By Domenica Acitelli
Several Campbelltown residents travelled to Canberra to
express concerns to Prime Minister John Howard and other politicians about alleged
death camps and illegal organ trading in China.
The victims are practitioners
of Falun Gong, also called Falun Dafa. It is a traditional Chinese mind and body
practice that combines meditation, gentle exercise and moral teachings such as
compassion and tolerance.
Father Peter Caruana, the Catholic parish priest
at Ingleburn, attended the Canberra press conference and forum last week. He is
a member of the Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong in China
(CIPFG).
Another forum was held in the Holy Family Primary School Library
in Ingleburn.
Local Falun Gong practitioner Stacey Wang said she was touched
by the response from residents. "They expressed how they would write letters
to the Prime Minister and asked to conduct a thorough investigation of this horrific
organ harvesting and killing," she said.
"People lined up to sign
petitions and now we have 98 signatures. Father Peter has always been kind, considerate
and has offered his help. His values and actions should be highly credited in
our society."
Father Caruana wrote to John Howard prior to the prime
minister’s visit to China and expressed his concerns.
"Falun Gong practitioners
in China are being arrested, tortured and harvested for human organs, then left
to die," Father Caruna said. "These people in China are being mistreated,
unjustly imprisoned, tortured and being used as a means of providing organs for
transplantation against their will. I need to speak out from my heart as a human
being, a Christian and a free citizen of Australia."
Posting date:
1/July/2006
Original article date: 27/June/2006
Category: Media Report