(Clearwisdom.net)

1 May 2003

Dr. Surakiart Sathirathai
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Kingdom of Thailand
Sri Ayudhya Rd
Bangkok 10400
THAILAND

Your Excellency,

Request for Urgent Intervention

I am writing to draw your attention to the arrest, without explanation, in Bangkok of a completely peaceful and law-abiding European Falun Gong practitioner, Mrs. Pirjo Svensson. We hope that you can urgently contact the relevant authorities in Thailand to seek the immediate release of Mrs. Svensson. Mrs. Pirjo Svensson was accompanying her husband who is currently working in Bangkok, Thailand. At 8:00 am on 29/4/03, 6 immigration/police officers searched her home and took away her Falun Gong books and materials. This is shocking as the human rights of Falun Gong practitioners are supposedly protected by the Thai constitution, which enshrines the freedom of belief and expression.

She was then taken to an immigration office together with her husband. At the time of writing this, they are not allowed to go home or anywhere else. Thus far she has not received any explanation regarding which specific Thai law she has breached. This is of great concern to us.

The arrest coincided with the official visit of the Chinese Premier to Bangkok. Mrs. Svensson was later told that she was going to be deported because she was suspected -- without any proof or explanation -- for organizing something that would harm the relationship between China and Thailand. The picture of the cause of the incident now starts to emerge -- the Chinese regime appears to have exerted pressure on the Thai authorities on the occasion of the Chinese official visit to suppress Falun Gong, which the authoritarian regime has viciously persecuted in the past years because of fear of any independent popular groups.

The arrest and planned deportation of Mrs. Svensson is a violation of the fundamental human rights of a completely peaceful and law-abiding European citizen. Falun Gong has been completely peaceful and Mrs. Svensson has not breached any law during her current or previous stay in Thailand.

The SARS epidemic has shown how little regard the Chinese regime puts on human life and how much they want to protect their power. We hope that the Thai government will not believe in the lies of the Chinese regime and will stand up for the freedom of belief of people throughout the world.

We respectfully urge you to pay immediate attention to the arrest and planned deportation of Mrs. Svensson and do everything possible to ensure the immediate restoration of her freedom, which will also be important for the international reputation of Thailand as a country that respects basic freedoms and human rights.

Yours sincerely

Peter Jauhal

Chairman