(Minghui.org) Practitioners held a rally at Dam Square in Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands, on September 23, 2023, to tell people about Falun Dafa and expose the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) crimes of persecution of this spiritual discipline.
Hans Noot, the Deputy Chairman of Human Rights Without Frontiers Belgium gave a speech during the rally. He started by listing some of the torture methods the CCP has used to persecute Falun Dafa practitioners.
Many practitioners in China are victims of such torture. One practitioner who managed to escape China described how she was persecuted.
Falun Dafa practitioners from many European countries participated in the rally. The Tian Guo Marching Band played and drummers in bright yellow costumes attracted people’s attention as they stopped to listen to the speeches and talk with practitioners. Many signed the petition to end the persecution.
https://www.minghui.org/mh/article_images/2023-9-26-amsterdam-dam-sq-01.jpgFalun Dafa practitioners held a rally at Dam Square in Amsterdam on September 23, 2023.
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https://www.minghui.org/mh/article_images/2023-9-26-amsterdam-dam-sq-04.jpgPeople talked with practitioners to learn about Falun Dafa.
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https://www.minghui.org/mh/article_images/2023-9-26-amsterdam-dam-sq-07.jpgPeople sign the petition demanding the CCP stop persecuting practitioners and harvesting their organs.
Human Rights Organization Deputy Chairman Condemns the Persecution
Mr. Hans Noot, Deputy Chairman of Human Rights Without Borders, and works with the Seminaries and Institutes of Religions, said that he first heard about the persecution of Falun Dafa 24 years ago.
https://www.minghui.org/mh/article_images/2023-9-26-amsterdam-dam-sq-08.jpgMr. Hans Noot addressed the rally and said he supports practitioners and hopes he can help all those who adhere to the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.
Mr. Noot said he admired Falun Dafa’s values, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, and said they are basic human principles and teach people to treat others kindly. He praised practitioners who he said rectified themselves, and improve society.
He couldn’t understand why the CCP persecuted Falun Dafa practitioners. He said that the persecution was dreadful and shouldn’t happen to those who practice Falun Dafa. He emphasized that freedom of belief and assembly were core values of our society and we would live like animals if we lost them.
Mr. Noot said he first heard of the CCP’s organ harvesting from Falun Dafa practitioners at the European Union in 2015. He was stunned and saddened when he learned the CCP harvests organs from practitioners while they are alive.
He couldn’t understand how people could do such things or why doctors were involved. He said that the doctors who harvested organs while the person was still alive were morbid.
Mr. Noot said that people who upheld the values of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance were beneficial to the world. He said that Chinese people should be proud of being Chinese because the CCP commits these crimes, not Chinese people.
Amnesty International Representative: The Persecution Should End Immediately
A representative from Amnesty International addressed the rally and said the persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners should end immediately. She demanded the CCP regime free all those who safeguard their freedom of belief and speech.
https://www.minghui.org/mh/article_images/2023-9-26-amsterdam-dam-sq-09.jpgA representative of Amnesty International made a speech at the rally. She hoped that the rampant persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners end as soon as possible.
She said that numerous Falun Gong practitioners were arbitrarily imprisoned and forced to give up their belief by means of torture and other ill-treatments and that even those who helped them, such as human rights lawyers, were persecuted by the CCP. Amnesty International joined the efforts to rescue those people.
Dutch Lady Hopes More People Will Learn the Truth
Tanja Zondervan lives in the Netherlands and said she was shocked when she first heard the CCP harvests organs from people during an event in the summer of 2019. That moment her life changed, and she began letting people know about the CCP’s crimes.
Ms. Zondervan helped distribute fliers during the rally on September 23. After she heard about organ harvesting, she contacted Falun Dafa practitioners to learn more. She also set up a website and created accounts on social media to let more people know about the CCP’s crimes.
She has been doing this almost every day for nearly four years. She said organ harvesting is the most evil thing that ever happened to human beings. She was surprised to learn that doctors participate in killing people.
She wants Western people to know about this and is concerned this might happen in Western countries if these crimes are not stopped.
Ms. Zondervan attends Falun Dafa activities to support practitioners and she lets people know about the events. She said she does this for Chinese people because these horrible things might happen to other Chinese people, not just to Falun Dafa practitioners.
Some Chinese people refused to take the materials when she distributed them in Chinatown. She sincerely hopes that Chinese people will be open-minded and learn what is happening in China.
Ms. Zondervan said the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance taught by Falun Dafa are perfect and should be the principles people live by every day. These principles resonated with her as a Christian. She said that if everyone lived by these principles, people wouldn’t argue there would be no wars or genocide and people would respect each other regardless of their beliefs or race.
Scientist Hopes to Help Practitioners
Pedro Vicente is a Portuguese pharmaceutical scientist who works in Belgium. He happened to be in Holland for the weekend. When he noticed the rally he wanted to learn about the persecution.
Mr. Vicente explained that this was the first time he heard of Falun Dafa, and he was shocked when he was told about organ harvesting. He said practitioners did a good thing in telling people about the persecution. He said that it was unfortunate that people couldn’t have the freedom to meditate or practice their spiritual beliefs even in the 21st century.
He signed the petition to end the persecution. He hoped that more people would learn about this and help Falun Gong practitioners on the other side of the world. He would share with more people about what he had learned today.
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Category: Rallies & Protests
