| Parliamentary Assembly Assemblée parlementaire |
 |
Freedom speech and Freedom religion for Falun Gong supporters in France
Doc. 10142 revised
16 April 2004
Written question No 443 to the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers
Reply from the Chair of the Committee of Ministers
I. Written Question No. 443 by M. Lindblad (Doc. 10102)
French police arrested about 50 Falun Gong supporters on January 24-25 2004 in Paris. They came from the USA, England, Sweden, Holland, France, Austria, Germany, Norway, and Taiwan. Some only participated in the Chinese new year’s parade; some had yellow scarves and some had material about Falun Gong.
It appears as if the French authorities acted on demand from communist China (PRC).
Mr Lindblad,
To ask the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers:
What steps will the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers take to ensure freedom of speech, freedom to wear yellow scarves, and freedom to express religious and political opinion publicly even for Falun Gong supporters in France?
II. Reply by the Chairperson of the Committee of Ministers
The Chairman of the Committee of Ministers has looked into the circumstances mentioned by Mr Lindblad in his question and has been informed of the following by the French authorities:
First of all it should be understood that the arrests complained of took place in the context of the high-profile security arrangements surrounding the state visit of President Hu Jintao, the Head of State of the People’s Republic of China, which coincided with the celebration of the Chinese New Year.
In the framework of this major security operation a certain number of people, including but not exclusively Falun Gong members, were held for identity checks as a result of having, for example, been caught illegally distributing pamphlets on the Champs-Elysées or attempting to cross security cordons. Other identity checks were carried out following confrontations between Falun Gong members and Chinese visitors. No-one was remanded in custody as a result of these actions.
Falun Gong is not regarded as a "sect" in the legal sense of the term in France and does not have a reputation as a threat to public order. Indeed, since the events in question, it has organised several public demonstrations which have passed off without any particular restriction or difficulty.
In conclusion, the security operations on 24-29 January were entirely exceptional in character and were aimed at no specific group.