(Minghui.org) Every weekend in September 2023, practitioners in Bulgaria have gone to a different location to introduce Falun Dafa to the people in that region. They talked to people about the ongoing brutal persecution of the Falun Dafa in China, and collected signatures on a petition to condemn the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) crimes against humanity and demand that the regime end the persecution.
Bulgaria also once suffered under communist rule. Bulgarians come from a variety of backgrounds and have different ways of expressing themselves. But most of the people who talked to practitioners expressed anger and sympathy after they learned how millions of innocent people are persecuted simply because they want to live according to Falun Dafa’s values of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. Wherever practitioners held their events, the Bulgarian people expressed sincere support for practitioners and condemned the persecution.
Cherishes a Precious Gift
On September 9, 2023, practitioners from the cities of Stara Zagora, Plovdiv, Peshtera, and Yambol held an event in Sliven—the eighth-largest city in Bulgaria, to promote the practice and expose the ongoing persecution of Falun Dafa in China.
Sliven is known as the home of the Haidut infantrymen who battled against the Ottoman Turks in the 19th century and is thus a historical site that attracts many visitors. It is also known as the “City of the Hundred Voyvodi.”
Practitioners introduced Falun Dafa and told people about the persecution. One woman listened as practitioners explained what Falun Dafa is, and how the CCP persecutes the practice. She told them the CCP operates just like the communists who used be in power in Bulgaria and oppressed the people. “It’s monstrous!” she exclaimed.
She was happy to sign the petition condemning the CCP for its countless human rights violations since it usurped power in China.
Vasil Stankov, a Bulgarian YouTuber, was drawn to the practitioners’ event and chatted with them. He interviewed a practitioner and said he would post the interview on his channel and inform the public about the persecution of Falun Dafa in China. He also signed the petition.
Irina first met practitioners in Sliven in 2019. Back then, she’d signed the practitioners’ petition to condemn Jiang Zemin, the now-deceased CCP leader who launched the persecution in 1999. She also accepted a paper lotus, which she said she still has and cherishes as a precious gift.
Irina was happy to see practitioners again and immediately signed the petition which condemned the CCP for its numerous human rights abuses.
Theologian Prays for Falun Dafa Practitioners in China
Practitioners held an event in Plovdiv on September 16 and 23. They set up their information booth on a busy shopping street near the stairs of Kamenitsa, a famous historic brewery.
In addition to collecting signatures on their petition to condemn the CCP, practitioners also asked for signatures on another petition—one that requested the Bulgarian government take measures to prevent the involvement of Bulgarian citizens, doctors, hospitals, universities, and companies in the CCP’s crime of forced organ harvesting from practitioners incarcerated in China for refusing to give up their faith.
An older woman spoke with practitioners about the CCP’s crimes. She expressed her full support and sympathy for practitioners in China suffering under the CCP and signed the petitions. “These communists should be imprisoned!” she said.
Another woman, Theodora, expressed similar sentiments. She said this kind of crime originates from how communism perverts human morality. “I’m familiar with the essence of communism. It takes over from the inside,” she said. She thanked practitioners for bringing the CCP’s crimes to light and she signed both petitions.
Theologian Mathey said he felt great sympathy for practitioners in China who simply want to pursue their beliefs. He added that what he can do is pray in his church for Falun Dafa practitioners in China, and hope their situation changes for the better. He also signed both petitions.
Promoting Falun Dafa at Historical Sites in Yambol
Yambol, a city rich in history, is home to the ancient royal city of Kabile of the Thracian Empire and features many historic landmarks. On September 30, Dafa practitioners held an event at Bezistena, the only preserved indoor market dating from the Ottoman Empire, and in the Central Park in Yambol by the Tundzha River.
The practitioners demonstrated the Falun Dafa exercises in the park. Many people joined practitioners and learned the exercises. After listening to practitioners introduce the practice and talk about the persecution, many people approved of Falun Dafa’s principles and expressed support for their efforts to end the atrocities in China.
The First Falun Dafa Car Procession in Bulgaria
On September 30, practitioners organised Bulgaria’s first-ever Falun Dafa car procession in the town of Stara Zagora. A specially designed pyramid sign was placed on the roof of each car, which contained messages about Falun Dafa and the persecution.
The procession was accompanied by a recording that explained the truth about the persecution of Falun Dafa in China. Many people slowed down or stopped and listened as the procession went by.
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