His Excellency, President of Romania, Mr. Ion Iliescu,

I learned that you will be visiting China at the end of August and will be meeting the ex-president of China, Jiang Zemin. I am writing to respectfully call on you to urge Jiang Zemin to release all detained Falun Gong practitioners and ultimately lift the ban on Falun Gong in China.

Falun Gong presents a health-inducing set of exercises based on ancient insights into the human mind, body and spirit. It is entirely peaceful and promotes the traditional values of Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance. The five sets of Falun Gong exercises are tranquil and meditative. Its benefits include health, happiness and meaningful living. After being introduced to the public in China in May 1992 by Mr. Li Hongzhi, the practice quickly spread by word of mouth throughout the country. It is now practised by 100 million practitioners in more than 60 countries. It has no political intention other than to stop the persecution in China.

Concerned that the peaceful practice was making significant gains in popularity, former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin launched a vicious campaign to eradicate Falun Gong in July 1999. Since then, extensive and horrific news has spread to the world about the torture and killing of Falun Gong practitioners in China. During the past four years, intimidation, torture and prison sentences are commonplace for hundreds of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners in China. But not only the people of China are victims of Jiang’s policy of genocide; the Jiang regime’s defamation and propaganda has caused millions of people worldwide to be misinformed and incognisant of the true nature of Falun Gong, including in Romania. The persecution of Falun Gong is in reality a persecution of humanity.

It is well-documented by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the United Nations Commission on Human Rights since July 1999 (see: Human Rights Watch, “Dangerous Meditation – China’s Campaign Against Falun Gong” at: http://hrw.org/reports/2002/china/http://hrw.org/reports/2002/china/), that Jiang Zemin’s regime has imprisoned practitioners on false charges and inflicted grievous tortures upon them, even unto death, in its systematic attempt to eradicate Falun Gong. According to incomplete statistics, within the past four years beginning on July 20, 1999, 770 practitioners (as of 20.8.2003) have been verified as being tortured to death in over 30 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities. However, according to the government's official internal statistics, the actual number of practitioners who died after being arrested had reached 1,600 by the end of 2001. (Summaries of confirmed deaths by Province can be viewed at: http://media.minghui.org/gb/d-stats/province_en.htm)

Please take serious note of the fact that despite the persecution, not a single act of retaliation has been reported.

Since the crackdown in July 1999, Falun Gong has gained worldwide support from many governments and international organisations. The European Parliament adopted a resolution on 15 February 2001 calling on the regime in China to respect the human rights of the practitioners. Amnesty International has produced several reports detailing many atrocities suffered by Falun Gong practitioners. The US Congress passed a resolution unanimously in July 2002 criticising the suppression. (http://usembassy.state.gov/tokyo/wwwhse0275.html)

In several countries/regions around the world, because of crimes of genocide and crimes against humanity, lawsuits have been filed against the former Chinese leader, Jiang Zemin, officials of the 610 Office - a gestapo-like organization Jiang created to 'eradicate' Falun Gong which now has 11,000 staff members - and other Chinese officials for their roles in carrying out the persecution of Falun Gong in China. The lawsuits have been filed in the U.S., Canada, Germany, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Hong Kong and Indonesia. An international coalition of lawyers has also announced a coordinated effort to file more lawsuits against Jiang Zemin in the coming months. The world community is standing up to bring Jiang Zemin to justice.

International support and intervention have played major parts in the successful high-profile campaigns for the release of many Falun Gong practitioners incarcerated in China, hence we call on you.

On behalf of WOIPFG in Europe, I respectfully call on you to urge Jiang Zemin to lift the ban on Falun Gong in China, stop the persecution and release all Falun Gong practitioners. You might even consider not meeting with a dictator who is being charged with the crimes of genocide and crimes against humanity. Please also encourage the clarification of the truth about Falun Gong in Romania.

Sincerely,
Martin Kritzler

About World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPFG)

Mission of WOIPFG: To investigate the criminal conduct of all institutions, organizations, and individuals involved in the persecution of Falun Gong; to bring such investigation, no matter how long it takes, no matter how far and deep we have to search, to full closure; to exercise fundamental principles of humanity; and to restore and uphold justice in society.

WOIPFG endorses the principle of individual criminal accountability for all rulers, public officials, or private individuals who commit genocide against Falun Gong. WOIPFG will facilitate the prosecution of responsible parties before the International Criminal Court and other tribunals.