(Clearwisdom.net) Ethiopia is located at the Horn of Africa and has a population of approximately 85 million. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa. Its capital Addis Ababa is the world's third highest capital, and has the largest open-air market, known as the Mercato, in all africa. The earliest records of Ethiopia appear in ancient Egypt. Ethiopia is the only African country by having its own calendar system, and retaining its own language and script. Falun Dafa, also known as Falun Gong, has been introduced to this African country.
Master Li Hongzhi's Book Falun Gong in the Amharic Language Is Published; Falun Dafa Association of Ethiopia Established
In March 2006, the Falun Dafa Association of Ethiopia was officially established after being approved by the Ethiopian government. Practitioners have translated Master Li's book Falun Gong into the Amharic language, the official language of Ethiopia. More and more people there have started learning and practicing Falun Gong.
Cultivation Experience Sharing Is Conducive to Improvement
The Ethiopian Falun Dafa Association hosted the First Ethiopian Falun Dafa Cultivation Experience Sharing Conference on September 15, 2007 in Addis Ababa. It was the second Fa conference in Africa. Ethiopia is a country of over 70 regions and ethnic groups, therefore practitioners from different cultures and languages came together for this great event.
The First Ethiopian Falun Dafa Cultivation Experience Sharing Conference was held in Addis Ababa
Falun Gong practitioners who participated in the conference
Practitioners in Ethiopia held an experience sharing conference and a large group exercise demonstration in March 2008 in Metu. 238 practitioners participated in the group exercise demo on the Metu Soccer Field while more than 1,000 local residents watched with great interest. The conference was held in a local auditorium that same evening.
Teaching the Falun Gong Exercises and Transmitting Peaceful and Beautiful Messages
The owner of a fitness center in Adis Ababa invited practitioners to give a demonstration of the five sets of exercises in the fitness center in August 2004. In addition, practitioners were invited to participate in an annual exhibition by a martial arts school. The activity was held in a well-known concert hall. The practitioners demonstrated the exercises and distributed flyers to approximately one thousand people.
On September 8, 2007, three days before the Ethiopian Millennium, local Falun Gong practitioners were invited to demonstrate the Falun Gong exercises at Infonet University in Addis Abeba. They were welcomed with warm applause by the local people. Several practitioners demonstrated the five sets of exercises to the music of "Pudu". After the event, every audience members received a Falun Gong flyer.
Human Rights Organization APAP Resolution: Condemn the Persecution of Falun Gong
On July 20, 1999, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched a brutal persecution of Falun Gong. More than 3,400 practitioners are confirmed to have died as a result of the persecution. Tens of thousands of practitioners have been illegally detained in prisons and forced labor camps, thousands of practitioners have been injected with drugs that damage their central nervous system, and countless practitioners have been incarcerated in brainwashing facilities or become homeless to avoid the persecuton. Many forced labor camps have committed the crime of harvesting organs from living Falun Gong practitioners.
Ethiopia's human rights organization APAP passed a resolution condemning the Chinese Communist regime's persecution of Falun Gong
Over the past eleven years, practitioners throughout the world have been speaking out about Falun Gong and exposing the CCP's crimes, in a tireless effort to end the persecution. People of different countries have gradually understood the true situation in China. The international community has condemned the CCP's cruel and inhuman persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. On March 15, 2005, Ethiopia's human rights organization, Action Professionals' Association for the People (APAP) passed a resolution condemning the persecution of Falun Gong. The resolution called on the CCP to put an immediate end to the killings, the practice of torturing Falun Gong practitioners, and immediately release all illegally detained Falun Gong practitioners. APAP called on the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) to make an official statement to condemn the persecution and urge the CCP to stop the persecution. The resolution was also submitted to Ms. Louise Arbour, High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mr. Meles Zenawi, Prime Minister of Ethiopia, and Mr. Seyoum Mesfin, Foreign Minister of Ethiopia.
Hope Africa Conducts an Interview with Falun Gong Practitioner
Hope Africa, a newspaper that circulates in Europe and Africa, published an interview with a Falun Gong practitioner in its fifth issue in 2005. The article is entitled, "What is Falun Gong?" The reporter conducted an interview with 37-year-old Yonas Taddesse Biru, who was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Mr. Biru said in the interview that through practicing Falun Gong, practitioners gradually learn to put others first and discard selfish attachments. They come to enjoy incredible health and great energy in their daily lives. The world becomes a different place. This is the power of living in tune with the nature of the cosmos – the power of returning to one's original, true self. Mr. Biru said that everyone who truly practices Falun Gong will experience great health improvements, a harmonious and peaceful environment and will be able to handle conflicts in a peaceful way. He sincerely said, “My fellow Africans, according to my personal positive experience, I recommend that you take a close look at this very beautiful cultivation way and benefit from it.
“Also, please say 'no' to the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China. Your help will change the tragic fate of countless people, and your kindness will stop the persecution against Falun Gong practitioners. Your stepping forward is not only for the people of China, but also to protect the principles of human decency and goodness that our very existence relies upon, and in this way encourage the establishment of true and lasting peace.”
