August 5, 2008

OTTAWA - Amnesty International Canada plans to deliver petitions Wednesday to the Chinese embassy calling for the restoration of human rights in advance of the Olympic Games in Beijing.

"It's quite clear to us that the human-rights situation has deteriorated because of the Olympics," Amnesty spokeswoman Lindsay Mossman said. The petitions include more than 1,700 cards with personal messages under the banner Keep the Promise China, she said.

Mossman said 65,000 Canadians have also endorsed Amnesty's web-based campaign to free human-rights activists in China, including Canadian Husein Celil.

The Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong released an online guide last week also citing various human-rights violations by the Chinese government and persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.

The Canada Tibet Committee, along with other Canadian human-rights organizations, also plans to hold a rally Thursday in front of the Chinese embassy. An embassy spokesperson was not available for comment.

Chinese version available at http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2008/08/05/6357761-cp.html