3 April 2003
(Clearwisdom.net) One of our townsmen recently returned from Geneva, where he went to join the parade of protest against genocide and repression, which members of Falun Gong have been subjected to since June 1999 in China.
Citizen of Kramatorsk Igor Kulikov, together with practitioners of more then 40 countries worldwide, went to the square in front of Geneva's United Nations headquarters where the opening session of the Human Rights Commission was taking place. Over one thousand participants of the parade, which Igor and two other compatriots of ours joined, went there to protest and call upon the world to stop the persecution against Falun Gong practitioners in China.
Such meetings have been taking place in Geneva since 2000 and have already become a tradition. But this year, through the efforts of Igor Kulikov and hundreds of others, substantial progress was made in the debate concerning the persecution against Falun Dafa. The Swiss lawyer and the president of the organization "Track Impunity Always" announced plans to begin legal proceedings against former President of China Jiang Zemin. There was one stipulation though: "...if the former Chinese leader ever visits Switzerland again."
Local Falun Gong Practitioners Meet in St Petersburg
Although he has practiced Falun Gong since 1997, Igor has managed to save some money for the trip only this year. He obtained the teachings of Li Hongzhi through friends, after a scientist from St Petersburg held a Falun Gong seminar in Kramatorsk. Igor and a few others, who did not know one another, independently practiced Falun Gong, and met a year later at the seminar in St Petersburg where they were surprised to find out that they were not alone in Kramatorsk. From that moment on, citizens of Kramatorsk have met regularly in Pushkin Park, where they practice outdoors in any weather and in April of last year their organization was officially registered and obtained the status of a public organization.
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Igor Kulikov, without a doubt, belongs to the type of people who believe that their opinion should be heard worldwide...Currently an international coalition of lawyers has been established with the purpose of providing legal protection to the numerous victims of the repression in China. And now, because of the joint efforts of all practitioners including Igor Kulikov, former President of China Jiang Zemin, who sanctioned the persecution, will not be able to sleep soundly. As it was put by the Swiss lawyer Philip Grant, such a breach of international legal norms falls under "The UN Convention on the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide", signed and ratified by China in 1948. And, as the former leader on March 15th this year stepped down from his presidential position, he, in Mr Grant's words, "...will not be able to enjoy the prerogative status of immunity provided to the heads of state." At least Igor Kulikov can rest assured that his voice, raised against genocide, was heard and his efforts succeeded.
