Morgunbladid (Icelandic newspaper): Representatives of Falun Gong meet with Icelandic authorities

Representatives of Falun Gong met with officials from the Ministries of Justice and Foreign Affairs to discuss the treatment of Falun Gong practitioners here in June. Spokesmen of Falun Gong expressed their disappointment in the Icelandic authorities for rejecting all possible solutions that the organization suggested at the meeting. According to Stefán Eríksson, the Chief Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, the government will not make any further moves at this time.

John Nania, one of the Falun Gong representatives attending the meeting, stated that people had exchanged views freely and openly regarding what happened here this summer as well as the human rights issue in China. “The Icelandic government had in fact nothing to offer at the meeting. Neither did they accept the possible solutions we put forward, for example that the government would admit they made a mistake, give the individuals affected compensation, openly condemn the persecution in China or make public the so called black list and then destroy it. There are of course other ways, but these were the ones we suggested to make up for the damage done. It is not only Falun Gong and its reputation that has been hurt here, but also the people of Iceland and their belief in their authorities and the reputation of Iceland as a human rights defender in the international community.”

Rejected all possible solutions

Nania said that the Icelandic government completely rejected all of these possibilities and did not come up with any other options either, for example that these kind of thing would never happen again. “The Icelandic government seems not to be ready to do anything what so ever, that was basically the message we were given.”

Nania admits that the meeting was disappointing. “We hoped for certain things and we have still not given up on those hopes. These issues are certainly not resolved from our point of view and we will now consider what steps to take next.”

Stefán Eríksson, the Chief Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, stated that at this meeting people exchanged views and information. “It was a very long meeting and we explained thoroughly how the Icelandic authorities look at these things.

“Yes, an official apology was one of the things that their representatives suggested but that is of course not a decision that officials can take, but I think that I can say that the government can find no reason to do so, besides we explained very well the reasons behind our decisions at this time. We are bound by international agreement to protect a head of state when they come here for a public visit and that was the task we were faced with at that time.”

Stefán says that he does of course not know what Falun Gong practitioners will do now, but from the government’s point of view he does not see any further progress after this meeting.