Iceland Welcomes Both Wen Jiabao and Falun Gong
Falun Gong practitioners hold banners in protest and welcome on April 20. (minghui.org)
When Iceland hosted the head of the Chinese Communist Party a decade ago, the government was intent on keeping Falun Gong practitioners away. Jiang Zemin, the Party chief, had initiated a persecution against the popular spiritual practice in 1999, and the Icelandic government cooperated with his demands to clamp down on protests during his June 2002 visit.
A decade later, things are rather different. As Wen Jiabao, the Chinese premier, visited April 20-22, practitioners were given free passage, the Wen delegation saw their signs, and a high-ranking police officer even stood with the demonstrators.
“Icelandic people are extremely supportive, in all levels of society,” Thórdís Hauksdóttir, a Falun Gong practitioner in Iceland, wrote in an email about the protests on April 21, when Wen met with the Icelandic Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, Minister of Foreign Affairs Össur Skarphéðinsson, and other top officials.
A high-ranking police official facilitated the Falun Gong protest, according to Hauksdóttir, “doing everything in his power so that Wen Jiabao and the Chinese officials with him would see our message.”
One main banner practitioners held read “Bring to justice Jiang Zemin and his gang for persecuting Falun Gong.” Another said simply “Welcome Wen Jiabao.” Both were in English and Chinese.
Wen undoubtedly saw the banners, according to another Falun Gong practitioner, Hong Gu, who saw him and the delegation see the banners, according to Hauksdóttir.
The Foreign Minister Össur Skarphéðinsson in May 2011 apologized to Falun Gong practitioners for the Icelandic government’s actions in 2002. Members of the Icelandic parliament, the Althingi, are currently discussing a resolution that would request the government to provide a more formal apology and redress.
Focus of Current Protests
The focus of Falun Gong practitioners in 2012 was Jiang Zemin and stopping the persecution in China. Wen Jiabao received a welcome because he has not participated in the persecution of Falun Gong, according to Falun Dafa Association representative Peder Giertsen from Norway.
“During the visit the main theme is bringing Jiang and his gang to justice… We on our side will keep focus on bringing Jiang and his gang to justice,” Hauksdóttir wrote.
In contrast to the welcome given by Icelandic authorities in 2012, Falun Gong practitioners ten years ago were detained in a schoolhouse upon arrival or prevented from boarding Icelandair planes in North America and Europe. The Falun Gong practitioners were identified via a blacklist given by the Chinese regime to the Icelandic government, which a court in Iceland later ruled to be illegal.
In 2012, “our chief of national security in Iceland took his stance with Falun Gong this day, in front of an army of Chinese security guards and the whole of the Icelandic media, looking really happy and proud, as if he had waited a long time for such an opportunity,” said Hauksdóttir.
From - http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/world/iceland-welcomes-both-wen-jiabao-and-falun-gong-225156.html
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