(Minghui.org) Falun Dafa practitioners from around the Netherlands held an information day event commemorating World Human Rights Day at Dam Square in Amsterdam on December 10, 2023. 

Dam Square is the central square of the city and is surrounded by many landmarks such as the Dutch Royal Palace, the Nieuwe Kerk, and the National Monument. Practitioners set up a booth to inform passersby about the 24-year-long human rights violations committed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) against practitioners in China. 

Falun Gong practitioners from all over the Netherlands held an information day event at Dam Square in Amsterdam on December 10, 2023, World Human Rights Day.

Passersby sign a petition requesting the Dutch Government condemn the CCP’s forced organ harvesting crimes.

Practitioners demonstrated the exercises and set up display boards and banners to show people the reality of the persecution that practitioners of this peaceful meditation discipline have been subjected to in China since 1999, including forced organ harvesting. 

Many passersby listened to practitioners explain the situation in China and signed a petition addressed to the Dutch Government, asking it to condemn the CCP’s forced organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners and stand in solidarity with practitioners around the world. 

Passerby: “The persecution infringes on people’s basic rights” 

Bafrin was appalled by the CCP’s human rights atrocities and its brutalities against innocent Chinese citizens who practice their beliefs. “It infringes on people’s basic right to be in charge of their thoughts. Even that is being taken away from them. That is unacceptable!" she said. 

Bafrin said Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is very humane and beautiful.

When she heard about the CCP’s lucrative organ trade based on the forced extraction of organs from living practitioners, Bafrin said that the perpetrators must take responsibility for their actions. “It's a crime against humanity, against people's autonomy. Organ donation should be voluntary,” she said. “I think [the perpetrators] should be prosecuted.”

She also said that the persecution should absolutely be stopped and that such persecution “really shouldn’t happen.” 

At the same time, she was impressed by practitioners’ dedication to their spiritual teachings despite the danger in China and said she believed that such a spiritual teaching should be encouraged among people. 

“Surely [Falun Gong] gives people peace of mind, and then they can also accept a lot of things in life if you can have that much peace, inner peace,” she said. “So why should [the Chinese regime] prohibit that? On the contrary, it should encourage people to keep doing that anyway, and not prohibit it.”

The values that are core to the teachings also left a positive impression on Bafrin—the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. “I think it's great. I think it's very humane. It's essential. It's beautiful,” she said. 

Entrepreneur: “The international community has turned a blind eye to the CCP” 

Stephan van Wel, an entrepreneur and businessman, was already familiar with how the CCP persecutes Falun Gong in China. He signed the petition and said that he did it out of compassion and to protest against the international community turning a blind eye.

Stephan van Wel

He said it was terrible to see how the CCP has been suppressing this peaceful meditation discipline for 24 years. He said it feels like the international community has not done enough against the CCP’s atrocities, including its persecution of Falun Gong and its infiltration into other countries. “Communism has evolved and it is using digital surveillance and its economic blackmail it imposes on the world,” van Wel said.

He said Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance are great values and give people a lot of inner strength, which the CCP perceives as a threat to its power.

IT Director: “The values of Falun Dafa are aligned with what I feel”

Osman Akman, an IT director, visited the practitioners’ booth alongside his girlfriend, Kubra Yelek. He knew of the CCP’s draconian methods against its own citizens, but this was the first time that he had heard about the persecution of Falun Dafa. 

Osman and his girlfriend Kubra

“I already knew that there’s a great firewall in China, so people have trouble getting information from outside,” said Osman.“So people already have trouble with the media, freedom, and free speech.” 

After learning about the persecution that practitioners suffer in China, Osman expressed grave concern for their well-being. “This [persecution] makes me feel like it is not real,” he said, “but it is happening, and it’s worrisome. I’m so sorry for the Chinese people. Especially from the freedom perspective, they are having a lot of trouble. They don’t have freedom; they are living in a dictatorship. It’s worrying.” 

Osman agreed with the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. “[Falun Gong] is peaceful, and the values of Falun Dafa are aligned with what I feel in general. I’m also that kind of person. It’s aligned with me and with my feelings,” he said. 

Kubra, a Pilates instructor, said that the three principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance are “natural and normal” to her, and that more people should live based on these values. 

Both Osman and Kubra signed the petition. Before the couple left, Osman said that he wished the Chinese people real peace, freedom, and happy lives. 

Osman told practitioners that he would visit the Falun Dafa website and try out the practice for himself. 

Pharmacist: “There is a power to the exercises” 

Ashlea Sutherland, a pharmacist from the United Kingdom, signed the petition because she believed the persecution of Falun Gong is a gross denial of people’s rights to explore their true self.

Ashlea Sutherland

She believed that everybody should be entitled to be their authentic self, to follow a religion, way of life, or practice. “I just don't think that a government, a country, or a political party has the right to tell people how to live, apart from the basic fundamental rule of law,” Ashlea said.

She was intrigued by the exercise demonstrations. “The meditation is on a different level,” she said. “There is a power to it, a power that brings a person inner peace. It gives you peace and calm by just watching, without even being involved. I would like to try this myself.”