(Minghui.org) Several practitioners visited Mr. Şerdil Dara Odabaşı, the mayor of Kadıköy District, one of the largest districts in Istanbul, on Friday, March 19.

Mr. Şerdil Dara Odabaşı, the mayor of Kadıköy District, with practitioners

Practitioners visited Mayor Odabaşı on behalf of the Falun Dafa Association. The mayor, who gave the practitioners a warm welcome, did some research on Falun Dafa before their visit. A representative of the Falun Dafa Association of Turkey briefed the mayor on the spread of Falun Dafa in China, the persecution of the practice initiated by former Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Jiang Zemin in 1999, and the CCP’s forced organ harvesting crimes against imprisoned Falun Gong practitioners. 

Mayor Odabaşı listened respectfully and then commented, “You said that you are not part of any political organization, then you talked about the persecution and how the Chinese government views your practice. From my point of view you are involved in politics. But when it comes to the issue of this persecution, it’s very sad and of course it’s about human rights.”

The mayor thanked the practitioners for their visit and had photos taken with them.

The practitioners presented the mayor with a plaque about Taizong, one of the most important emperors of the Tang Dynasty, who ruled his subjects with tolerance and devotion to heaven. 

In addition, the mayor was given a desktop calendar and a Turkish version of the International Minghui magazine, as well as information on the international campaign to reject the CCP. 

The calendar presented to the mayor

The calendars, which were made in Istanbul, feature information on historical figures, stories from ancient China, and bookmarks. They were distributed to politicians and influential people in Ankara.