A Letter to the President of Armenia

President of the Republic of Armenia, Mr. Robert Kocharian,

State visit to Moldova

Looking back at history, people in the thirties said that what the German regime did in their own country was “not our concern” as long as good trade relations were maintained. But it turned out to be of serious concern for millions of people in many countries. After the holocaust everybody said that it would “never happen again”. But it is happening again – now.

Today it is widely acknowledged and has been reported by respected organisations that the Chinese regime is responsible for serious violations of basic human rights. Several spiritual groups, religious groups and others are being heavily persecuted; above all of these groups is Falun Gong. This persecution is headed by the “6-10” Office, which like the Gestapo in Germany, has unlimited power and operates completely above national and international law.

For your reference, crimes against Falun Gong have been reported by Amnesty International and several international organisations. Human Rights Watch has issued a comprehensive report entitled “Dangerous Meditation – China’s campaign against Falun Gong”. The World Psychiatric Association, with 120 branches worldwide, has voted to send a delegation to China to investigate psychiatric abuses against Falun Gong practitioners.

The current visitor to your country, Mr. Luo Gan, is the leader of the “6-10” Office in China. This office and its leader, Mr. Luo, are responsible for brutal violations of human rights, including forced labour, violence, psychiatric abuse, ill-treatment, torture and even murder of innocent Falun Gong practitioners. He is currently being charged in European and US courts for the crimes of genocide and others that are categorised as crimes against humanity according to the International Criminal Court (ICC). More information about Mr. Luo is available in the appendix of this letter.

Falun Gong is non-political, is not against the Chinese government, and has never made any political claims. We solely request to end the brutal persecution and maintain our lawful right to practise in peace. The practice, also known as Falun Dafa, is a traditional system of meditation, based on the universal principles of Truth, Compassion and Tolerance. The purpose of the practice is to become a better person. Falun Gong is appreciated by millions of people in more than 60 countries.

On a broader perspective the purpose of this information is to maintain positive values and to benefit present and future generations.

Thank you for your attention.

Yours sincerely,
A Falun Gong from Norway
[name omitted]

Appendix:
Luo Gan and the persecution of Falun Gong

Luo Gan’s career is based on the ill-treatment and torture of his fellow citizens who want to be good people and live according to positive values.

Jiang Zemin, the former Chinese leader, initiated the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. He wanted Falun Gong to be eradicated within three months. His directive for handling Falun Gong practitioners was to destroy their reputation, ruin them financially, and to destroy them physically.

Jiang founded the “6-10” Office to be responsible for the persecution and appointed Luo Gan as one of its leaders. In this role Luo Gan, according to Chinese and international law, is responsible for the criminal activities of genocide, torture and crimes against humanity.

As vice-director of the “6-10 Office” Luo personally inspected Political and Judiciary branches as well as labour camps around the country to ensure all levels of government implemented Jiang’s three-prong directive for handling the Falun Gong issue.

According to the United Nations Human Rights Commission’s 2001 Report, Luo Gan has intimate knowledge of the methods of torture and abuse used against Falun Gong practitioners in labour camps: “In October 2000,” the UN report stated that “prison guards in Masanjia prison at Shenyang, Liaoning province, allegedly stripped 18 female Falun Dafa practitioners and put them into male criminal cells. It was reported that Luo Gan, a high-ranking Communist Party official, was aware of the incident. The 18 women are said to still be in prison.”

The lawsuit that has now been launched in Finland against Luo Gan is the fifth international lawsuit to target Luo and/or the “6-10 Office” that he oversees (and this is the thirteenth international lawsuit in ten countries to emerge in the past two years against high-ranking Chinese officials or government bodies for their roles in persecuting Falun Gong).

Recently a criminal lawsuit was filed against Luo in Iceland charging the “6-10” Office leader with crimes of torture, genocide and crimes against humanity. At that time, Luo was on a two-day trip to Iceland, the country that boasts the oldest democracy in the world. When a journalist from the largest Icelandic paper asked Lou about the human rights situation in China, he was immediately intercepted by Chinese security officers and removed from the premises.

Last month, one of the lawyers who prosecuted the Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet filed a criminal lawsuit in Belgium against Luo Gan, the former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin and another senior-ranking Chinese official on behalf of Falun Gong practitioners. This lawsuit charges the three men with genocide, torture and crimes against humanity.

Please be aware that the purpose of this information is to stop the inhuman persecution of innocent people in China. It is also to restore human dignity, because “An injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” (Martin Luther King Jr.)