Lawsuit
Announced, Investigation Launched by Falun Gong Practitioners and NGO
|
NEW
YORK (FDI) – On January 24th and 26th 2004 during China-sponsored cultural
activities in Paris as well as Hu Jingtao’s visit to the French capital, over
70 Falun Gong practitioners were detained by French police as they stood on
the street or were walking near the Champ Elysées.
A
preliminary statement jointly issued by the Falun Dafa Association and a Boston-based
NGO investigating the matter says the detainments were a result of Chinese
officials luring a few individuals within the French government (with financial
incentives) to order the illicit police action. (statement)
Regarding
this incident, here are some of the facts we know so far:
-
French
police say they detained the practitioners because they wore either yellow
scarves (a color Chinese officials associate with Falun Gong) or clothing
with the name “Falun Dafa” written on it.
-
In
at least one case, a Chinese official was personally directing French
police on the street in Paris to detain Falun Gong practitioners.
-
All
those detained were neither officially charged with anything nor given
any documentation of their arrests. They were simply held in detention
until the day’s activities, which were partially organized by the Chinese
Government, had come to a conclusion and then they were released.
-
On
multiple occasions, French police refused to provide their names and badge
numbers.
What
happened in Paris follows a specific pattern of illicit behavior that Chinese
officials have engendered in other free and democratic nations over the past
few years in an attempt to export the persecution of Falun Gong outside China.
In
June 2002, acting on misinformation and a blacklist supplied by Chinese agents,
the Icelandic government detained all individuals believed to be Falun Gong
practitioners during a visit by then-Chinese leader Jiang Zemin. They were
held in a nearby school-turned-detention center as the Icelandic people marched
in the streets to denounce their government’s actions. (news)
During
Jiang’s visit to Germany in April 2002, practitioners were harassed, assaulted,
and evicted from their hotel rooms by both Chinese and German secret service
agents. (news)
Local German Government officials later issued a public apology to Falun Gong.
(news)
Scores
of other incidents throughout the world have occurred over the past nearly
five years as Chinese officials have sought to stifle the voice and basic
freedoms of Falun Gong practitioners in their own countries. (report)
Why
do Chinese officials invest so much effort and exert so much pressure to eliminate
all signs of Falun Gong during state and other official visits? Since July
1999, Jiang Zemin has waged a campaign against Falun Gong in an attempt to
“eradicate” the traditional Chinese practice through imprisoning, brainwashing,
torturing and killing those identified as Falun Gong practitioners. Many legal
experts have classified Jiang’s campaign as genocide. Lawsuits in more than
a dozen countries have been filed against Jiang and the small circle of leaders
who assist in the campaign against Falun Gong charging them with genocide,
torture and crimes against humanity. (news)
However,
a large segment of Chinese society – including many Chinese Government officials
– have been kept in the dark by Jiang Zemin as to what is happening to Falun
Gong. This “in the dark” condition is made possible mainly by controlling
all information pertaining to Falun Gong through the state-run media in China.
During
state visits and other official functions overseas, however, extraordinary
measures are employed to ensure the traveling Chinese officials and citizens
do not see the true situation of Falun Gong (i.e. that it is freely practiced
all over the world, and violently persecuted in China), thus perpetuating
this “in the dark” condition.
The
recent detainment of Falun Gong practitioners in Paris is precisely aiding
and abetting the persecution by helping to keep people “in the dark” about
Falun Gong, as well as directly violating the rights of Falun Gong practitioners.
Disturbingly,
the French media has largely gone silent over the past week on this important
issue.
We
know France is a free and open society that is highly regarded as a nation
that upholds liberty and human rights. We also know that Falun Gong is a legally
registered organization in France and the French Government itself has no
ill will towards Falun Gong. However, the actions of the individuals who ordered
these detainments place France in very disgraceful company among the world’s
human rights violators.
While
Falun Gong practitioners have launched an investigation (notice)
and announced preparations for a lawsuit (news)
regarding this matter, we would encourage the French authorities to investigate
this incident themselves, for the ramifications also touch upon the reputation
of, and the very freedoms granted by, the French Government. Thus, it is in
France’s own interest to make up for any damage done by this incident, not
just to Falun Gong, but to the freedoms and basic rights that should have
been protected within France’s borders for all its citizens, residents and
peaceful visitors.
