001 July 6, JyskeVestkysten:
The development aid foundation of the danish state, DANIDA, and the unskilled
workers union, SiD, are supporting COLSIBA, a latin american organisation
helping the local unions. Among the toughest opponents of the unions are the
banana plantations owned by off shore Tvind companies. The interesting part
of the story is that both DANIDA and SiD used to support Tvind activities. 2001 June 28, Berlingske
Tidende: In a document to the danish authorities Poul Jørgensen by mistake
admits that Tvind owns the Fazenda Jatoba plantation in Brazil. This means
that Tvind has used tax deductible funds (2.8 mill dollars) to finance their
own business. According to danish law this is highly illegal. Poul Jørgensen
is presently being prosecuted for that crime. 2001
June 27,
Jyllands-Posten: The board of a Tvind foundation has been dismissed by the
authorities because they have proof of irregularities. This means that Tvind
loses control of millions of Dkr. 2001 April 25: Police
confiscate documents from several adresses afiliated with Tvind. |
This web site should answer some of the basic FAQs
about Tvind for non-Danes. It is basically a summary of my book, published in 1999 on the history of Tvind plus later updates. Please
excuse my somewhat faulty English. Feel free to contact
me if you need any further information or if you believe my information to be
wrong or lacking.
If you use the information professionally (i.e. for publication) I would
also like to hear from you. Listen to a BBC4 feature about Tvind March 22nd
2002 at 11:00 GMT See CBS5 feature on Tvind's Green Boxes
Dec. 17th 2006 Listen to BBC4's
'You &Yours' , March 11th 2009 See a Fox
TV investigation of Tvind, May 12th 2009 |
|
Workers on strike at the Tvind controlled Rio Culebra banana plantation in Ecuador, May 2002. The strike is a part of a general workers uprising in the country. Source: Fagbladet |
|
Page last updated 18 november 2009
It started in 1970 when a
group of young Danes started an experimenting school on the island of Fanø in
western Denmark. In 1967-68 they had travelled around the world and seen the
poverty of the third world. The school is not about knowledge but
consciousness. The aim is to reform the world using maoist theories about the
third world as the motor of the great revolution.
1972 they bought a small
farm in western Jutland called Tvind. There they built several schools
including af teachers college. All the schools recieved public subsidies
according to the very liberal danish law of education.
1977 UFF was founded. It
has many aliases around the world: Humana, DAPP, ADPP etc. From the beginning
it has supported communist regimes especially in southern Africa. Tvind has a
special relationship to Robert Mugabe because UFF supported his movement when
it was still in exile in Mozambique.
1978 The worlds largest
wind turbine was erected in Tvind. It is today the worlds oldest megawatt wind
turbine still running, although not at full power.
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Frame from a sequence of Amdi Petersen explaining to
the cameras of the national television (Danmarks Radio) how Tvind radically changes
the lives of its students. In the background you see the wind turbine under
construction. (ca.
1977-78) |
1983, 1st of february, the
Tvind owned ship, "Activ", went down in the English Channel in a
heavy storm. 8 people died. The tragedy could have been prevented if they had
listened to warnings but Tvind only rarely listens to outsiders. They know
best.
1988 The teachers college
no longer recieved state subsidies, and the graduates have no acces to work in
danish schools, except Tvind of course.
1980-1996 in spite of heavy
criticism and some setbacks Tvind kept expanding, nationally and
internationally. 1996 a law was passed denying state subsidies to all 32 Tvind
schools in Denmark. The law was declared non-constitutional by the high court
in 1999 but Tvind still does not recieve any money from the state.
Due to recent law suits
(see update) Tvind activities in Denmark seem
to have decreased, although Tvind now run several institutions for criminal and
troubled youths with financial support of local authorities.
From the beginning employees
of Tvind have had a shared economy. At first it was what is often referred to
as a "yellow bucket", i.e. a box where money was accumulated. From
1972 this "yellow bucket" became institutionalised in the shape of a
"Savings Union" (Spareforening) and the money was canalized into
different foundations.
The most important in
Denmark are: "Estate", founded 1971, that owns the property in
Ulfborg and a few other buildings. "Faellseje", founded 1977, was the
motor of Tvind expansion in Denmark that accelerated in the mid 80es.
"Thomas Brocklebank" is named after the first Tvind ship, (bought in
1976 and renamed "Odysseus") and is the Tvind maritime financier. A
conservative estimate says that Tvind own property worth 300 mill Dkr. in
Denmark alone.
In addition several smaller
foundations and organisations are set up with the official purpose of promoting
fine arts, the enviroment, science etc. They are generally considered to be
cover ups for Tvinds commercial activities, which is also the reason for the
current case against Tvind, lead by chief of police and public prosecutor in
Holstebro, Jens Kaasgaard. (see update)
The savings of TG-members
are in reality administered by a very small group of people. Not even all the
people officially on the boards of the foundations etc. have a saying. Board
meetings and general assemblies are often done as pure paperwork by Poul
Joergensen (who is on the board of most of the relevant organisations) and
signatures of the other members are collected (or perhaps even faked)
subsequently in order to make it look legal.
The UFF, Humana etc. third
world organisations are in fact very small as well with only a very few members
and cannot be called democratic in any way. Tvind is very careful not to let
outsiders carry any weight. On the other hand they need non-TG-members to give
an impression of a democratic and open structure.
Amdi Petersens name never
appears in any official papers from Tvind. His leadership is based purely on
his personal charisma. (See Max Weber on charismatic leadership. Amdi Petersen
is a prototype.) Poul Joergensen has been a true follower of Amdi Petersen for
35 years and appearantly puts up with most of what he is told to do. Poul J.
has been fined (1996) for not informing the authorities properly on the
financial activities of Tvind but he ahs generally managed to keep out of reach
of public investigation - until now.
Until 1996 (see History) Tvind recieved close to 100 mill Dkr. every year from the state and local authorities. The money was for the most part given to Tvind according to a very liberal law covering a wide variety of schools ("De frie skoler", see Foreign Ministry home page on education). Tvinds schools are/were only a small part of the total amount of institutions covered by the law. Tvinds money comes from the TG-members. "Abuse of tax payers money" is a very common phrase among Tvind critics but it is only true in an indirect sense. The truly abused are the TG-members.
Mogens Amdi Petersen (born
1939) graduated from a teachers college in Haderslev in 1961. (Amdi Petersen is
his family name, but since Amdi is as uncommon as Mogens and Petersen
(sometimes referred to as Pedersen) are common, he is known to the public as
just "Amdi".)
He served as a soldier
1961-62 (artillery) and the moved to Odense where he got a job teaching in a
school called Kroggårdsskolen. He attracted some attention from the media
because he was one of the driving forces behind a collectively owned villa with
lots of left winged activities, art exhibitions etc. He supported the
anti-apartheid movement, the anti nuclear bomb movement etc.
After two years of teaching
in 1965 his position was up for debate by the board of education in northern
Odense like any other young teacher. It should have been a routine case since
he was very well liked by his pupils, his colleagues and his headmaster, but
the board of education didn't like his looks so they denied further employment
of Amdi Petersen. The chairman specifically stated: "We don't like his
long hair!" It was on the outside a question of hygiene, on the inside of
politics. This version of the story has later been revised. It seems as if Amdi
Petersen was dismissed because of improper behaviour towards female students. Se
update, Nov. 7th 2007
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The House in Odense where Amdi Petersen and some of his friends - Poul Jørgensen among others - lived together in the mid sixties in the first left winged commune in Denmark. Their alternative - and by todays standards very harmless - lifestyle caused some attention from the quite conservative local bourgeoisie and probably also from the local branch of Politiets Efterretningstjeneste, Inland Intelligence. (Photo: JFM) |
1967-68 the villa was sold
and the group of friends travelled around the world. They stayed for several
weeks on Tahiti where they made friends with some of the locals.
1969 Amdi Petersen was
arrested for throwing a rock against a policeman during an anti-right-wing
demonstration in Flensburg, Germany. He was convicted but at the appeal the
sentence was suspended.
1970 he founded Den
rejsende Folkehøjskole, The Travelling Folk High School, which is basically an
institutionalised version of the world trip made by the group of friends two
years before. Having participated on one trip - being a "veteran" as
they called it - qualified for "teaching" the next course.
1979 he left all official
positions within the Tvind organisation. He hasn't been seen publically since.
In 2002 some pictures of him have been printed. There is no doubt though that
he still plays a crucial role in controlling the vast empire. He is a
charimatic leader. He travels around the world, mainly in the Caribbean,
Denmark and southern Africa. His official adress until 2001 was Skorkærvej 8,
Ulfborg.
2001 he officially
emigrated to Britain. Adress unknown.
2002 he was arrested in LAX by request of the Danish public prosecutor. (see Update) First photograph of him released to the press. See EkstraBladet.
This is a list of
organisations, companies and institutions that are belived to be controlled by
or dominated by Tvind. The list is compiled from several sources and should be
quoted with caution.
NGO's:
Humana (People to People),
Planet Aid, DAPP, UFF, ADPP, One World Volunteer Institute, Necessary Teacher
Training College, Travelling Folk High School, College for International
Cooperation and Development, Campus California TG, Planet Aid UK, Green World
Recycling, Gaia, Yunnan Institute of Development, KwaZulu College, Child Aid,
Hope, University of the Seven Seas, Frontline Institute, Institute for
Scientific Research and Applied Sciences, La societé verte, The voice of the
third world, L'energie Eternelle, Institute for International Cooperation and
Development: IICD Michigan, IICD Massachusetts, CCTG California, KNEC Durban,
YID China, TCGD India, CID Caribbean
commercial companies:
Grupo Danes, Frioport S.A, la Hacienda
Italia, Hacienda Rio Culebra, Ecpomartes S.A, Ecuador, Fazenda Jatoba,
Brazil, Textile Transformation/E.C. Trading, Freightforwarders, Marco Polo
Transport, Procurement White Hall Agency, Unicorn Trans og World
Trading, Holland, Kadaview, Seagon Investment og Jambalaya,
Hong Kong, Talata, Fairbank, Cooper Investments, Lyle Enterprise,
Kirchheiner Bros. Ltd, Jacaranda, Holland House Ltd., Argyll Smith & Co.,
Goliath Services/Cedex Pac Ltd., Westpac Hamlin, Camberley, Radmoor,
Chatswood, Transco Shipping, Rivalta og Bahia Farming on Jersey and
Guernesey, Trayton Holdings Ltd., Isle of Man, Customlong Agencies
Ltd./Agence Notre Dame Ltd. og International Emergency Centre England,
Pacific Farming Ltd., Fiji, River Doree Holdings Ltd., Park
Estate St. Lucia, BB Shipping og John F. Parsons inc., Miami, U'SAgain,
Seatlle, Chicago, Tropical Farming/ Eastover Properties, B&B Shipping,
Distributers International og Furtherland Farming, Tropical
Produce Cayman Islands, Windward Propterties og Orange Hill
Estate, Richmond Vale Academy, St. Vincent, Cowpen Farm Ltd.,
Farm 1 Ltd. og Monkey River Estate, Belize, Domoch og Naim
Overseas, Tortola, Clothing factory Casablanca, Morocco.
The answer must be yes. You
find the charismatic leader, the conversion, the annulment of the members
autonomy, the total replacement of family and old friends by the members, the
total devotion to a common goal and the secrecy in financial and other
affairs. A well-known feature of cults is sexual abuse committed by the guru.
No one has directly accused Amdi Petersen of abuse of that kind. Former friends
of his have suggested that it was the case during his time as a teacher. See
Update, nov. 8th 2007
Tvind is no religion. It is
an ideology with no hopes of an afterlife. It is very pragmatic and unromantic.
Personal feelings as well as love for nature are considered disturbing elements
in the correct perception of the world. Still there is much more than
rationalism to Tvind. In Tvind - Ulfborg, Denmark - they have set up af SETI
(Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) observatory but it doesn't seem to
play any significant role.
It is my personal view that
Tvind is not about money. Money is a means to an end which is growth of the
organisation, further control of more followers. For outsiders following Tvind
money is important because it enables you to map out the structures of the
organisation. The backbone of Tvind is the devotion of the followers.
Important notice: not
everybody working for Tvind is a member of the Teachers Group, and not every
member of TG is a teacher. The organisation is not a closed community, but the
true leaders are.
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Page last updated 18 november 2009 |
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