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Australia: "Truth Compassion Forbearance Week" Opening Ceremony Guest Speeches
Alderman Eric Hayes (Chairman of Festivals and Tourism
Special Committee)
"I'm particularly happy to be here and to tell you how much I appreciate
your slogan, your tenet, of Truth Compassion and Forbearance, of which there is
so little in the world at the moment.
I admire the philosophy behind this movement, I believe that we have got
within us the power to make our lives better, to think ourselves into a position
where we like ourselves better, to consider the effect that our actions have on
the people around us and I encourage you in your endeavors and appreciate your
coming to Hobart. Thank you for having me, a very sincere welcome and I wish you
joy in your endeavors here in Hobart."
Margaret Reynolds (Former Senator of Queensland, now President of United
Nations Association of Australia)
"It is a pleasure to be here for this special occasion at the launch of
this special week. I guess from a United Nations point of view I am very pleased
to be here because it gives me the opportunity to talk about many of the issues
that the United Nations is concerned about and your three words Truth Compassion
Forbearance; if indeed these were adopted and followed by all countries around
the world, we wouldn't have the tremendous amount of violence, antagonism and
war that we have today. I am particularly interested in what is happening to
people who have different views because the United Nations makes it clear that
people with different views are entitled under the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights to practice their beliefs ... and I guess when I first heard of the
persecution of Falun Gong in China, I found it almost hard to believe that
people could be persecuted for such a basic fundamental Human Right of being
able to practice what is essentially a very non-threatening, I would have
thought, non-violent form of exercise and intellectual pursuit.
... It is very hard for someone who has not had any experience with the
Chinese administration to start to understand what is it that can so concern
authorities ...
You see people practicing Falun Gong and you say, 'well, what is there to be
worried about?' How could any reasonable person ... how could any reasonable
government ... want to persecute people simply for practicing their chosen form
of exercise and internal intellectualizing of their beliefs, and particularly
when the words chosen are Truth Compassion and Forbearance? ... I know the
Australian Government made representations to the Chinese Government about the
persecution of people for practicing Falun Gong, but I think more should be said
and more should be done here in Australia to highlight what is happening to
people in China.
Thank you very much indeed."
Maqsood Alshams (National Coordinator for the Coalition
for Justice for Refugees and Migrants)
"Thank you very much for the invitation. Tasmania is a very beautiful
place. The State Government have a directive called multi-cultural Tasmania who
encourage the Refugees and Migrants to come and settle down in Tasmania.
This morning we are dealing with a painful cause ...
I myself am a Refugee from Bangladesh. I'm a persecuted person and that's why
I sought protection in Australia and at the moment I'm working as the National
Coordinator for the Coalition for Justice for Refugees and Migrants, a coalition
of forty-two mainstream organizations advocating the cause of refugees and
migrants.
We advocate the cause of persecution, or we advocate against the persecution
by any government anywhere in the world. Through a newspaper report sent from my
own network we have been informed about the persecution caused to the Falun Gong
practitioners for their beliefs in China. It really horrifies me and [the]
Coalition believes that we have to...I mean all the members of the Coalition
should raise their voice to stop this kind of persecution in China. I have seen
people being burned people and being severely assaulted by the police. A friend
of mine, Jamie Parker, who is Convener of the New South Wales Green[s], has
visited China and personally witnessed the torture of the Falun Gong
Practitioners.
Since my childhood I have believed in Truth Compassion and Forbearance. To me
I learned it in a different way - to me, God is truth, God is love and
compassion. I have seen that same practice exists in Falun Gong; that they
believe in Truth Compassion and Forbearance.
At the moment in this modern civilization I think that there is a lack of
compassion. With people in different countries, the more we are getting
civilized the more we are losing our compassion towards other people.
... mainstream Australians have an inescapable responsibility to give them
support to expose their plight and for everyone to get to know that people are
being persecuted in China and everyone has a moral obligation to save them. At
the same time the Coalition for justice for Refugees and Migrants will continue
its support and cooperation with Falun Gong to expose our cause against the
violation of Human Rights in different countries.
Thank you."
Duncan Kerr (Local MP, Shadow Minister for Justice and
Customs and Population)
"When you hear accounts of that kind (referring to Jennifer's
experience sharing regarding being detained in a Chinese Labor Camp) you
realize that the difficulties most Tasmanians face in their daily lives pale
into insignificance. But all of us have our troubles, all of us have our choices
of conscience, and all of us face difficult choices when we are tempted to take
paths that are other than good. So there is a 'universalism' about the issues
that Falun Gong confronts. I'm not a Falun Gong believer, or practitioner, but I
do very strongly believe in the universal principles of Human Rights. I do very
strongly believe in the entitlement of every man or woman to seek a path of
truth and goodness as they see fit to the best of their abilities. And where the
world does not allow this is an affront to those universal values that has been
sought to be achieved when we established the United Nations... when we
committed ourselves to a Universal Declaration of Human Rights ...
What we do need to do as people who live in societies where there is less
pressure in our daily lives is to make a little space to think of the
difficulties others face, to find some small time in our own lives to speak out
against the kind of outrages that happen to others who are simply pursuing their
right to express their religious commitments or their spiritual commitments and
to find some small time in our holiday period to come together to thank those
who have put on the displays today ...
Thank you."
Posting date: 1/4/2002 |