(Clearwisdom.net) Mr. Simon Coveney, a member of Irish Parliament ("TD"), and also a member of European Parliament, published a statement on this website on July 20, seven years after the persecution against Falun Gong began. He condemned the organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners and said that this was a crime against humanity. He also called on the Irish government to publicly condemn the crime. Below is the full statement from his website.

Mr. Simon Coveney, Member of Irish Parliament, Member of European Parliament

July 20, 2006

Fine Gael MEP Simon Coveney TD is calling on the Irish Government, and other administrations, to publicly condemn the organ harvesting of Chinese people. Today is the seventh anniversary of the persecution of Falun Gong Practitioners.

Coveney's comments come in the wake of a recent report confirming allegations that Falun Gong Practitioners and other prisoners in China have had their organs removed in a deliberate and systematic way for resale to others awaiting transplants.

On 6 July, David Kilgour, former Secretary of State (Asia-Pacific) for Canada and David Matas, international human rights lawyer, released their report into allegations of organ harvesting on Falun Gong Practitioners. The report is the result of a two-month independent investigation including interviews with witnesses, research into websites of transplantation centres and transcripts of telephone inquiries.

Coveney, who is EPP-ED spokesman for human rights, met with David Kilgour last week in the European Parliament to discuss the issue.

He has since tabled parliamentary questions to the European Council and Commission along with his colleagues Edward McMillan-Scott MEP, Vice President of the European Parliament, and Charles Tannock MEP, Vice Chair of the Human Rights Committee.

The three MEPs have also written to the Chinese Ambassador in Brussels to ask him to respond to the aforementioned report's findings. Coveney plans to hold a hearing on illicit organ harvesting of Chinese people in the European Parliament, in September.

Speaking today Coveney said: "Organ harvesting of unwilling donors is a crime against humanity. The investigation was carried out by two reputable individuals who have no affiliation with Falun Gong. Their findings are damning and almost incredulous. The source of 41,000 transplants for the six year period from 2000 to 2005 cannot be explained in China.

"Apart from any moves I am pursuing on this issue in Europe, I would also call on the Irish Government today, the seventh anniversary of the persecution of Falun Gong, to publicly condemn the organ harvesting of these Practitioners."