April 16, 2005

Baltic News Service

(Clearwisdom.net) Supporters of the Falun Gong meditation [group] outlawed in China held a demonstration in Tammsaare Park in the Estonian capital of Tallinn on Saturday, presenting the teachings of Falun Gong.

The organizer of the demonstration, Andrei Teterin, told BNS the purpose of the rally was to draw attention to the persecution of Falun Gong followers in China.

About 15 persons, mostly from Finland and Latvia, took part in the protest that started at noon, Teterin said.

Apart from demonstrating against the persecution of Falun Gong followers, participants in the event presented the teachings of Falun Gong and handed out presentation materials to passers-by.

During the visit by China's then president Jiang Zemin to Estonia in the summer of 2002, Estonian police detained four foreign nationals in Tallinn for handing out leaflets about human rights abuses in China near the hotel where the Chinese leader was staying.

The Falun Gong [...] became a target of repression in 1999, when the Chinese authorities launched a new campaign against spiritual and religious groups, and Falun Gong was targeted [...].