New York City: Practitioners Rally to Protest Thai Police Violence (Photos)

(Clearwisdom.net) At around 10 a.m. on December 16, local practitioners rallied in front of the Thai Consulate in New York to protest Thai police violence against practitioners.

Starting on December 6, Thailand Falun Gong practitioners quietly sat on the sidewalk opposite the Chinese Embassy to Thailand to protest the rape of two women practitioners by Hebei policeman He Xuejian and call for the international community to help stop the brutal persecution happening in China. Since December 9, 2005, Thai police has repeatedly encroached upon local Falun Gong practitioners' human rights under the incitement of the CCP. On December 10, instigated by the Chinese Embassy, Thai police violently interfered with the practitioners' protest in front of the Embassy. On December 14, three practitioners who handed out truth clarification materials were beaten by the Thai police at Pattaya. On December 15, eight practitioners were arrested by Thai police in front of the Chinese Embassy. Later, one practitioner was released, but the other seven practitioners are still being detained at the Immigration Bureau. They have started a hunger strike. The practitioners' human rights have been repeatedly violated.

Some police officers expressed that they did not want to come, but the Chinese Embassy asked them to do so. Immigration officers also told Thai practitioners that they were pressured by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Chinese Embassy had called them to request the arrest of the practitioners.

Practitioners hold up banners in protest

New York practitioners displayed banners and told passersby about how Thai police yielded to CCP pressure and seriously breached the practitioners' human rights. Practitioner Erping Zhang delivered an appeal letter to the consulate and requested the consulate to forward all the truth-clarifying materials to the Thai government. The letter detailed the unlawful acts of Thai police and the request of practitioners. Practitioners said that the rally was held to tell the Thai government that justice will always prevail over evil. They also called on it to respect the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, conduct an objective investigation of the incident and condemn the CCP's terrible persecution of practitioners.

The Thai consulate accepted the letter and truth-clarifying materials, but refused to meet with the practitioners.

Despite the cold, practitioners continued to protest in front of the consulate for hours. They displayed banners, practiced the exercises and clarified the truth to passersby. They called on the Thai government to conduct a prompt investigation and prevent such incidents from happening again.

The rally concluded at 2 p.m.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2005/12/17/116731.html

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