Greece: After a Successful Parade Falun Dafa Practitioners Gather in Syntagma Square and Show the Beauty of Dafa

The beautiful Falun Dafa parade made its way through the centre of Athens and came to an end in Syntagma Square, which is located next to Greece's Parliament. Practitioners demonstrated the exercises, handed out leaflets and performed Chinese waist-drumming and the lotus dance. The event attracted the attention of the media.

Even though the Chinese Embassy had presumably tried to prevent Falun Gong from holding activities in Athens, the parade and group demonstration in Syntagma Square were warmly welcomed by the Greek people and police, and it turned out to be a successful event. People wanted to know the truth about
Falun Gong and the persecution in China and they came to ask for more material. Information was distributed out very quickly to people from all over the world who had gathered in Athens for the Olympic Games.

A Spokesperson for the activity explained the facts about Falun Gong through a loudspeaker. Falun Dafa is a traditional Chinese meditation practise based on the principles of Truth, Compassion, Tolerance. In July 1999, however, former Chinese Dictator Jiang Zemin personally banned the practise when the number of Falun Gong practitioners exceeded that of the Communist Party. He launched the most brutal persecution during which over one thousand Falun Gong practitioners have been tortured to death.

The activity was mostly focused on showing the beauty and true nature of Falun Dafa in harmony with the spirit of the Olympics. Many people knew Falun Dafa and had heard of the persecution and the poor human rights situation in China.

The announcer introduced the waist-drumming troupe, whose performance attracted many people into the Square, including the media. Lotus dancers with their gentle and elegant movements brought a smile to people's faces and brought applause from the crowd. The atmosphere in Syntagma Square left people with a deep impression.