A HISTORY OF THE LIGA MEDICORUM HOMEOPATHICA
INTERNATIONALIS (CONTD.) : 1977- 1996

In the preceding article I had given the history of the Liga Medicorum Homeopathica Internationalis (referred to as Liga for short and abbreviated as L.M.H.I.) from the very beginningupto1977. Now it is being updated up to 1996. There may be a very slight overlap of information in a few matters which had to be included to show the continuity. As the Liga membership increased and it started to get more and more organised, some controversies started and some of the meetings of the Council became rather stormy. The calm atmosphere that had prevailed so far was no longer there, and there were angry exchanges. The Liga tried to also take on newer responsibilities and some of the important members felt that it should give direction to the type of education to be imparted to doctors so that they become homeopaths. For this purpose a Special Committee for School and Education was set up by the Assembly at Brussels in 1972 according to Article 57 of the Statutes. Its task was only to make a report on the curricula of the various national homoeopathic schools, the individual character of which would be respected. "The committee should recommend a minimum level of knowledge on the law of similars and potentisation." A new post of Secretary for Education was created. It ran into understandable trouble, due to the different patterns of homoeopathic education prevailing in different parts of the world and the effort of the committee was to arrive at a consensus.

Initially Dr. Paschero made some efforts in this matter by proposing the syllabus of his school as the model pattern. Later, Prof. Spyros Garzonis drafted another syllabus and wanted to setup a model institution in Greece. When the post of Secretary for Education was actually created, Dr. Jacques Imbrechts took over this responsibility. He travelled extensively and finally compiled a report and proposed a model for teaching classical homoeopathy. When this was presented to the Liga Council, Dr. Denis Demarque of France violently opposed it, and he felt that in any case, in this way the Liga was interfering with the liberty of the member countries in having their own type of education and practice. This, of course, was not the intention of the Liga. It was generally known that though Homoeopathy was widely practiced in France it was somewhat different than what has come to be known as the classical model.

I had been actively participating in the functioning of the Liga since1965 and had generally followed the happenings of the earlier years also. Previously, the atmosphere in the Council meetings had always been very cordial and accommodating. In 1965 when 2 names were proposed for the presidency, both candidates left the meeting room arm in arm to let the other members decide. One candidate was chosen among the contenders by way of consensus, without any voting. When the decision of the Council was announced both the candidates cheerfully embraced and the loser heartily congratulated the winner. At the next election in 1969, Dr. Ortega politely raised the point that when considering Liga Presidency, the third world countries should not be forgotten as there was very considerable activity for homoeopathy in Latin America also. He proposed the name of Dr. Paschero of Argentina. Since President Lamasson had already proposed the name of Dr. Petzinger of Germany, he suggested that Dr. Paschero may be elected as the senior vice president (for which there already existed a provision in the statutes) so that he may take over as the Liga President in the following term after three years. In this way, the matter was very amicably settled. Prior to this there was no such precedence that the Senior Vice President must take over as President after three years.

Another factor which bred some disharmony was a gradual attempt by the French to more or less monopolise all the offices and the committees by manipulating the selection of people of their choice. The French asserted that they had the largest group with a membership of over 5000, and must therefore have a stronger representation in the Liga Council. (In one Council meeting, the Treasurer had to confront them with the fact that the subscriptions that he actually received from France were from hardly a few dozen doctors.) So long as the atmosphere had been friendly, nobody seemed to have objected, but now there were some voices of discontent.

In 1985 when there were multiple names proposed for the position of National Vice President of other countries, the senior French office bearers even wanted to have their favourites selected whether they fulfilled the required qualification or not. As the matter could not be resolved, President Dr. Illing formed a subcommittee to make a provisional selection till those countries could decide for themselves, and in the future every country must settle its internal problems nationally but finally sponsor only one person to the Liga International Council. After the Congress in India in 1967, when the Liga officers and members came in close contact with the Indian homeopaths and learnt about the pattern of homoeopathic education there, and the large number homoeopathic institutions recognised by the government, they started to think of some via media of giving them active membership. The then president Dr. Eenhoorn (Pres. 1975 to 1979) was generally in before favour of this move. He gave a notice before his retirement for an extraordinary general meeting required for a change in the statutes. For certain technical reasons this could not be in held in 1980 and was held at the Rome congress in 1981 under my Presidency. Prior to the meeting a thirteen page letter was received from the National Vice President of France, Denis Demarque, accusing the office bearers and the present and two previous presidents of gross irregularities and he used very impolite and aggressive language. The meeting at Rome ws a stormy affair and with the overwhelming participation of the French, it was decided that there should be no change statutes with regard to the two categories of membership.

However, there was an amazing somersault the following year (1982) at the Triennial Congress at Brighton, and the same French group which had so violently opposed the change now wanted that the Indian qualification be recognised. It was very clear, that this was because Dr. Horvilleur was a candidate for the senior vice president, and he needed the votes of such Indian doctors who were present in fairly large number.

Dr. Horvilleur lost the election and Dr. Risquez was elected the senior vice president. At the next congress in Vienna in 1983, as I entered the executive meeting, the very first remark of the new president Dr. Illing,was that "we made a mistake last year byrecognising the Indian qualification, as this change can onlybe done by an extraordinary general meeting, for which a notice of one year has to be given".

The next triennial congress in 1985 held at Lyon was one of the most disharmonious. Never before there had been such aggressive and violent language used in the general assembly, and most shameful of all, there was actual physical fighting especially between the French and the Italian participants.

Dr. Risquez took over the Presidency in 1985. He started to apply the clauses of the statutes more rigidly and also immediately set out trying to broad base the Liga i.e. to diversify the offices and Committee chairmen to different countries, thus reducing the French hold. In consequence, the general meeting at Washington in 1987 witnessed an absolute non cooperation by the French and part of the Mexican and Argentinian participants and perhaps one or two Indians. They refused to listen to all arguments, pleadings and polite persuasions and walked out of the meeting hall en lot, lead by the senior vice president Dr. Horvilleur, the secretary general, the secretary for research etc. Four months later, in September of 1987, we learnt that a new organisation called O.M.H.I. had been launched by the disgruntled elements of the Liga, with Dr. Horvilleur as president. They included in their membership many people that could not get an active membership in the L.M.H.I. Now they were not only made members, but even national vice presidents and office bearers.

This was a sad happening. As a minority medical group we needed to grow in strength, and not to divide our energies. Efforts have been made from time to time to amalgamate again, but not much has been heard about this recently. I would be a sadist if I was to derive any satisfaction from the fact that the news we receive of OMHI activities and congresses show a progressive decline.

The L.M.H.I. has functioned fairly smoothly thereafter and has flourished and grown in strength.

Membership

Some background to the matter of active membership has already been given above. At the 1986 congress in Brazil it was decided to offer full or active membership of the Liga to those homeopaths of the third world countries who had obtained qualifications from homoeopathic institutions that were affiliated to boards/faculties/universities that had been fully recognised by the Government of their countries. Even though this news was published in the Liga journal - ACTA Homeopathica, some opposition was expressed in subsequent council meetings and so a subcommittee of 3 members was constituted to gather opinion and present a final draft to be adopted at a subsequent extraordinary general meeting. The final statutes were approved at the 48th Congress that was held at Vienna in 1993.

Journal of the Liga

Ever since the journal Acta ceased regular publication in1971, and the annual issues were also discontinued in 1973, the need for some means of communication between the members remained. In the 1970s this was partly fulfilled by what was called the "Management Letter." Then for some years there was a blank. Subsequently, the Acta was restarted. Some issues were published in Spain, but later two issues were printed in India,where publication costs were lower. At the congress in 1993 a well established publisher offered to bring out the Acta without any cost to the Liga and gave some very good suggestions to improve its getup and contents. After much discussion it was decided to accept the offer as a trial for 1 or 2 years before again reviewing the proposal in along term context. However, after printing a few issues, it probably belied the expectations of the publisher and dampened his enthusiasm. The publication started getting delayed and finally ceased. At the 49th congress in New Delhi in 1995, a revised proposal was presented by them suggesting that Liga members may subscribe for the journal individually as it was not possible to provide it free of cost. From its very inception this was a still born scheme and never saw the light of day.

At the 51st Congress at Capri in Italy, it was proposed that the Greek journal be adopted by the Liga and that it could include all the Liga news and information in a few pages in every issue. This was discussed but not approved. Till the Liga journal Acta Homeopathica restarts publication, President Dr. Sandra Chase has decided to keep up international contact through a quarterly newsletter.

Economic Matters

The cost of organising the L.M.H.I. congresses to the homeopaths of the host country, as also the cost to the participating delegates, if the congresses are held annually, was discussed in1996. I have witnessed this matter being discussed repeatedly over the last 30 years, and eventually it has always been felt that congresses should be held every year rather than at longer intervals especailly in the present context with fast means of travel and "shrinking distances".

As for the cost to the organisers, it was brought out that the major expense is on simultaneous translation in four languages, and the possibility of curtailing this expenditure was considered. A final decision could not be made. There is no article in the statutes about the use of four languages viz. English, French, German and Spanish, although it has become customary to use these four languages in the Scientific sessions. This is desirable so as to encourage maximum participation. Some congress organisers have provided simultaneous interpretation in even more than four languages if there are enough participants speaking a particular language other than those four.

Standard of Papers

In order to make participation in congresses more meaningful, it was desired to have a better screening of the contents of papers to be presented. It was mooted that the screening may be done without being overawed by the previous high standing of the author , and steps may be devised that the person screening the paper does not know the identity of the author. The organisers of the 52nd Congress in 1997 have invited reputable homoeopathic doctors from overseas also to constitute their Scientific committee and participate in the process of selection of presentations.

It has been suggested that a congress advisory committee be formed, constituted of a few persons who have successfully organised Liga congresses in the past. For this a convenor or secretary congress may be appointed.

Membership Cards & Certificates

After 1995, the small annual membership cards have been discontinued, and it is proposed to replace them with a membership certificate valid for 10 years. So long as dues are regularly paid, fresh stickers showing year of validity can be pasted on to the certificates. These certificates and stickers will be sent to all members directly by the treasurer.

Presidents of Honour and Honorary Members

For a long time Dr. pierre Schmidt was the only president of honour having been elected in the 1930s. Then in1993 Dr. C. Eenhoorn was elected. In 1995 Prof. Dr. Diwan Harish Chand received this honour.

In 1988 for the first time some retiring senior members were made honorary members of the Liga. Dr. Jost Kunzli of Switzerland, Prof. Alpredo Eugenio Vervloet of Brazil and Prof. Antonio Negro of Italy. Subsequently, Dr. Mathias Dorcsi and Dr. David Flores Toledo were elected as honorary members in 1993 and 1995 respectively.

World Directory of the Homoeopathic Physicians

Mention has been made of the Directories up to1973. The1973 directory mentions that it contains "All homoeoopathic physicians whose addresses we could obtain". However, for India it was restricted to the Liga members as the total number of registered practitioners would have run into tens of thousands. The directory listed eighteen specialities designated by a number and every name had the number against it to denote his/her main interest.

In 1978 President Dr. C. Eenhoorn published a "Directory of all the Homoeopathic physicians L.M.H.I. members whose addresses we could obtain". It is not clear whether it was only L.M.H.I. members or included others.

In 1987 a large directory was made available at the congress in USA. It appears that there were many mistakes in this and either the addresses given had changed or many of those people listed had since died. Therefore, when letters and journals were mailed at considerable expense, a large number of them got returned as "addressee not found". An updated version was also presented to council members in 1990, and more recently, in 1995.

An updated and complete directory of L.M.H.I. members is always proposed at the council meetings but with the difficulties of regularly checking validity of membership and receipt of annual subscriptions,andthe expenses involved in printing and mailing, it poses a very arduous task. At times it is even proposed to make an international directory of all the homeopaths but that seems to be only a hope.

There are some matters which are not in the statutes but were passed in certain meetings and became the usual conventions. One such convention that came into being after the 1969 congress was that the election to the post of senior vice president, who later takes over the presidency, may be alternated between European and non-European members. It was followed for the next 3 elections: Petzinger - Paschero - Eenhoorn - Chand - Illing. Thereafter, it was forgotten when there was a great tussle between Horvilleur (France) and Risquez (Venezuela) . It appears that this convention is no longer kept in mind when considering names for election for this senior post.

Similarly, at the Hamburg Congress in 1979, it was decided on a proposal from Dr. Irene Bacchas of Greece that :

a. National Vice Presidents should hold office for no longer than two consecutive terms.

b. The National vice President should be elected by the Liga members of that country, rather than being proposed by the national association.

The matter of nomination of the assistant national vice presidents appears in the statutes adopted at the extra-ordinary general meeting during the Hannover Congress in 1966, although this was realised only from 1969. This was useful because it was found that many a time the national vice president could not attend the council meeting and in that case the country went unrepresented.

To further vitalize the organisation, President Dr. Sandra M. Chase has also planned to provide each member with this booklet, outlining some of the objectives of the Liga, reminding the office bearers of their duties, and providing this brief history of LMHI and its antecedents.

The Statutes/Procedures Proposal had been adopted by the International Council in October, 1996, in Capri, Italy. The draft document, therefore, was prepared under the auspices of a Swiss attorney, and was presented to the International Council 28 May 1997 in Seattle, Washington, USA. The National Vice Presidents were directed to discuss the documents with their national association members and remit their comments to Liga Treasurer Dr. Ton Nicolai (the Netherlands) before 14 October 1997. They were to be voted upon at the Triennial (Extraordinary) Assembly held in
Amsterdam, April, 1998.

While predicated on the prioritized goals of the Liga established at the International Council Meeting in Oaxaca, Mexico, in 1995, the two primary reasons for the constitutional changes were to make it easier to effect desired changes in the Liga and to make the Liga more democratic.

Additional actions taken at the 1997 International Council Meeting included a draft document, "National LMHI Elections Proposal" prepared by LMHI General Secretary Dr. Carles Amengual (Spain) which also was to be discussed by the National Vice Presidents with their respective national associations, the resulting comments and suggestions to be forwarded to the Office of the Prime General Secretary by 01 October 1997.

Also, a Reader's Survey for The Liga Letter was deemed necessary and was distributed with the October, 1997, issue of the newsletter. It solicited feedback regarding the newsletter and the issue of publishing advertisements therein. The tabulated results were positive in the former instance and affirmative in the latter.

A decision was taken at the 1997 International Council Meeting, as well, that no clinical paper should be presented in a LMHI Congress by those not licensed to practice in their country.

An Advisory was disseminated that the manifold tasks of the National Vice President being so complex, s/he would be advised to appoint a team to aid in their fulfillment.

Ukraine and Costa Rica were unanimously accepted as new members at the Seattle 1997 International Council Meeting. Poland, Republic of Georgia, and South Africa had been accepted as new LMHI members in 1996 in Capri, Italy.

The Liga Book Project, proposed by National Vice President, LMHI, India, Dr. D. Vijay Chand to the Executive Officers in 1996, in which proceeds from the 49th LMHI Congress held in New Delhi in March, 1995, would be used to provide homeopathic texts to financially challenged countries, gratefully acknowledged in The Liga Letter, Vol. 3, #1, March, 1997, was discussed again in May, 1997, in Seattle at the International Council Meeting. The Procedure Document for that project was published in The Liga Letter, Vol. 3, #2, October, 1997.

Educational Standards

As had occurred in Oaxaca (1995) and Capri (1996), an adjunctive meeting, chaired by the Liga General Secretary for Education Dr. Cesar Cremonini (Argentina) was held at the 52nd Congress in Seattle, Washington, in 1997. The task that he shouldered was twofold. One was to work toward a consensus for Basic Standards of Homeopathic Physician Education in the Americas, as had been achieved in Europe, and the second was to work toward the establishment of a global Basic Permanent Training Plan for Teachers of Homeopathic Schools.

Homeopathic Pharmacy

At the time of the 1997 Seattle meeting, a second ancillary meeting occurred under the auspices of the LMHI General Secretary for Pharmacy Dr. Amarilys de Toledo Cesar (Brazil), the first such meeting having taken place in Capri in 1996. To the two tasks initiated in 1996, Nomenclature of Homeopathic Remedies and Basic Text on Homeopathic Good Manufacturing Practices (HGMP) was added, at the Seattle meeting, Techniques of Manufacturing and Preparation of the remedies.

Another matter that was broached at the International Council Meeting in 1997 in Seattle was the designation for the office traditionally termed "National Vice President, LMHI." Member countries were asked to vote regarding this point by mail ballot. While some consideration had been given to changing the designation to "Delegate," the vote left "National Vice President" as the title of record.

Public Relations

LMHI General Secretary Dr. Jose Matuk (Mexico) distributed the update of his invaluable Directory of the Executive Committee and the International Council which he has been publishing annually since 1995. He also proposed a "Standardization of Annual Reports from National Vice Presidents" which was published in The Liga Letter, Vol. 3, #2, October, 1997. His internet page for the LMHI, having been created prior to the 1996 meeting of the International Council in Capri, continued in its development at the 1997 Seattle meeting, where he requested histories of homeopathy in each member country from the National Vice Presidents of the respective countries. There was also to be a link between the LMHI Web Page under the auspices of the General Secretary for Public Relations and that under the auspices of the General Secretary for Pharmacy.

April, 1998, was the time of the Extraordinary General Assembly of the Liga membership to be held in conjunction with the 53rd Congress of LMHI in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The Liga had returned to the land of its birth (Rotterdam, 1925) in order to experience a rebirth.

The International Council Meeting convened on 25 April 1998 with the auspicious start of welcoming National Vice Presidents from Estonia and Latvia, as well as representatives in attendance from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa. The previously published National LMHI Elections Proposal (The Liga Letter, Vol. 4, #1, p. 11.) was approved at this meeting. The slide-illustrated results of The Liga Letter Readers' Survey (published in the March 1998 Liga Letter, Vol. 4, #1, pp 26-27) were presented by Editor Dr. Sandra M. Chase (USA). The feedback had been positive. Additionally, it was decided to publish the 1998 biannual issues of The Liga Letter in Portuguese with the triennial report of the Liga and distribute them free to the thousands of homeopathic physicians in Brazil. This was an effort to support the 54th Congress of Liga Medicorum Homeopathica Internationalis in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil, and to interest the many Brazilian homeopaths in institutional membership in the Liga.

On Sunday 26 April 1998, the Extraordinary General Assembly opened. President Dr. Sandra M. Chase gave the requisite report regarding the progress of the Liga since the last General Assembly held in March, 1995, in New Delhi, India, illustrating her points with overhead transparencies. Thereafter, the attention of the assembly turned to the main topic of business which was the new Statutes and Procedures of the Liga. A vote by a raising of hands overwhelmingly approved the acceptance of their new constitutional documents with the proviso that two matters, one relating to quorum and the other to definition of membership, be addressed by the Swiss legal counsel.

With this historic vote, those members in attendance at this Extraordinary General Assembly participated in a rebirth of a more thoroughly democratized Liga. Moreover, these changes achieved in the new constitutional documents carried forth the will of the surveyed membership dating back to the Membership Survey prior to and the decisions taken in 1995 in Oaxaca.

There would be increased representation worldwide by encouragement of institutional membership of as many national associations as possible within a country via the auspices of the National Vice President.
Institutional Membership has been incorporated into the new Statutes. The possibility for the International Council, which meets annually, to appoint Working Committees, instead of the General Assembly which meets only triennially, has been added to the new Statutes/Procedures. More implementation of Liga decisions can occur under the new Statutes because the ultimate governing authority is the annually-meeting International Council, rather than the now defunct General Assembly. Finally, most significantly the one country, one vote International Council is much more democratic than was the General Assembly in which host country Liga members' greater numbers in attendance could sway the outcome of any measure.

Monday 27 April 1998 was the date for the first meeting of the International Council under the new Statutes/Procedures. Copies of these documents with the pertinent Articles modified as mentioned above were directed to be distributed by mail to the International Council Members in order to facilitate a vote at the next such meeting in Brazil in October, 1999. The 1998 Council Meeting concluded with the election of the new officers.

The 1998 Liga meetings were again marked by adjunctive meetings chaired by the LMHI General Secretary for Education Dr. Cesar Cremonini and the LMHI General Secretary for Pharmacy Dr. Amarilys de Toledo Cesar, respectively. Between the 1998 and 1999 Liga Meetings in Amsterdam, the Netherlands and Salvador, Brazil, respectively, another crucial change occurred in regard to the Liga. After successful negotiations headed by newly-elected LMHI General Secretary Dr. Ulrich Fischer (Germany), the Liga Archives were moved from London's Faculty of Homeopathy to the Institut für Geschichte der Medizin in Stuttgart, Germany. This institute, the most important in Germany for history in medicine, including homeopathic medicine, containing many important volumes and papers belonging to Hahnemann and von Boenninghausen, offered to maintain the Liga Archives, free of charge. A mutually agreeable contract between the Liga Medicorum Homeopathica Internationalis and the Institut für Geschichte der Medizin was consummated.

The International Council Meeting held in conjunction with the 54th Congress of LMHI in Brazil in 1999 acted to finalize the remaining matters relative to the new constitutional documents, the Statutes/Procedures. The Quorum was maintained as recommended by the Swiss attorney. Article 5 of the Procedures was adopted with the modification of language to reflect that members of the Executive Committee may come from members of national homeopathic associations affiliated to or individual members of, the association. Article 12 of the Procedures was accepted with the modification of the reinsertion of the duties of the National Vice President and the appending of one additional paragraph.

Additionally, the International Council at that meeting acted to extend the professionalization of the Liga which they had started at the former meeting in Oaxaca in 1995. Allocation of funds to cover expenses of the General Secretaries for economy travel and three nights' hotel stay expanded that previously established professionalization from the Executive Officers to the balance of the Executive Committee.

Funds were allocated to investigate the LMHI's standing in the Gutmann Legacy and to support the renovation of Köthen House in Germany when Hahnemann spent part of his life.

As the Liga looks forward in the new millennium, it continues to address the priorities established by its own membership via the direct mail Membership Survey. This assessment tool was created and review by LMHI Prime General Secretary Dr. Carles Amengual and LMHI Treasurer Dr. Ton Nicolai who produced the Recommendations Report considered at the International Council in Oaxaca in 1995.

At the International Council Meeting in conjunction with the 55th Congress of LMHI in May, 2000, in Budapest, an LMHI Resolution on Homeopathy has been considered. The thrust of this five point document is to advance the global representativity of the Liga Medicorum Homeopathica Internationalis. The effort started with the change in the Statutes/Procedures to encourage institutional membership, followed by the International Council statement calling for the National Vice President to encourage Liga membership for all of the national associations in his/her respective country (October, 1996). This LMHI
Resolution on Homeopathy seeks to find a consensus document by which Liga membership and, thereby, Liga representativity, can be universalized across ideological viewpoints. Only then can the Liga truly represent homeopathic medicine to the world and homeopathic physicians in the world.