Falun Gong Parade Raises Awareness in Geneva (Photo)

(Clearwisdom.net)

The 59^th Session of the UN Human Rights Commission started on March 17, 2003 in Geneva Switzerland. Over one thousand Falun Gong practitioners from all over the world gathered in Geneva and held a parade to protest the Chinese government's persecution against Falun Gong for nearly four years and to appeal to the United Nations to urge China to respect the freedom of belief and basic human rights.

At 9 a.m., Falun Gong practitioners and supporters started the parade from the New Square. Over one hundred female practitioners in white dresses walked in front of the procession with photos and flower rings in their hands to commemorize the Falun Gong practitioners persecuted to death in China. The procession was a few hundred meters long. Some of the practitioners raised banners that read "Falun Dafa is Great," "SOS China Stop Torture and Killing," and "Jiang Zemin's Persecution of Falun Gong Violates the Law of the Heavens." Over one thousand practitioners peacefully walked through major streets of Geneva and arrived at United Nations Plaza in two hours. Many people along the streets saw the parade.

A tall young man walking in the leading section of the procession accepted a reporter's interview. He said he was from France. He received a phone call from a friend in Korea and decided to come to Geneva to participate in the parade. He didn't practice Falun Gong. He came to Geneva to show his support for his friend's belief.

A young man from France stood beside the procession and watched for a long time. He told the reporter that he had heard about Falun Gong in media reports but he had never seen any Falun Gong practitioner before. Such a long procession really surprised him.

Mike is a local resident who lives beside the lake. He brought his three-year-old son to watch the parade. He said that Falun Gong's parade was very necessary, because it let people see that so many people were practicing this exercise and the Chinese government should stop the persecution. Mike said, "I feel I am close to this group of people; I feel very familiar, and I want my child to see these peaceful people."

Before leaving he said, "If more people practiced Falun Gong, this degenerating world would have peace."