A global petition to secure millions of signatures to support an end to the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China is to be presented to the International Olympics Committee in July, ahead of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
Organisers of the petition, the Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (CIPFG), say the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has continually contravened human rights conventions in its ruthless suppression of freedom of belief, speech and media in China.
The petition particularly focuses on the last nearly nine years of the CCP's chronic crimes against Falun Gong practitioners throughout mainland China, which include unwarranted arrests, forced detention in labour camps, torture and murder.
A report from former Canadian Secretary of State David Kilgour and Canadian human rights lawyer David Matas "Bloody Harvest," , released in 2006 and further updated in 2007, has highlighted the extent of the crimes against Falun Gong practitioners. In the report, the two lawyers outline the systematic harvesting of organs for profit from living practitioners in China.
The persecution of Falun Gong is the most severe human rights disaster in China today, CIPFG said in a statement.
Organisers of the petition, which requires signatories to give their full names, address and contact details to further add weight to the support, report that 600,000 people had signed the petition by the end of May.
Dr Sev Osdowski, the Australian Human Rights Commissioner from 2000 to 2005 and a CIPFG member in Australia, says the petition is an important document as it highlights discrimination against a people, something the Olympic Charter directly opposes.
"The IOC charter is saying that the Olympics should be organised for all people, without any discrimination, and clearly the Chinese authorities, by persecuting Falun Gong practitioners and not allowing them access to the Olympics, are discriminating against Falun Gong practitioners and then breaching the charter of the Olympics," he told The Epoch Times .
"I think it is important that this is brought to the attention of the IOC."
The CIPFG vice-president of Malaysia, Edmund Bon Tai Soon, said human rights abuses go beyond local and regional issues.
"They must be regarded as global issues," he said, adding: "No country in the world is immune to the scrutiny of international community."
"Therefore, it is very important that all Malaysian citizens as well as people from each class of the society who support human rights and justice should sign to support this campaign," he said
Szeto Wah, the vice-president of CIPFG in Hong Kong, said the CCP had promised the international community it would improve human rights in China, However: "The regime didn't fulfil its commitment," he said. "And furthermore, its human rights situation is going from bad to worse."
Mr Wah said that among the human rights abuses occurring in China today, the persecution of Falun Gong in China was by far the worst.
"I hereby appeal to all lovers of human rights to join this signature campaign," he said.
The vice-president of CIPFG in South Korea, Zheng Qiuchen, says his country's proximity to China and its shared border with North Korea make human rights a particular concern for South Koreans. Signing the petition was essential, he said, and in doing so: "Hopefully…China can coexist in harmony with other democratic countries like us."
Please contact CIPFG For information about how you can help
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