Switzerland: Falun Gong Practitioners Send an Open Letter to the Argentinean Embassy

In the afternoon of the 22nd of December 2005, Swiss practitioners went to the Argentinean Embassy despite the chilly weather to protest against the violent assault on Falun Gong practitioners who were holding a peaceful protest during Luo Gan’s visit to Argentina.

A representative of the Falun Gong practitioners read an open letter in English and German before handing the letter into the Embassy. Practitioners told the Argentine government not to be deceived by the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) lies and not to bow to the economic pressure put on it by the CCP to abandon their own human rights principles. Practitioners hoped that the Argentine government can help to stop the persecution of Falun Gong.

Reading the open letter in English and German		Handing in the letter to the Argentinean Embassy

Since 1999, Falun Gong practitioners have been brutally persecuted in Mainland China. Luo Gan, a member of the Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Politburo, is one of the chief perpetrators of the persecution. On December 13th 2005, while Luo Gan was visiting Argentina, Falun Gong practitioners in Argentina, on behalf of all Falun Gong practitioners who have been suffering persecution in China, filed a criminal lawsuit against Luo in federal court, accusing him of committing the crimes of genocide and torture during the persecution campaign against Falun Gong. The very next day, outside the Argentine Congress, practitioners were assaulted by thugs deployed by the Chinese Embassy.

When the assault occurred, Luo Gan was about to go to the Congress to meet with Argentina's vice president. Practitioners displayed banners to protest the persecution and in particular, Luo's crimes. They also distributed information about the lawsuit against Luo and evidence of Luo's crimes to members of congress. All of a sudden, Chinese men appeared and violently took away practitioners' banners, fliers and personal property. They also rampantly assaulted practitioners, right in front of the media. Some Argentineans tried to stop the violence; however, they were assaulted as well and some were injured.

Surprisingly, on-duty police officers didn't take any action to stop the violence. Reportedly they were ordered by higher authorities not to stop the assailants.

While the Chinese Embassy to Argentina and the assailants were the direct perpetrators of the assault, the chief culprit behind-the-scenes was Luo Gan.

Luo Gan, as Secretary of the Political and Legislative Affairs Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Committee and head of the 610 Office (an agency created specifically to persecute Falun Gong that operates above Chinese law), directly planned, deployed and directed the persecution against Falun Gong. In order to gain personal political capital, he arbitrarily murdered Falun Gong practitioners, implicated, coerced and threatened millions of families, and created countless family tragedies and wrongful arrests. He manipulated the political and judiciary system, and made use of the country's propaganda machinery to spread lies to the world to distort and demonize Falun Gong practitioners, to mislead the public. He also wantonly arrested and detained Falun Gong practitioners on a large scale across the country to inhumanly and ruthlessly persecute them.

After Jiang stepped down, Luo Gan continued to push the persecution of Falun Gong so as to force the new leaders to take responsibility. This year, he directed a new round of arrests of Falun Gong practitioners, which has led to frequent torture and death cases. Many extremely despicable cases have occurred. In addition, he brings persecution and injustice to wherever he goes.