|
European Falun Dafa Association Urges Thailand's Minister of Foreign Affairs to Secure the Immediate Release of European Dafa Practitioner Mrs. Pirjo Svensson
(Clearwisdom.net) 1 May 2003 Dr. Surakiart Sathirathai Your Excellency, Request for Urgent Intervention I am writing to draw your attention to the arrest, without explanation, in Bangkok of a
completely peaceful and law-abiding European Falun Gong practitioner, Mrs. Pirjo Svensson. We hope
that you can urgently contact the relevant authorities in Thailand to seek the immediate release of
Mrs. Svensson. Mrs. Pirjo Svensson was accompanying her husband who is currently working in Bangkok,
Thailand. At 8:00 am on 29/4/03, 6 immigration/police officers searched her home and took away her
Falun Gong books and materials. This is shocking as the human rights of Falun Gong practitioners are
supposedly protected by the Thai constitution, which enshrines the freedom of belief and expression. She was then taken to an immigration office together with her husband. At the time of writing
this, they are not allowed to go home or anywhere else. Thus far she has not received any
explanation regarding which specific Thai law she has breached. This is of great concern to us. The arrest coincided with the official visit of the Chinese Premier to Bangkok. Mrs. Svensson was
later told that she was going to be deported because she was suspected -- without any proof or
explanation -- for organizing something that would harm the relationship between China and
Thailand. The picture of the cause of the incident now starts to emerge -- the Chinese regime
appears to have exerted pressure on the Thai authorities on the occasion of the Chinese official
visit to suppress Falun Gong, which the authoritarian regime has viciously persecuted in the past
years because of fear of any independent popular groups. The arrest and planned deportation of Mrs. Svensson is a violation of the fundamental human
rights of a completely peaceful and law-abiding European citizen. Falun Gong has been completely
peaceful and Mrs. Svensson has not breached any law during her current or previous stay in Thailand. The SARS epidemic has shown how little regard the Chinese regime puts on human life and how much
they want to protect their power. We hope that the Thai government will not believe in the lies of
the Chinese regime and will stand up for the freedom of belief of people throughout the world. We respectfully urge you to pay immediate attention to the arrest and planned deportation of Mrs.
Svensson and do everything possible to ensure the immediate restoration of her freedom, which will
also be important for the international reputation of Thailand as a country that respects basic
freedoms and human rights. Yours sincerely Peter Jauhal Chairman |