Germany: Practitioners Appeal for a Thorough Investigation of the Shooting Incident in South Africa

At midday on July 2nd 2004, Falun Gong practitioners in Berlin gathered at the South African Embassy to expose the hiring of thugs by the Jiang regime in South Africa to kill practitioners and to appeal to the South African government to carry out a thorough investigation to find what lies behind the shooting of Falun Gong practitioners on the 28th of June in Johannesburg.

After obtaining permission for the appeal, Falun Gong practitioners in Berlin immediately wrote to the News Bureau of the South African Embassy to inform them of our activity outside their building next day. The letter also said that because we trust the strength of South Africa’s democracy and justice, we appeal to all staff members in the Embassy to learn the truth about Falun Gong and about the Jiang regime’s brutal persecution of Falun Gong and hope that they would deliver to the South African government our appeal that it should bravely shoulder its moral and legal responsibility, and investigate not only the hitmen, but more importantly the 'secret hands' behind this shooting, expose their evil action to the public and bring them to justice.

The location of the gathering was directly opposite the Embassy. Staff members inside the Embassy could clearly see our exercise demonstration and banners appealing for a thorough investigation into the shooting of Falun Gong practitioners. At lunchtime, three Embassy officials came out to read our banners and look at the photos of Falun Gong practitioners that have been persecuted to death. They also listened carefully to the practitioners' explanation of the shooting incident and its background and happily received information materials from practitioners, saying that they would read them very carefully. In the afternoon, practitioners went inside the Embassy with an appeal letter and other materials. The staff member who greeted us said that just a few weeks ago she received a Falun Gong newspaper in Spandau and she carefully read it all. We told her that we hoped to see the ambassador in person. She said she very much wanted to help us, but the ambassador was seeing foreign guests and could not find time. She tried to contact other officials for us. Unfortunately most officials were at meetings and could not see us. She received our materials and promised to pass them to relevant departments, and left us with the telephone numbers of relevant officials, saying we could make appointments for the following week. After hearing our introduction to the shooting incident, she said immediately that it was an obvious case of hiring someone to kill.

During the few hours that our appeal lasted, we had opportunities to clarify the truth about the incident to many South Africans visiting the Embassy for business, German Diplomats working in South Africa and other reporters. They all supported our appeal to the South African government for a thorough investigation of the incident and condemned the Jiang regime’s persecution of Falun Gong. They also encouraged us to continue our appeal and suggested that we expose the shooting incident to the South African media who should justifiably report this incident and encourage their government to take responsibility.

The South African Embassy is situated in the diplomatic district of Berlin. Many visitors to the district had the opportunity to learn the truth about Falun Gong. Many of them happily received our leaflets and newspaper. At the end of the working day we also had an opportunity to distribute Falun Gong materials to the Embassy staff. They told us that they saw our banners from inside the Embassy and were very happy to learn more about Falun Gong.