Bulgaria: Practitioners in the City of Varna Commemorate World Falun Dafa Day

(Minghui.org) Falun Gong practitioners from Varna, the third largest city in Bulgaria, organized activities on May 16 and 17 to commemorate World Falun Dafa Day, the anniversary of the practice's public introduction in China 23 years ago.

The practitioners demonstrated the Falun Dafa exercises, handed out informational leaflets, and collected signatures on a petition condemning the Chinese communist regime's killing of Falun Dafa practitioners to sell their organs for profit.

Practitioners demonstrate the Falun Dafa exercises.

The Bulgarian Falun Dafa Association, which organized the Falun Dafa Day activities for the third year in a row, invited the public to sign the petition. The activity was held at the entrance of Varna Marine Garden, a popular city park in Varna.

In a matter of just a few hours, the practitioners were able to collect 200 signatures and distribute many leaflets. People expressed interest in learning more about the practice and the ongoing persecution of its followers in China.

A passerby stops to learn more about the brutal persecution Falun Dafa practitioners face in China.

A young boy practices the sitting meditation, one of the Falun Dafa exercises.

The screening of the documentary “Transcending Fear” marked the culmination of the activities in Varna. It is the story of Gao Zhisheng, a Chinese human rights attorney and dissident known for defending activists and religious minorities and documenting human rights abuses in China, especially those of Falun Gong practitioners. Because of his work, Attorney Gao was disbarred and imprisoned by the Chinese government several times and severely tortured.

Varna is an important population hub in Bulgaria, as it is the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. It is the administrative center of the province and Varna Municipality, and the tenth-largest city in the Balkans. It is the fourth largest city on the Black Sea.