Melbourne City Council has banned spiritual group Falun Dafa from this
year’s Moomba Festival, citing concerns over the group’s strong political
associations.
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Falun Dafa members at a protest vigil in Toorak last
year. |
But in a separate case at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal,
the group – also known as Falun Gong – yesterday won a battle to join next
year’s Chinese New Year Festival after being excluded from last year’s
event.
Deputy Lord Mayor Susan Riley said the council had rejected the group’s
application to march in next month’s Moomba Parade because the event was
designed to be non-political.
Falun Dafa is a spiritual practice that was banned by the Chinese Government
in 1999. The group claims the Chinese Government has since persecuted its
followers.
Cr Riley said permitting the group to march could result in political
propaganda being handed out during the parade.
“We felt that this was a community event where we have a lot of young and
impressionable people along Swanston Street,” Cr Riley said.
“It’s a non-political community parade. We wouldn’t have the Labor Party or
Liberal Party running in it.”
But council sources told The Age that part of the reason was because Lord
Mayor John So was under pressure from the Chinese business community to
exclude the group. Cr Riley denied the suggestion.
The council’s decision puzzled the Falun Dafa, which believed it had earlier
been given permission to take part in the event.
A letter to the group from Pan Event Entertainment – which oversees some
entries in the parade – states: “We are really excited about your entry and
look forward to it being paraded down the heart of Melbourne.”
However, a subsequent letter from the council withdraws the group’s
permission. “As Falun Dafa has strong political associations, the City of
Melbourne does not consider the Moomba Parade to be an appropriate event for
your organisation to be involved,” the letter says.
The group’s Victorian spokeswoman, Katerina Vereshaka, said she could not
understand why the council had refused an entry on political grounds. She
said Falun Dafa did not hand out political material at festivals unless it
had permission.
The group was hoping the council would reconsider its position because
dancers, non-political banners, costumes and a lotus-flower float had
already been organised, she said.
The controversy came as the Falun Dafa this week appeared at the tribunal
over its exclusion from last year’s Chinese New Year Festival. Members had
claimed they were discriminated against by the festival hosts, the
Federation of Chinese Associations, because of their political and religious
views. But the federation said that concern for crowd safety was the reason.
– with AAP
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/02/20/1045638423360.html
Posting date: 21/Feb/2003
Original article date: 21/Feb/2003
Category: Media Reports
