Letter to Consul General of Argentina
Embajador Héctor Marcos Timerman
CONSUL GENERAL
Consulate General of Argentina
12 West 56th Street,
New York, NY 10019
Honorable Mr. Ambassador:
I am writing to you today on behalf of Friends of Falun Gong, USA (FoFG). FoFG is a non-profit human rights organization that was founded in 2000 by concerned Americans to help raise awareness about and stop the brutal persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China.
Falun Gong is a spiritual practice for mind and body that originated in China and is now practiced in over 60 countries. It is comprised of gentle exercises, and teachings based on the principles of truth, compassion, and tolerance. In 1999, then-Chinese dictator Jiang Zemin outlawed the practice and began a systematic crackdown aimed at forcing Falun Gong practitioners to give up their beliefs. For over five years hundreds of thousands of practitioners have been unlawfully imprisoned, brutally tortured, sent to forced labor camps, psychiatric hospitals and brainwashing centers, and thousands killed.
This letter is in reference to eyewitness accounts of brutality perpetrated against Falun Gong practitioners in your country. Reports indicate that on Tuesday, November 16th, over thirty Chinese men who appeared to be working with Argentina’s Chinese embassy beat Falun Gong practitioners and tore their banners with knives. The beating took place outside the Hilton Hotel where Chinese leader Hu Jintao and his delegation were visiting. Further, Argentine police harassed and detained a number of Falun Gong practitioners for demonstrating outside the Chinese embassy.
Following these incidents, Argentine media reported that Falun Gong practitioners were responsible for placing bombs in banks during Mr. Hu’s visit, resulting in several deaths. After bearing five years of horrific brutality with steadfast nonviolence, the idea that practitioners would have participated in terrorist acts is an obvious, and libelous, fallacy. The effort by Chinese agents to bribe media, extort and intimidate businesses and governments and beat innocent people on foreign soil is part of a documented, systematic pattern of repression that has extended well beyond China’s borders for five years. This widespread repression has prompted the U.S. House of Representatives to twice pass unanimous resolutions condemning such action and calling for an immediate end to the persecution of Falun Gong.
Freedom-loving nations around the world have shown public support for the rights of Falun Gong practitioners and continue to denounce the brutal persecution that is occurring in China today. Friends of Falun Gong USA respectfully calls upon Argentina to deny China’s attempts to
orchestrate brutality and slander on Argentine soil against people who practice Falun Gong. Furthermore, we hope that you will join the rest of the free world in denouncing this brutal persecution.
Thank you for your time and attention.
Sincerely,
Alan Adler
Executive Director
Friends of Falun Gong USA
cc:
CONSUL GENERAL ADJUNTO,
Ministro Alejandro Bertolo
CONSUL GENERAL ADJUNTO,
Consejero Fernando Cervetto
Sección Prensa y Relaciones Institucionales
CONSUL GENERAL ADJUNTO,
Consejero Luis Pablo María Beltramino
Seccion Cultural y Educativa
CONSUL ADJUNTO,
Secretario de 1ra. Ciro Ciliberto Infante
Asuntos Consulares, Documentación y Promoción de la Solidaridad con Argentina
CONSUL ADJUNTO,
Secretario de 1ra. Mario Javier Agustín Oyarzabal
Coordinación general y asuntos especiales
CONSUL ADJUNTO,
Secretario de 1ra. Carlos Alejandro Poffo
Sección económica y Comercial