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Speeches Made by Canadian Officials at the Welcoming Ceremony of the "SOS Global Rescue Walk" in Ottawa in September, 2001 (Part II) (Clearwisdom.net)
MP Wendy Lill
Thank you very much. I want to welcome the walkers, the Falun
Gong practitioners that have come all the way from Toronto. And I have been told
that there are walks going on around the world; this is not the only one. And it
strengthens us to know that there are thousands of others involved in the same
struggle in other parts of the country.
On behalf of my colleagues in the New Democratic Party I join
others today in welcoming the SOS Global Rescue Walkers. I think that the words
of Warren Alman are appropriate here. He talks about the fact that "Large
scale arrests of Falun Gong practitioners in China and the arbitrary detention
of its leaders contravene international law including the covenant of civil and
political rights which China recently signed. China is not only making a mockery
of its international obligations but it's also violating its own constitution
which guarantees the right to freedom of belief, assembly and association."
We must all, at this point in time as no other, stand up for the freedom of
belief of all people on this globe. So on behalf of the New Democrats we call
once again for the Canadian government to join the worldwide effort to put an
end to the persecution of Falun Gong in China. Thank you.
MP John Godfrey
Thank you very much. I simply want to reiterate the
solidarity, which many of us in the House of Commons have with Falun Gong. To
thank and congratulate the walkers who have walked through rain and heat to be
here to show their conviction, to say how proud we are to be associated with
such people of conviction and people of faith and we will stay with you and
continue to support your efforts and make our views known to the Chinese
government. And I just came here to congratulate you and thank you for what
you're doing.
Ms. Karen Hawley, The Ontario Public Interest Research Group
I'd like to welcome you all here. You're using the tried and
true method of spreading the word of peace. Which is marching, used all over the
world with great success so I wish you the same success. Earlier this summer
Jean came to me, she's a Falun Gong practitioner, and she asked if the students
in parliament would be interested in helping out with this struggle. And indeed
our board of directors was keen to get going on this and I hope this year we
that have some great success. I brought some T-shirts for you 'cause you're
going to need them in the next little while of marching to keep you extra warm
to add to those layers. Once again thanks for making this step towards peace.
Ms. Shirley Brown, Vice President of National Council of
Women of Canada
I bring greetings to you all from the National Council of
Women of Canada. My heart goes out to you all; to all those who have been
oppressed and the ones who have walked all the way from Toronto and Montreal.
You've taken a lot of courage to do that. My president has met with a lot of
your organizers. Unfortunately she is in Winnipeg today. If she were here today
she would have much more to say because she knows you. I am happy to bring the
best wishes from the council. We do not support violence. We support the United
Nations human rights and we are against all forms of torture and oppression and
support wholeheartedly peaceful methods of finding solutions and ways of life.
And we wish you every success with your efforts. Thank you.
Posting date: 11/1/2001
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