Falun Dafa Association of Queensland Appeals to President of France

Dear Mr President

On behalf of the Falun Dafa Association of Queensland Inc, I am writing to express our deep concern regarding the arrests of Falun Gong practitioners in Paris. According to reports we have received, the practitioners did not commit any crimes or cause any disturbance, yet they were arrested by the French police because their clothing identified them as Falun Gong practitioners.

One of the practitioners who was arrested (a British citizen) stated that she was detained (with six other practitioners) at the Centre De Police Du 17eme for over 5 hours and then freed with no explanation. She was refused permission to contact the British Embassy in Paris. Another practitioner was told by the French police that they were arrested because they had been wearing yellow Falun Gong scarves.

It appears that these peaceful citizens were arrested simply because they believe in a spiritual practice that Jiang Zemin (the former leader in China) has decided to totally eradicate a practice which is based on the principles of Truth, Compassion and Tolerance.

Lawsuits have been filed in over 18 countries (including France and Australia) against Jiang Zemin and other officials directly responsible for the persecution of Falun Gong. Jiang Zemin has used every segment of the Chinese government, legal system and Chinese society to spread false accusations and fabricate lies against Falun Gong, to generate hatred against this peaceful group. It appears that his lies have now had some effect in France. We find it very sad that a democratic country like France, one of the oldest democracies in the world and a country that generally respects human rights, would agree to the demands of a government that is infamous throughout the world for its human rights abuses against its own people and visitors to its country.

We believe that when the French police, government and people learn about the true nature of Jiang's persecution, and the horrific torture and genocide that is currently happening in China, they would not assist in this persecution by discriminating so blatantly against Falun Gong practitioners. To side with China on this issue is to support the persecution and is very shameful for any country.

When Hu Jintao visited Australia in October 2003, Falun Gong practitioners welcomed him, and at the same time appealed for Jiang Zemin to be brought to justice for his crimes against Falun Gong. All of the activities were very peaceful and the Australian Federal Police commended Falun Gong practitioners for their exemplary behaviour during President Hu's visit.

We Falun Gong practitioners are well known in Australia (and around the world) for our peaceful appeals. In Australia, we often take part in parades, fairs and multicultural events. We are welcomed in the community and have given many performances of traditional dancing and singing, as well as exercises. Falun Gong is non-political and non-religious with all activities free of charge.

We respectfully request that a thorough investigation be conducted into the recent arrest of Falun Gong practitioners in France, and the interference from the Chinese Embassy which resulted in the exclusion of Falun Gong practitioners from the New Year Celebrations on the Champs Elysees. We will also contact the French Embassy in Australia regarding our concerns.

Yours sincerely

Falun Dafa Association of Queensland, Inc