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Falun Dafa around the World: Ukraine

March 07, 2011 |   By De Xiangzong, Clearwisdom correspondent

(Clearwisdom.net)

Stepping out of the nightmare of communism

In the early 1920s, Ukraine became one of the republics of the former Soviet Union. In December 1932, Stalin carried out a policy of genocide, initially against the peasants of Ukraine. Almost all of them were classified as “the enemy class.” Then all grain and production resources of the area, including seed, were confiscated by the government. As a result, several million people starved to death in the following years.

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine became an independent country. Along with learning more and more about the true nature of communism, the Ukrainian government and people are moving away from communism. The Ukraine government, Parliament and citizens began to consciously get rid of the influence of communism, and to clarify history by condemning the crimes that the Communist Party committed. They put forward a number of ideas and initiatives, which included the following: Send the perpetrators [of crimes committed under the banner of communism] to Nuremberg for trial, and, Commemorate forever those people who were killed by the Communist Party.

After many years of effort, on January 14, 2010, a Ukrainian court ruled that the Soviet leaders committed the crime of genocide in the famine that occurred in the country during the 1930s.

Because of having direct experience with the Soviet Communist Party, the Ukrainian people easily understand why Falun Gong is persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). When Falun Gong practitioners held activities to expose the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong in China, Ukrainian citizens expressed their shock and indignation towards the persecution and signed a petition in support of ending the persecution.

Practitioners from Kiev hold an activity downtown on July 20, 2008. They reenacted CCP torture methods occurring in labor camps to expose the CCP’s genocide of Falun Gong practitioners.

In Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, Falun Gong practitioners explain the facts about the persecution. People sign a petition in support of Falun Gong.

The people of Ukraine request that the perpetrators be brought to justice

On November 27, 2005, Falun Gong practitioners held a protest outside the Chinese embassy, calling on the CCP to stop persecuting Falun Gong. They also called for bringing the main culprits of the persecution to justice. Practitioners read a statement in Chinese and Russian. A practitioner by the name of Olik made an impromptu speech in Chinese, calling for an end to the persecution in China.

When a Ukrainian saw the reenactment of the CCP's torture methods, he then inquired about the details of Falun Gong, and said that he would read the book Zhuan Falun. The reenactment of the CCP's torture methods also caught the attention of many young people who came to observe. Many tourists took photos of the scene.

Afterwards, practitioners went to downtown Kiev and continued their activity in front of the city government building. They demonstrated the Falun Gong exercises and held a poster exhibition. They held a large banner that read, “Bring Jiang Zemin, Luo Gan, Liu Jing, and Zhou Yongkang to Justice.” A young woman asked for several more flyers after receiving a copy, and said that she would take them to a city in southern Ukraine.

A group of students saw the banner and read out loudly, “Falun Dafa, Truth – Compassion – Forbearance.” They asked for flyers from practitioners.

To celebrate the 8th anniversary of World Falun Dafa Day and the 15th year of Falun Dafa's public introduction, Falun Gong practitioners held celebration activities in Malinsky Park outside the CCP’s embassy in Kiev.

Besides demonstrating the Falun Gong exercises, they also performed songs and dances, read poetry and gave a piano performance. Also included in the activity was an exhibition of Falun Gong practitioners' artworks, which drew many Ukrainian visitors.

In addition, the practitioners exposed the CCP's brutal persecution of Falun Gong and the CCP’s atrocity of harvesting organs from living Falun Gong practitioners for profit. People were shocked after hearing about this unprecedented crime. Many expressed their indignation, signed a petition to stop this persecution, and called for bringing the perpetrators to justice.

For several years, Falun Gong practitioners in Kiev steadfastly displayed banners in front of the CCP embassy, demonstrated the exercises and introduced Falun Gong to passers-by. The continuous effort helped many people who worked nearby understand how the CCP persecutes Falun Gong. For those who did not know about Falun Gong before, most of them expressed indignation and shock at the CCP's atrocities. Many people said that the Ukraine during the era of Stalin was also like this, and asked what they could do to help.

If this exhibition were held in China, those artists might be killed by the CCP”

On January 12, 2009, Kiev Falun Gong practitioners held a Truth-Compassion-Forbearance Art Exhibition. The painting exhibition described the practice of Falun Gong which is based on Truth-Compassion-Forbearance, and exposed the CCP's large scale persecution, torture and killing of Falun Gong practitioners. The exhibition caught the attention of the local media and was covered in media reports.

One report stated that the exhibition portrayed not only the suffering of the practitioners, but also exemplified the qualities of steadfastness, honesty, kindness, and endurance. The news story said that this practice can enable people to achieve harmony and health.

The report also stated that if these paintings were exhibited in public in China, the painters would probably be murdered by the CCP. Outside of China, however, this painting exhibition has already been successfully held in over 200 places in over 40 countries.

The Ukrainian court understands the facts. The CCP’s lies come to light

In May 2010, because the CCP deceived the Ukrainian government by fabricating lies that Falun Gong practitioners would hold “dangerous” activities, a scheduled event on May 13 was canceled. The government also dispatched a large group of policemen to stop the Falun Gong practitioners from holding their activities against the persecution. At this point, the Ukrainian Falun Dafa Association appealed to a court, according to the law.

On February 17, 2011, the Ukrainian court ruled that the Falun Gong group is allowed to hold activities on the square downtown. After the ruling, a judge said, “From now on, you can freely submit your applications for holding your activities.”