BRUSSELS—On the occasion of the 'European Day Against the Death Penalty' a press conference was organized in the European Parliament in Brussels, hosted by Edward McMillan-Scott, Vice-President of the European Parliament, Willy Fautré from Human Rights Without Frontiers and Thomas Mann, MEP and Chairman of the EP Tibet group.
During the conference a live phone connection was setup with Hu Jia and with Li Baiguang, a human rights lawyer, in mainland China.
A renowned human rights and democracy activist, Hu Jia was recently nominated for the Sacharov prize by the Green faction in the European Parliament.
Edward McMillan-Scott: what's your attitude towards human rights and the Olympic Games?Hu Jia: The Chinese people hoped the Olympics would be an opportunity for China to become mainstream and more like other countries, but now the situation is going to the opposite side. The Chinese Communist Party has arrested many people in the name of the Olympic Games.
Therefore more and more people are saying "We want human rights, not Olympic Games." An example of this is the case of Li Heping, who was arrested because he spoke out for "Human rights instead of Olympics."
EM-S: Can you make a statement about the persecution of Gao Zhisheng and his family?
Hu: The persecution of Gao and his family is severe. The police officers follow Gao's wife when she leaves the home.
EM-S: The 17th CCP Party Congress as well as the EU-China human rights dialogue will start October 15th. What are your comments on these events?
Hu: The Olympic Games have become a cover for human rights violations. The number of arrests has also peaked because of the 17th ccp party congress. These evil deeds should be condemned in the human rights dialogue.
Li Baiguang stressed "The Olympic Games are a peaceful and friendly gathering of humankind, not an opportunity to violate the human rights of the Chinese people."
Different speakers highlighted the persecution several groups in China suffer today, less then 10 months before the Olympic Games. Willy Fautré, Director of the Brussels-based NGO, Human Rights Without Frontiers, said, "Heads of states and democratically-elected politicians should not accept any invitation from the Chinese authorities to the Beijing Olympics, while people in China are still being tortured. The world should focus on the real China, in which hundreds of thousands are being repressed because of their religious faith or belief."
Edward McMillan-Scott released a letter at the press conference he wrote last week to the president of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Poettering, in which he stated that he contacted the Secretariat of the International Criminal Court (ICC) regarding the cases of Gao Zhisheng, Li Heping and the thousands Falun Gong practitioners killed since the CCP's persecution started in 1999.
The ICC has suggested that an official from the European Parliament should prepare a dossier for submission under the Genocide Convention.
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