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MUFON - Central European Society: New UFO cases, statistics update and a few thoughts

Munich - The Society for the Scientific Investigation of Anomalous Atmospherical and Radar Phenomena (MUFON-CES) can not confirm a decrease in UFO reports. This was recently repeatedly announced by the german Central Research Network of Anomalous Sky Phenomena (CENAP) (1). However we keep on receiving about two reports per month that just stay unidentified. We have studied 431 UFO reports since 1974. Most objects were reported to be saucer shaped (26 %), followed by ball shaped objects/lights (24 %), triangular/quadrangular objects (15 %) and unusually shaped objects (12 %). As updated statistics (2) show we could identify 62 objects on photos and 18 objects on film. Additional 48 reports without photos or film could be identified. In 62.5 % of the identified cases disco laser light shows were misinterpreted as UFOs. 303 cases (70 %) remain unidentified. 48 previously unpublished cases (including drawings) are now online in german language (3). Last year (2000) we could not identify 17 UFO reports (1999:15; 1998:29; 1997:25).

The past month we received two very typical reports - typical because the objects scared the observers. During the night from June 8th to 9th a married couple was pursued by two milky white shining objects in the sky, about as large as the moon. The witnesses were scared because they felt the objects were watching them. The oppression became even more intense as they noticed that the objects stopped and seemingly hovered above their house. Soon the objects became smaller and disappeared. On May 28th a woman observed three supposedly 40 meters wide and 16 meters long triangles in about 200 meters altitude. They moved very slowly. The objects appeared "threatening" because the dully rumbling objects were so close.

MUFON-CES can't understand why CENAP hardly receives UFO reports anymore. Maybe observers know that people at CENAP only explain and don't investigate. But indeed UFO interest of the public is very low at the moment. Books on the subject for example are sold very badly. The agenda setting media, especially nationwide subscription newspapers, are as sceptical and polemic as ever. Die Welt ran a huge debunking piece on UFOs a few days ago. Interestingly Germany's leading tabloid newspaper BILD recently speculated if NATO had fear of UFOs after George W. Bush mysteriously spoke of "new threats" (4).

The media have repeatedly covered the closing of the British Flying Saucer Bureau (5). Research collegues: Has anyone ever heard of this organization? Even on UFO UpDates it is hardly known but the event gets wordwide coverage (6). The Disclosure Projects is active at the same time in the US (7). Strange, isn't it?

A representative poll of the Allensbacher Research Institute shows, that every fifth German under 30 years "believes in visitors from out of space" (8). At the same time the Emnid Research Institute conducted a similar poll. This one even showed that every fifth German regardless of age believes in a UFO reality (9). A recent Gallup poll shows that every third US American believes that earth has been visited (10).
 

(1) http://www.faz.com/IN/INtemplates/eFAZ/archive.asp?doc={27286BCF-37BB-11D5-A3B5-009027BA22E4}&width=1024&height=740&agt=explorer&ver=4&svr=4
(2) http://www.mufon-ces.org/docs/statistics2001.pdf
(3) http://www.mufon-ces.org/docs/update2001.pdf
(4) http://www.BILD.de/service/archiv/2001/jun/15/politik/bush/bush.html
(5) http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,2-118521,00.html
(6) http://www.aliensonearth.com/ufo/updates/2001/apr/m26-026.shtml
(7) http://www.disclosureproject.org
(8) http://www.ifd-allensbach.de/pdf/prd_0113.pdf
(9) http://www.chrismon.de/ctexte/2001/6/phenom.pdf
(10) http://www.gallup.com/poll/releases/pr010608.asp
 

Hannes la Rue
News & Web Master
MUFON-CES