The following statement of support was read on February 3rd at a press conference outside the Chinese Embassy in London. The statement was by the Chairman of the German International Society for Human Rights. The press conference was held to announce the establishment of the European branch of the Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (CIPFG-Europe). To find out more about the event, please see http://en.clearharmony.net/articles/200702/37890.html.
On behalf of the German International Society for Human Rights (ISHR) I would like to present a warm welcome to all attendees. Unfortunately due to lack of time, I was not able to personally attend the establishment event for the CIPFG in London.
The persecution of Falun Gong in the People's Republic of China is surely one of the saddest chapters in the history of mankind. Peaceful people whose principles are Truthfulness, Benevolence and Tolerance and who do not have any political goals, are being brutally persecuted in this country.
The German International Society for Human Rights has for quite some time supported the numerous events of Falun Gong practitioners in their fight against the injustice that has been inflicted upon them by the communist regime in China – and let me assure you ladies and gentlemen, we will stand by their side until the end of this persecution.
Since the beginning of this persecution in July 1999, based on our information, several hundred thousand arrests already had taken place – many thousands are being detained in forced labour camps, prisons and psychiatric institutes without legal procedures, merely because of their peaceful ideology. In these places, they are exposed to systematic torture. Currently over 3,000 known victims have died as a result of the tortures in these camps, the estimated number of unknown/unreported cases is not included.
Numerous Chinese civil rights campaigners have raised impeachment and claimed that in Chinese prisons and camps organs are being removed from detainees before they kill them. This allegation received new nourishment last year.
In March 2006, we received information that there are supposed to be numerous concentration camps in the People’s Republic of China, where they remove organs from living detained persons, and these organs will then be used for organ trade.
According to the investigation report from Kilgour and Matas the victims are primarily Falun Gong practitioners. In this way, the Chinese communist regime tries to get rid of an inconvenient group of people – and this against the background of the Olympic summer games next year.
Ladies and Gentlemen, should this almost incomprehensible crime against humanity correspond to the truth, which we unfortunately must assume, then the international community must do everything within their power to stop this madness.
The ISHR therefore calls upon the community of states to apply all devisable means in order to provide evidence that the raised reproaches for the existence of these concentration camps are unfounded. We suggest that a team of doctors from the international Red Cross in cooperation with the UN special Rapporteur on torture Mr. Manfred Nowak conduct an immediate on-site investigation.
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