Falun Gong Practitioners’ Peaceful Demonstration at the UN Human Rights Commission

The city of Geneva in Switzerland is the home of the United Nations, international mediator for worldwide human rights. The annual "United Nations Human Rights Commission" at the Palace des Nations is the most important event of the year in the human rights calendar. Worldwide government officials began their 2002 human rights commission on Wednesday 19th March. Violations of the basic rights of human beings exist throughout the world, but one eclipses all others in terms of brutality, illegality and inhumanity. The persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China has extended its vicious influence to millions of innocent people and has recently spiralled out of control with Jiang Zemin' orders to "kill them without mercy".

Over 200 Falun Gong practitioners joined a parade throughout Geneva to inform people of this unparalleled violation of human rights. This climaxed with the practice of Falun Gong exercises outside the Palace des Nations as part of a three day peaceful protest. On day one, there was a press conference, with figures such as the German Foreign Minister expressing "a very critical view of the human rights situation in China". One Chinese practitioner moved listeners to tears as she told of her husband' murder for his belief in Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance.

The Chinese Government answered this with lies, deceit and intolerance. Day two saw the start of a hunger strike that is being accompanied by similar activities worldwide. This hunger strike hopes to bring attention to the 381 deaths, the thousands of tortured practitioners and the hundreds of thousands of people illegally detained. The Falun Gong practitioners gathered in Geneva hope to bring this inhumane persecution into the spotlight at the United Nations Human Rights Commission so that the officials of the governments throughout the world can take action to halt the killing of innocent people at the hands of the Chinese government

Reported by European practitioner

03-22-2002