On October 27th, 2007, an event to support the Global Human Rights Torch Relay was held in Düsseldorf, Germany, and many human rights organisations in Germany participated. Mr. Koerper, a member of the China team of the co-host The International Society for Human Rights (IGFM), spoke on behalf of the organisation, pointing out that hosting the Olympics had not improved human rights in China. On the contrary, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has stepped up the persecution of dissidents in the name of the Olympics.
Koerper said that the Olympics cannot coexist with human rights violations. As a German, Koerper called upon members of the International Olympics Committee (IOC), athletes, and sports officials, “I want to raise a rather penetrating question: based on what we know today, would you have attended the Olympic Games that was held in Berlin in 1936? The vast majority will respond with a definite, ‘No.’ Even though the grave human rights violations in China were well publicised, when the CCP bid for the 2008 Olympics, it was still awarded the Games. The Chinese authorities delivered none of its promises (to improve human rights by having the Games in Beijing). On the contrary, China has topped the world not only in production and supply of illegal drugs, but also in persecuting its own people, death sentences, and support of tyrannical countries such as North Korea, Burma, and Sudan. In its own country, the CCP persecutes all democratic forces, dissidents, human rights lawyers, journalists critical of the regime, Tibetans, Roman Catholics, Islamic Uygurs, and peaceful Falun Gong practitioners.”
Citing the United Nations Torture Rapporteur Manfred Nowak’s report on torture and the report by two Canadian independent investigators, Koerper pointed out organ harvesting from live Falun Gong practitioners is a crime more brutal than torture, “Two out of three torture victims are Falun Gong practitioners.” “Not only that, the investigative report entitled “Bloody Harvest” published by two Canadians, David Kilgour and David Matas, sent shock waves. The report detailed how the CCP totalitarian regime profits from organs of young and healthy Falun Gong practitioners. The two Canadians gathered over thirty different kinds of evidence, which clearly proved in China Falun Gong practitioners are systematically killed for their organs.”
Koerper continued, “Giving the Olympic Games to Beijing brought more troubles to the Chinese people. The unwelcome residents, such as beggars, the homeless and the disabled were driven out of the city in droves. According to the Centre on Housing Rights & Evictions (COHRE), a local organisation in Geneva, one million two hundred fifty thousand Beijing residents have been evicted for Olympics related construction.”
Bringing up 1936 German Olympics once again, Koerper pointed out the obvious similarities between 2008 Beijing Olympics and the one seventy years ago, “The CCP authorities use the Olympics as a tool to persecute and discriminate against dissidents, which goes against the Olympic spirit that is based on democracy, peace and human dignity. The way the regime uses 2008 Olympics as its national and international propaganda has obvious similarities to Hitler’s “Propaganda Games” in 1936.”
On behalf of IGFM, Koerper urged, “Appeals have no impact on the CCP leaders as a means on itsown. So we have to apply pressure, such as calling upon boycotting the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. We must take advantage of this secret weapon and persevere. The CCP needs this Olympics for its propaganda and its national and international image. We believe that it is highly likely that we can bring the CCP to a compromise on its disastrous human rights policies by putting on pressure of boycotting the Olympics.”
Koerper asked all the politicians, sports officials and athletes, “Let us call upon boycotting the 2008 Beijing Games together to show Beijing: the free world will not be extorted, nor will it take part in crimes against humanity.”
The aim of this event in Düsseldorf was to support the Global Human Rights Torch Relay. The Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong in China (CIPFG) was the host.
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