 |  |  |
[Minghui Net]
About one week before the meeting of the UN Human Rights Commission, there was another human rights conference that highlighted Falun Gong. The conference was held in the Parliament of Sweden. The Parliament had invited Professor Zhang Kunlun and Doctor Jimmy Zou as speakers. All seven of the political parties in Sweden had signed the invitation in support of this conference.
The conference was held on March 14, 2001, from 6 pm to 9 pm. One of the three Vice Presidents of Parliament presided over the meeting. About 60 people attended. There were Swedish congressmen, representatives from non-governmental organizations (including Amnesty International), two Chinese issue specialists from Sweden, Falun Gong practitioners in Sweden, and a representative from the Foreign Affairs Department. There were also representatives from other groups that were being persecuted in China (such as Christians and representatives from Uguiru). We were allowed to set up a table outside the conference room to display some Falun Gong materials and exhibition boards.
The first speaker was a Chinese issue specialist; his speech was excellent, covering topics such as reform policies and the suppression of the freedom of speech. Although his main topic was the overall human rights situation in China, he explicitly expressed his support of Falun Gong. A representative from Amnesty International in Sweden made a speech afterwards, describing the overall situation of the human rights violations in China.
Professor Zhang Kunlun gave a 30-minute speech about the physical tortures and mental mistreatment he had experienced when he was jailed in China for practicing Falun Gong.
Right before the break, a member from the Sweden Human Rights Organization who had always given us great support published a statement and suggested it be presented to the minister of foreign affairs, Anna Lindh. This statement urged the Swedish government to make further efforts in stopping the human rights violations in China. The statement also condemned the cruel, inhumane persecution of people with different political opinions, and the practitioners who had engaged in various physical exercises in China. He stated that all these persecutions were unacceptable. This statement had been passed on among the conference attendees, and signed by whoever agreed. By doing this, the conference provided an opportunity to help improve the human rights situation in China.
During the brief break, all the attendees had a chance to talk with each other. After that, Doctor Jimmy Zou made a 15-minute speech describing his prison experience and the mistreatment he received when he was jailed in China for practicing Falun Gong. A Falun Gong practitioner from Sweden introduced the horrible situation of the Falun Gong practitioners in China. She strongly called upon all the kind-hearted people to help resolve this issue by peaceful means. During the speech, she mentioned that somebody from the Chinese government had tried to destroy the email boxes of Falun Gong practitioners in Sweden and the policy of denying visas to the Falun Gong practitioners in Sweden who were going to go back to China. She also reminded the people that the Chinese General Consul in Sweden recently wrote a letter to a Swedish newspaper to slander Falun Gong and advised them to be concerned about the spreading of false information inside Sweden by the General Chinese Consular. She also told the attendees that many people in Sweden had signed the appeal letter protesting the cruel crackdown against the Falun Gong practitioners in China. This letter has been submitted to the Swedish government.
After the meeting a congressman who helped organize this conference guided all the invited guests to visit Parliament Hall and presented them with flowers showing appreciation for their attendance. One of the congressmen commented that a couple of attendees were greatly touched by the testimonies made by Doctor Jimmy Zou and Professor Zhang Kunlun. Another congressman said they would resist the evil force all together.
Although all the congressmen had a busy schedule, there were quite a few congressmen who managed to find time to attend this conference. Those congressmen who were not able to attend the meeting also showed their interest in the process and the results of the conference.
Reported by Falun Gong practitioners in Sweden
April 22, 2001
Category: News & Events
