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Calgary, Canada: Practitioners Appeal For Justice on International Human Rights Day (Photos)

Dec. 14, 2003 |   By a Calgary Falun Gong practitioner

(Clearwisdom.net) On December 10, International Human Rights Day, practitioners held a candlelight vigil in front of the Chinese Consulate in Calgary to protest the Jiang regime's persecution of Falun Gong and to commemorate the 827 practitioners who had died for their belief in "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance."

At 5pm, practitioners began to arrive and set up banners reading "International Human Rights", "Freedom of Belief is an Inalienable Human Right", "Falun Dafa, Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance", "Stop the Persecution and Reinstate Falun Dafa's Reputation", and "Bring Jiang Zemin to Justice." Calgary is very cold in winter - -the temperature was below minus 10oCelsius. Despite the harsh weather, practitioners sent righteous thoughts and held the candlelight vigil as scheduled. On this special day, they again appealed to the world and requested the Chinese authorities to stop the unprecedented brutal persecution of Falun Gong.

Falun Gong practitioners hold Candlelight Vigil in front of the Chinese Consulate at Calgary Peaceful protest Clarifying the truth about Falun Gong to a policeman

The practitioners' peaceful protest attracted media attention, as AATV and A-Channel came to cover the event.

Later, a policeman came to the vigil. He said that he had come at the request of the Chinese Consulate. However, he said: "I don't believe that Falun Gong practitioners' events would disgrace the Chinese Consulate." He also expressed his sympathy to the Falun Gong practitioners. Taking this opportunity, the practitioners told him that the Consulate had installed two video cameras outside to monitor Falun Gong practitioners, and that one practitioner had been followed by a Chinese agent. The policeman asked the practitioners to report the situation to the city government.

Earlier the same day there was a meeting on human rights at the University of Calgary to mark International Human Rights Day. Practitioners went to the university to clarify truth about the persecution against Falun Gong to lawyers and professors who were attending this meeting and received the attendees' support.