Support Human Rights in China - Open Letter to Prime Minister of Canada Jean Chretien
With the annual United Nation Human Rights
Commission approaching, We would like to ask for your support by
signing this open letter encouraging Canadian government to put forward
a resolution censuring China for the violation of basic human rights
of it's own citizens.
With all our effort, hope the human rights
situation in China will improve. Please sign by replying to this
account and provide with your organization's name.
Thank you very much for your support.
A group of world citizens concerning
China's Human Rights
email: worldcitizensgroup@yahoo.com contact person: Charles Mann
The following is the Open Letter to the
Prime Minister
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February 21, 2002
The Right Honorable Jean Chrétien, Prime
Minister of Canada
309-S, Center Block House of Commons Ottawa K1A 0A6 Fax: (613) 941-6900 E-Mail: pm@pm.gc.ca
Dear Prime Minister,
We, the undersigned organizations from
across Canada, are writing to express our concern over human rights
abuses in China and to urge the Canadian government to put forward a
resolution at the upcoming United Nations Commission for Human Rights
in Geneva this March, which condemns these abuses.
We are concerned with continued reports
that many religious and spiritual groups, and their members, are being
persecuted for their beliefs; Christians, Roman Catholics,
Tibetans, Falun Gong to name but a few. The systematic persecution of
Falun Gong is a well-documented example of the severity that this
repression of fundamental freedoms can reach under the current regime
in China.
Human Rights Watch mentioned in a recent
report that, “The Chinese government has used increasingly violent
tactics as Falun Gong followers have mounted peaceful demonstrations
against the crackdown. It has also used administrative detention
procedures to hold followers in reeducation camps and psychiatric
facilities. The Chinese judiciary has reinterpreted existing law to
facilitate arrests of Falun Gong supporters.”
Amnesty International stated that, in
regards to the Falun Gong, and religious groups in China “The human
rights violations appear in many forms: arbitrary arrests and
confinements, torture, unlawful processes, long term confinements
without conviction or hearing, administrative penalties without a
process of law, and frequently applied death penalty [… ] the number
of Falun Gong practitioners
that have died in prison has risen exponentially from 124 in the beginning of 2001 to more than 350 now. Most of the adherents have collapsed from injuries inflicted by severe torture.”
China's jailing of a Hong Kong businessman
for smuggling Bibles to the mainland has sparked deep worry among
Christian groups in the territory with close links to their brethren
across the border.
Furthermore, many other third-party
organizations have documented the unlawful detention, torture,
psychiatric mistreatment, and even murder of innocent and peaceful
people who only wish to uphold their respective beliefs or faiths, and
have the right to practice them.
We believe that the Canadian government is
indeed well-informed regarding the extent of theses abuses
which violate international treaties China has signed, as well as her own laws and constitution. It is now time for our government to take a clear and public action regarding these violations of fundamental human rights by the Chinese government against its citizens and world citizens.
The United States puts forward a motion
censuring China every year at the UNCHR. This year, they will
not be participating in the meeting. We hope that Canada - with its commitment to human rights -will take the lead on this matter, demonstrating greater international leadership in this area, and not let these tragedies against humanity go unaddressed. They have certainly not gone unnoticed.
We hereby ask that Canada initiate a
resolution at the UNCHR in March 2002, censuring China for the gross
violation of basic human rights.
Let this year’s UNCHR meeting in Geneva
herald in a new chapter for basic freedoms in China.
Let Canada play her role as a great leader
for a peaceful, tolerant, and harmonious world, and let other
countries follow her lead in taking a great step forward to ensure such a world, one we can be proud of passing on to future generations - of all peoples.
Sincerely,
>>> Please put here the name of Your Organization <<<
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