Bulgaria: Supporting Falun Dafa by Signing Petitions on the 25th Anniversary of the Beijing Appeal

(Minghui.org) Falun Dafa practitioners in Bulgaria held events throughout the country on April 13, 2024, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the April 25 Peaceful Appeal in Beijing and to seek an immediate end to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) persecution of Falun Dafa. Many people signed petitions supporting the effort to end the ongoing persecution.

On April 25, 1999, about 10,000 practitioners went to the State Council Appeals Office near the Zhongnanhai Compound (the central government compound) to ask for the release of their fellow practitioners who’d been wrongfully arrested in Tianjin. It was the largest peaceful appeal ever held in China. However, the CCP misrepresented the gathering as an “attack” on the nation’s capital and launched the persecution of Falun Dafa.

Ever since then, practitioners in Bulgaria have been holding peaceful and rational activities—just like practitioners did in China 25 years ago. It is gratifying that more and more Bulgarians understand the facts about Falun Dafa and the persecution and often express their support for the practice. During the activities in Stara Zagora and Plovdiv in memory of the April 25 Peaceful Appeal, both locals and tourists wanted to understand what truly happened and were inquisitive about the practitioners’ cause. People came to find out more about the special date and signed two petitions—one to condemn the CCP’s human rights abuses and the other to ask the Bulgarian government to condemn the CCP’s forced organ harvesting that targets Falun Dafa practitioners in China.

Activity in Stara Zagora

Practitioners from Yambol, Chepelare, and Stara Zagora set up information booths and put up banners on the main street in Stara Zagora on April 13 to attract the attention of passersby.

Passersby in Stara Zagora on April 13 read the display boards at the practitioners’s event commemorating the April 25 Peaceful Appeal.

People learned about Falun Dafa.

Tourist: “I Can’t Help But I Can Sign My Name!”

Marietta (left) and her husband Kalcho (right) had their picture taken with a practitioner

Marietta, her husband Kalcho, and their son visited the practitioners’ booth and signed the petitions.

They are friends with a practitioner and already knew about the CCP’s persecution of Falun Dafa in China and its forced organ harvesting from living practitioners. They were impressed by the story of the practitioners’ peaceful appeal on April 25, 1999, and thought it was amazing that 10,000 people could be so well-organized through word-of-mouth alone.

A group of tourists had just gotten off the bus in Stara Zagora when one woman, after seeing the banner with pictures depicting violence against practitioners, wandered away from the group and approached the practitioners to find out more about the event.

“This is monstrous! I can’t help but I can sign my name! I have never heard anything about this!” she said after listening to the practitioner’s account of the persecution of Falun Dafa in China. She signed both petitions.

Bulgarians Support Practitioners Calling to End the Persecution

A professor from the University of Thrace talks to a practitioner.

A professor from the University of Thrace stopped by the booth in Stara Zagora to say hello and exchange a few words. He already had heard about the persecution and forced organ harvesting and supported the practitioners’ petitions at a previous informational event. He accepted another brochure from a practitioner hoping to find out the latest information.

Peter signs a petition.

Peter recalled seeing a film on forced organ harvesting in China seven or eight years ago and asked, “Weren’t you the organizers [who showed that film]? It was shocking, I remember.” And then he added, “We don’t know what has been happening in China since then. The media is giving us false information.” Without hesitation, he signed the practitioners’ petition to condemn the persecution.

Stoyan learns about Falun Dafa.

Stoyan came right over to sign the petition condemning the CCP. “I know enough,” he said. “I am interested in the topic. Thank you for the initiative! Good luck!”

Commemorative Activity in Plovdiv

Practitioners demonstrate the exercises in Plovdiv on April 13 to commemorate the 25^th anniversary of the April 25^th Peaceful Appeal.

People learned the facts about Falun Dafa and the persecution in China and support practitioners in calling for an end to the persecution.

Also on April 13, practitioners set up an information booth at the busiest spot on Main Street in front of the Kamenitsa Stairs in Plovdiv, the second largest city in Bulgaria. They told passersby the reason for the event and did the exercises. Many stopped to watch, and some took photos.

People Sign to Support and Share the Event on Social Media

Ernesto (first on the right) stopped at the booth with his children.

Ernesto from Cuba stopped by with his two children and was interested in the purpose of the event. After practitioners told him about the peaceful protest 25 years ago and the ensuing persecution, he was shocked by how terribly practitioners were treated. He signed both petitions and shared the event on social media.

Another passersby, Christina, read the materials the practitioners had on display in great detail, including official legal documents and personal accounts of persecution by practitioners in China. She said that she was “struck by the atrocities committed by the CCP” and signed the practitioners’ petitions condemning the persecution. She also said she would share the information about the persecution on social media, as she was in groups with people who support human rights.

“Good People Must Unite Against Evil!”

Vasko and his girlfriend signed the petition calling for an end to the persecution.

Vasko and his girlfriend learned about the CCP’s violence against innocent Falun Dafa practitioners in China, and how the peaceful appeal 25 years ago was deliberately misrepresented to provide an excuse for persecuting practitioners. They also heard about the forced organ harvesting from living practitioners, which upset and angered them, and they signed both petitions.

“Good people must unite against evil!” said Vasko.

Sylvia (second from right) and her mother talked to practitioners and learned the facts about Falun Dafa and the persecution in China.

Sylvia and her mother Violeta were visiting Plovdiv, when the Falun Dafa booth caught their attention, and Sylvia wanted to know what was going on.

When she found out about the persecution, she was shocked that the CCP would abuse its own citizens like that, especially when they’ve done nothing wrong. She and her mother signed both petitions and then asked for practitioners’ phone numbers so that they could learn the exercises after returning home.