Human Rights Torch to Tour NZ (LINK)
August 8th 2007 08:33
By Charlotte Cuthbertson
Epoch Times Wellington staff Aug 06, 2007
In a global move to quell human rights abuses in China before the Beijing Olympics in 2008, a human rights torch will be lit in Athens, Greece this Thursday.
The torch will travel through Europe and Australia before reaching New Zealand in January.
The Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong in China (CIPFG) –- a group comprised of more than 300 senators, MPs, religious leaders, democracy advocates, and human rights defenders –- have initiated the relay in response to concerns that the spiritual group of Falun Gong remains the most severely persecuted group by the communist regime.
In a statement, the CIPFG says the torch relay is “aimed at urging the international community to boycott the Olympic Games in Beijing as we believe hosting the Olympics in Beijing would be a travesty of the Olympic spirit and a direct violation of the Olympic Charter that promotes: ‘the establishment of a peaceful society concerned with preservation of human dignity’.”
The CIPFG was established in 2006 in response to evidence of state-sanctioned organ harvesting of Falun Gong (a spiritual discipline) in China.
Worst Human Rights in History
New Zealander and pioneering China democracy advocate Mr Pan Qin recently joined the coalition and says that as preparations for the Beijing Olympic Games are in full swing, the Chinese people are suffering the worst human rights abuses in their history.
“We must also point out that the International Olympic Committee and big multinational businesses that have huge vested interest in Beijing Olympic Games have betrayed the Olympic spirit and the civilized principle of human rights and human dignity.”
He said he hopes all New Zealanders will support the human rights torch relay when it comes to this country in January. “Everybody has the duty to say: ‘Olympics and genocide cannot coexist in China’.”
Pan will travel to Athens to represent New Zealand at the torch lighting ceremony this week and plans to accompany the torch on it’s entire journey around the world.
Human Rights “Not in Sporting Domain”
The International Olympic Committee awarded Beijing the Olympic Games in 2001 on the proviso it cleaned up its human rights record.
Many reports show that despite this directive, and pressure from numerous human rights organisations, the Chinese regime continues to tighten controls over media, religion, and freedom of speech.
The fifth and sixth Olympic Principles state respectively: “Any form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on grounds of race, religion, politics, gender or otherwise is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement,” and, “Belonging to the Olympic Movement requires compliance with the Olympic Charter and recognition by the IOC.”
New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) Secretary General Barry Maister said, in reaction to the Human Rights Torch Relay and questions on the human rights content of the Olympic Charter, “The issues you are raising are not in the sporting domain. They are political issues from groups with particular axes to grind and we say the politicians should respond to that and not us.”
He said talks of boycotts are a political decision and not something the NZOC would contemplate.
Maister said the reports from the UN, Amnesty International, and Reporters Without Borders are, “issues well beyond the scope of the NZOC – these are international political issues for politicians to decide.”
The Olympic organisation believes “strongly” that wherever the Olympic Games have been held, in their history, they “make places better”, said Maister.
Backing Evidence, UN
The evidence backing the coalition’s statements of persecution comes from a wide variety of organisations.
Reports by the UN Special Rapportuer say that 66 percent of all alleged torture victims in China are Falun Gong practitioners.
The 2006 UN report states: “The cruelty and brutality of these alleged acts of torture defy description.”
A US State Department annual report from 2006 states that Falun Gong adherents constitute at least half of the inmates in reeducation-through-labour camps.
Reporters Without Borders have relaunched their campaign on Beijing 2008 saying they will distribute their campaign ad all over the world “for one year, without any let-up.”
“It is China that has taken the games and the Olympic spirit hostage, with the IOC’s complicity,” their website states.
Congressman Calls for US Boycott
United States Congressman Dana Rohrabacher presented a resolution to the House of Representatives last week calling for a US boycott of the Olympics and compared the host nation to that of the 1936 Berlin games.
“… that the United States Government should take immediate steps to boycott the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing in August 2008 unless the Government of the People’s Republic of China stops engaging in serious human rights abuses against its citizens and stops supporting serious human rights abuses by the Governments of Sudan, Burma, and North Korea against their citizens.”
Call to NZ Athletes
New Zealand International human rights lawyer Heval Hylan joins the call for New Zealand athletes to boycott Beijing.
“Holding the Olympics in China is really an injustice to the millions of people who have suffered under the Chinese regime. I believe that as a sports person it is a betrayal of the Olympic principles.”
Hylan said that China became part of the Convention Against Torture in 1988.
“Since then, they have been given a green light to practice torture, especially against the Falun Gong people.”
The CIPFG said, “Time and time again the world has witnessed the destructive attack on humanity and world safety by the communist regime. We can only hope that our efforts will right this terrible wrong before August 2008, for the protection of the Chinese people, for the integrity of the Olympic spirit and for the championing of human dignity.”
The Global Human Rights Torch will be lit in a ceremony at Syntagma Square, Athens on August 9, 2007 and can be followed on the website www.cipfg.org
Really Long Link
Epoch Times Wellington staff Aug 06, 2007
In a global move to quell human rights abuses in China before the Beijing Olympics in 2008, a human rights torch will be lit in Athens, Greece this Thursday.
The torch will travel through Europe and Australia before reaching New Zealand in January.
The Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong in China (CIPFG) –- a group comprised of more than 300 senators, MPs, religious leaders, democracy advocates, and human rights defenders –- have initiated the relay in response to concerns that the spiritual group of Falun Gong remains the most severely persecuted group by the communist regime.
In a statement, the CIPFG says the torch relay is “aimed at urging the international community to boycott the Olympic Games in Beijing as we believe hosting the Olympics in Beijing would be a travesty of the Olympic spirit and a direct violation of the Olympic Charter that promotes: ‘the establishment of a peaceful society concerned with preservation of human dignity’.”
The CIPFG was established in 2006 in response to evidence of state-sanctioned organ harvesting of Falun Gong (a spiritual discipline) in China.
Worst Human Rights in History
New Zealander and pioneering China democracy advocate Mr Pan Qin recently joined the coalition and says that as preparations for the Beijing Olympic Games are in full swing, the Chinese people are suffering the worst human rights abuses in their history.
“We must also point out that the International Olympic Committee and big multinational businesses that have huge vested interest in Beijing Olympic Games have betrayed the Olympic spirit and the civilized principle of human rights and human dignity.”
He said he hopes all New Zealanders will support the human rights torch relay when it comes to this country in January. “Everybody has the duty to say: ‘Olympics and genocide cannot coexist in China’.”
Pan will travel to Athens to represent New Zealand at the torch lighting ceremony this week and plans to accompany the torch on it’s entire journey around the world.
Human Rights “Not in Sporting Domain”
The International Olympic Committee awarded Beijing the Olympic Games in 2001 on the proviso it cleaned up its human rights record.
Many reports show that despite this directive, and pressure from numerous human rights organisations, the Chinese regime continues to tighten controls over media, religion, and freedom of speech.
The fifth and sixth Olympic Principles state respectively: “Any form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on grounds of race, religion, politics, gender or otherwise is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement,” and, “Belonging to the Olympic Movement requires compliance with the Olympic Charter and recognition by the IOC.”
New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) Secretary General Barry Maister said, in reaction to the Human Rights Torch Relay and questions on the human rights content of the Olympic Charter, “The issues you are raising are not in the sporting domain. They are political issues from groups with particular axes to grind and we say the politicians should respond to that and not us.”
He said talks of boycotts are a political decision and not something the NZOC would contemplate.
Maister said the reports from the UN, Amnesty International, and Reporters Without Borders are, “issues well beyond the scope of the NZOC – these are international political issues for politicians to decide.”
The Olympic organisation believes “strongly” that wherever the Olympic Games have been held, in their history, they “make places better”, said Maister.
Backing Evidence, UN
The evidence backing the coalition’s statements of persecution comes from a wide variety of organisations.
Reports by the UN Special Rapportuer say that 66 percent of all alleged torture victims in China are Falun Gong practitioners.
The 2006 UN report states: “The cruelty and brutality of these alleged acts of torture defy description.”
A US State Department annual report from 2006 states that Falun Gong adherents constitute at least half of the inmates in reeducation-through-labour camps.
Reporters Without Borders have relaunched their campaign on Beijing 2008 saying they will distribute their campaign ad all over the world “for one year, without any let-up.”
“It is China that has taken the games and the Olympic spirit hostage, with the IOC’s complicity,” their website states.
Congressman Calls for US Boycott
United States Congressman Dana Rohrabacher presented a resolution to the House of Representatives last week calling for a US boycott of the Olympics and compared the host nation to that of the 1936 Berlin games.
“… that the United States Government should take immediate steps to boycott the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing in August 2008 unless the Government of the People’s Republic of China stops engaging in serious human rights abuses against its citizens and stops supporting serious human rights abuses by the Governments of Sudan, Burma, and North Korea against their citizens.”
Call to NZ Athletes
New Zealand International human rights lawyer Heval Hylan joins the call for New Zealand athletes to boycott Beijing.
“Holding the Olympics in China is really an injustice to the millions of people who have suffered under the Chinese regime. I believe that as a sports person it is a betrayal of the Olympic principles.”
Hylan said that China became part of the Convention Against Torture in 1988.
“Since then, they have been given a green light to practice torture, especially against the Falun Gong people.”
The CIPFG said, “Time and time again the world has witnessed the destructive attack on humanity and world safety by the communist regime. We can only hope that our efforts will right this terrible wrong before August 2008, for the protection of the Chinese people, for the integrity of the Olympic spirit and for the championing of human dignity.”
The Global Human Rights Torch will be lit in a ceremony at Syntagma Square, Athens on August 9, 2007 and can be followed on the website www.cipfg.org
Really Long Link
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