| Aum
Shinrikyo Update
 Author:
Brandon Watson - 15 October 2002
Posted: October 28, 2002
RECENT ALEPH DEVELOPMENTS
Aleph has made headlines
recently on several occasions that are uniformly noteworthy. As
the Justice Ministry in Japan slowly uncovers more and more pertinent
information we can expect the intentions of Aleph to become clearer
to the discerning individual or agency. As of now, Aleph is still
shrouded in secrecy, their intentions likewise obfuscated. Confidential
statements made by senior Japanese officials indicate that the complete
story behind the Aum gas attacks has yet to be fully realized.
ALEPH IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN
**In the last several
months, numerous Aum associates have made interesting appearances
in the public forum**
In the Japanese Justice
system, 3 members of Aum were sentenced to death. These include
Seiichi Endo, Aum's chief chemist, Mainichi Shimbun, Aum's Minister
of Health and Tomomitsu Niimi, an Aum officer responsible for executing
the gas attacks. Each will die by hanging.
In contrast to the death
sentences, two important Aum members have been released from prison.
Eriko Iida has completed her 6 ½ year sentence for the illegal
confinement (resulting in death) of Kiyoshi Kariya. Tomoko Matsumoto,
wife of Aum guru Shoko Asahara, has been released after completing
her 6-year sentence for the murder of a cult member. Upon release
she professed to have severed all ties with Aleph. This claim is
highly suspect.
**As context for Japanese public opinion in regards to Aleph,
included are noteworthy quotes from several unique sources**
"The sect attempts
to conceal its organizational management by using systems such as
the internet and video conferencing to relay its orders and manage
and teach its members" - Justice Minister Masahiko Komura
"[Aleph] is not
just a domestic problem…. If the authorities cannot contain
it, [Aleph] can spread sarin again, perhaps overseas next time."
- Masaki Kito, Cult Prosecution Lawyer
"Our current
group has undergone reforms and abandoned the use of any type of
violence…. We are not a terrorist group." - Fumihiro
Joyu, Leader of Aleph
"It is true that
the gas attacks were not for the purpose of hurting or killing,
it was for the second reason which we do not yet know."
- Japanese Official [Confidential]
(This refers directly to the possibility that Aum/Aleph has a complex
and long-term focus for the gas attacks, which did not involve destruction)
"[Aleph] still
poses a danger to society, although it is trying to obtain public
trust by holding frequent news conferences and taking other steps.
It still tends to be exclusionist and shows strong resistance to
outsiders." - Yukio Kakiage, Director of the Justice Ministry's
Public Investigations
**A summary of current Aleph activities will be helpful to the
interested observer**
· Aleph continues
to make several hundred million yen a year through manufacturing
and selling computer components. An additional hundred million comes
from fees for private rituals amongst the Japanese populace. Aleph's
total public income is estimated to be in excess of half a billion
yen each year.
· Aleph avoids
police monitoring through clever deployment of encrypted internet
streaming and other forms of counter-espionage technology. Even
with the sophisticated monitoring technology available to law enforcement
officials, Aleph continues to prevent infiltration of their data
networks.
· Infiltration
into Aleph membership has been completely unsuccessful as cult leaders
relentlessly monitor the membership and activities are ruthlessly
enforced.
· Tortures and
imprisonment disguised as religious rituals are still enacted on
a regular basis.
· Former Aum membership
in Russia is actively involved in collaboration with Aleph members
in Japan.
· Aleph continues
a misinformation campaign targeted at alleviating the pressures
of public opinion and government investigations.
· To this date,
actual recovery of Aum's advanced-research technology has yet to
be accomplished. Documents referring to this technology have been
recovered numerous times.
· Aleph infiltration
of high-technology organizations continues (Aum infiltration was
never completely uncovered).
· Aum's doctrine
of destruction based upon Shiva continues unchanged in Aleph. This
doctrine was Shoko Asahara's prime foundation for Aum's Armageddon-based
mission.
· Aleph remains
on the US Government's list of International Terror Org's.
It would be wrongly optimistic
to assume that continuing Japanese investigations of Aleph will
prevent any current destructive goals from coming to fruition. The
confines of Japanese law prevent necessary action from being taken
against Aleph. Until hard evidence of continuing plots are uncovered,
the Japanese government will be unable to prevent Aleph from pursuing
Asahara's vision. Such hard evidence will generally only be recoverable
through illegal operations against Aleph. Such action will need
to be taken by external intelligence agencies. It is halfway likely
that such a scenario will eventually play out due to heightened
international awareness in regards to WMD terrorism.
Author: Brandon Watson
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