Sofia, Bulgaria: Practitioners Mark Seven Years of Persecution in China

By Bulgarian practitioners

An open-air exhibition and a demonstration of the torture methods used by the Chinese regime upon practitioners were shown on July 22, 2006, in the capital of Bulgaria, on the site next to the Monument of the Soviet Army in the downtown of the city. The event was held to mark seven years of persecution in China by the Communist regime, started on July 20, 1999, by former Communist leader Jiang Zemin.

Re-enacting the torture	Demonstration of the exercises	Clarifying the truth

Practitioners gave leaflets to citizens of the city containing information about Falun Gong and they exposed the facts of the atrocities by the Communist regime in China. Almost everyone stopped by the panels and signed the petition after learning that practitioners in China are killed in the 21^st century for their beliefs in Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance. People were further shocked by the fact that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) uses the bodies of the practitioners for harvesting and selling organs on the international market for transplantation. The scene was rounded out by a demonstration of torture methods used against practitioners, which deeply impressed the people passing by. A young man asked to take a photo of the demonstration, and policemen patrolling the park exclaimed, "Wow! It is quite realistic!" Children asked their parents about the demonstration and the elders explained to them that this was now happening in China. Many of those who signed the petition were young, and some even didn’t need to hear the explanations and just signed, "We support you! We are against torture of people! This is appalling! May we sign?"

Signing names to support Falun Gong	Learning the truth of Falun Gong	Learning the truth of Falun Gong

Many Bulgarians said that Communism is evil, and they understood why practitioners are persecuted in China. Also, numerous people said they wanted to come to the practice site to learn the exercises, and some were determined they would like to know more about the philosophy of Falun Dafa. Practitioners explained about the launching of the new website of Falun Gong in Bulgarian – Clearharmony, which is part of the European website of the practice where many politicians express their support for stopping the persecution.

Many signatures were gathered during the event, and some people said it was the first time they heard about Falun Gong. Others had seen information on TV. One woman said that she received a leaflet in her mailbox and expressed her will to sign the petition, as she knew about the activities of Falun Gong from the leaflet. A Dutch boy signed the petition saying he knew about Falun Gong from before.

Bulgarian practitioners asked the Municipal authorities for permission to hold a peaceful appeal in front of the Chinese embassy in Sofia. Despite the fact that such an appeal was previously organized once on December 10, 2005 – on the international day for human rights, the deputy mayor of the city didn’t grant permission stating as a reason that the activity might disrupt public order and traffic. Practitioners sent a second letter asking for reconsideration of the decision, but the municipality categorically declared that such permission wouldn’t be given.

According to the practitioners, this decision is due to interference from the Chinese embassy, which has been quite intense and regular recently. A diplomatic note has already been sent once to the Foreign Ministry by the Chinese representatives. Despite conversations held with officials from the Foreign Ministry and municipal authorities clarifying about the atrocities of the Chinese communist regime, so far practitioners have not received support.

Nonetheless, the open-air exhibition and truth clarification marking the seven years of repression by the Communist regime in China was a big success and gave many people the opportunity to understand the nature of Falun Gong and to condemn its persecution.

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