A letter from Australian Falun Gong group has been delivered to DFAT (Department of Foreign Affair & Trade) on Wednesday requesting a correction to the false statement issued last week by an unnamed DFAT spokeswoman regarding the attempted murder of nine Australians in South Africa last Monday. The purpose of their visit was to help file a genocide lawsuit against visiting Chinese officials for their roles in the persecution of Falun Gong in China.
On 30 June 2004, AAP reported, “Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokeswoman said a passenger in the car told Australian consular officials he believed the shooting was unrelated to Falun Gong activity”, and that, “Another passenger in the car advised consular officials that he believed the shooting to be a random event and not connected to any Falun Gong activity.”
The false statement was reportedly passed by the Australian High Commission (AHC) in South Africa, however First Secretary to the AHC, Mr Brian Garrington, confirmed that none of the witnesses had made any such statement. He was not aware nor had he seen the statement issued by DFAT and confirmed he had made a report about the shooting incident to DFAT, but such sentences were not part of his report.
“DFAT’s response to this shooting incident has given every Australian pause for thought for our personal safety and our national dignity. If the Chinese Government is implicated in this incident, what then is the effect of DFAT’s statement and who is really being assisted by it?” John Deller, President, Falun Dafa Association of NSW said.
Several Falun Dafa practitioners in Australia have contacted DFAT officials in Canberra and the wrong information is no longer being used. However, the damage caused by this statement is considerable and must be corrected.
Posting date: 8/Jul/2004
Original article date: 7/Jul/2004
Category: Australian News
