Sev Ozdowski: 2021 FoFG Human Rights Award Honoree – Friends of Falun Gong

The 2021 Friends of Falun Gong Human Rights Award, Washington DC, 16 July 2021, Statement by Prof Sev Ozdowski

I am delighted to be the recipient of the 2021 Friends of Falun Gong Human Rights Award. I regret I cannot be in Washington DC with you.

It is an honour to be the first individual selected by the Friends of Falun Gong committee for this award and to be recognised alongside past winners, David Matas and David Kilgour, the International Coalition to End Transplant Abuse in China (ETAC) and the journalists, academics and researchers who contribute to Bitter Winter. Thank you for acknowledging my human rights work in this important area.

My interest in human rights and my work to advance and promote rights and freedoms dates to my youth in Communist Poland.

Human rights are the basic freedoms and protections that belong to every single one of us and that should be delivered by a state. However, my experience of Communism in Poland taught me that a totalitarian state could be in fact the worst violator of human rights.

As Australian Human Rights Commissioner and Chair of Australian Multicultural Council I developed close contacts with the Chinese community in Australia.

The 2006 Kilgour–Matas investigative report about organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners in China was an eye opener. The report stated that “the source of 41,500 transplants for the six-year period 2000 to 2005 is unexplained”. Further research documented prosecution, imprisonments and murders of Falun Gong followers. This was my personal ‘call for action’ and was the start of my close cooperation with Falun Gong practitioners in Sydney.

However, back in 2006 I perhaps naively hoped that after the government crimes against the Falun Gong community were exposed, the Chinese Communist Party would take steps to eliminate the practice and punish those responsible.

Unfortunately, I was wrong. The prosecution and organ harvesting continues to this day. Thus, we need to continue our fight.

Last, but not least, I wish to dedicate my award to all the people in Australia working to advance the human rights of Falun Gong practitioners in China. There are too many of them to mention individually.

Be reassured, victory will be ours. History tells us that the persecution of religious and minority groups by a state leads only to one result; the submission of the state to the will of the people.

You will be able to practice your religion in freedom again.

2021-07-17 Falun Dafa Parade in Washington DC

2021-0716 Falun Dafa Vigil in Washington DC

On 16 July 2021 I was awarded the Friends of Falun Gong Human Rights Award in Washington DC, USA. It acknowledges my work since 2006 to advance human rights in China, in particular, for religious minorities such as Falun Gong, Tibetan, Uyghur, Muslims and Christian communities and to bring the human rights situation in China to attention of international human rights bodies. My works links to the recent statement by UN human rights experts that they are ‘extremely alarmed’ by forced organ harvesting of minorities in China – see: https://www.aninews.in/news/world/europe/un-rights-experts-extremely-alarmed-by-forced-organ-harvesting-of-minorities-in-china20210618184054/
Prior to the award ceremony, on 3 July 2021 I have given an interview discussing my work to advance human rights in Communist China; see: the published video link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IUkXXBPuAA

The Award was presented at a rally, attended by some 2000 people, calling for end to 22-year-long persecution Falun Gong practitioners in Chinese Communist Party. See: Recognize CCP’s Persecution of Falun Gong as a Genocide: Advocates Mark 22 Years of Suppression at DC Rally (theepochtimes.com)

As I could not attend the ceremony in person, because of COVID19, my thank you speech (attached) was delivered by Mr Simon Vereshaka. The trophy presented to me was manufactured in the jewellery factory in NYC; here’ a short documentary about its production:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TX-Rxz0egiw&lc=Ugy2cPNVzeCuTP8n1uV4AaABAg

As a background, 20th July 2021 marks exactly 22 years since the Chinese Communist Party launched a massive campaign to eliminate the Falun Gong spiritual movement in China. Millions of Falun Gong practitioners in China have since been imprisoned, tortured, or killed, including through forced organ harvesting.

I first became interested in the matter after the publication of the 2006 David Kilgour and David Matas investigative report about organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners in China which stated that “the source of 41,500 transplants for the six-year period 2000 to 2005 is unexplained”.

The Kilgour/Matas report was followed up by the 2007 U.N. special rapporteur Manfred Nowak who acknowledged that the evidence presented by Kilgour/Matas report showed a “coherent picture that causes concern”. In 2008 the United Nations Committee Against Torture requested “a full explanation of the source of organ transplants” and shortly after Ethan Gutmann report estimating that between 450,000 and 1 million Falun Gong members were detained at any given time, and that tens of thousands were targeted for organ harvesting. The 2009, Kilgour–Matas updated version of the report, titled “Bloody Harvest” provided further evidence of the killing of Falun Gong for their organs.

Recently an independent tribunal based in London has written to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urging him to investigate the appointment of a Chinese official to the United Nations Human Rights Council.
The China Tribunal—chaired by human rights lawyer Sir Geoffrey Nice—claims that diplomat Jiang Duan’s appointment to the UNHRC Consultative Group means the UN is “sleepwalking into complicity” with Chinese human rights abuses, including the suppression of Muslim groups in the far west of the country and alleged human organ harvesting.
The Tribunal declared People’s Republic of China a “criminal state” in March 2021, accusing it of approving and helping cover up forced organ harvesting for more than 20 years. The Tribunal interviewed more than 50 witnesses and analysed written evidence of what it claims is a $1 billion-per-year industry.
China has consistently denied all allegations of forced organ harvesting, though acknowledged in 2005 that it took organs from executed prisoners. Beijing said that practice ended in 2015.
Critics have long maintained that the organ transplant market could not be supported only by executed prisoners, suggesting that the government was harvesting organs from political prisoners and minority groups including practitioners of Falun Gong and the Uighur community in Xinjiang.
The Tribunal’s letter to Guterres suggested that alleged “forced organ harvesting killings” are comparable “to the worst atrocities committed in conflicts of the 20th century,” including the Holocaust, the mass killings committed by the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia and the Rwandan genocide.
“The United Nations cannot be unminded of these concerns, lest it be accused of in effect sleepwalking into complicity,” the letter read.
On 24 September 2020 Sir Geoffrey Nice QC and Hamid Sabi, from the China Tribunal, presented at a side event held at the UN Human Rights Council. Hamid Sabi also spoke on the floor of the UNHRC the same day. Hamid’s 90 second speech is very powerful and can be viewed on this link – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jtc0W8l6nTs

Despite the overwhelming evidence of the existence of commercial organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners and other political prisoners by Chinese authorities some people still find it difficult to believe that such atrocity may be taking place in 21 century.

It reminds me of the visit of Jan Karski, a Polish resistance fighter to Washington DC in 1942 to report on Nazi Holocaust of Jews in Germany occupied Europe. Jan Karski who was an eyewitness of Holocaust and represented Polish Government in Exile described to Jewish U.S. Supreme Court Justice, Felix Frankfurter, what he saw: the roundups into the ghettos, the starvation and inhuman conditions, the massive shootings, the gassings. Despite Karski speaking for half an hour, he failed to convince Justice Frankfurter, who said: “Mr. Karski, a man like me talking to a man like you must be totally frank. So, I must say: I am unable to believe you.” and left the meeting.

There is clearly a need for much more public education about the human rights situation in today’s People’s Republic of China.

2021-07-16 Human Rights Award Washington DC Thank you speech

2007-10-28 Sev speaking at a rally

2007-11-01 Former Australian Human Rights Comissioner Sev Ozdowski carries the relay flame

Today, 14 July 2021, I have received a letter from the Publishing Authority of the Polish Parliament that I have been appointed as a member of the Scientific Board of the bilingual quarterly journal “Political Thought” that is being published by the Parliament of Poland.

The Editor-in-Chief of the “Political Thought” Journal is Prof. Bogdan Szlachta of the Jagiellonian University in Cracow who attended four of my International Conferences on Human Rights Education, including the first conference at Western Sydney University in 2011 and convened the 3rd ICHRE in Cracow Poland. The Jagiellonian University is a pre-eminent Polish University (ranked 1 in Poland and 309 on QS World University Ranking); it was founded in 1364 by the King of Poland Casimir III the Great and is the oldest university in Poland.

I am a member of four other editorial boards of sociological/legal/political science journals in Poland, but this appointment is particularly prestigious and it may link to the provision of advice to the Polish government and individual parliamentarians. I have cooperated with the Political Thought journal since 2020.

2021-07-14 Ltr from Polish Parliment re Mysl Polityczna Scientific Board026

2021-07-14 Mysl Polityczna Scientific Board028

Vale Dr Graeme William Starr

Hanna and I are terribly saddened by the passing of Dr Graeme Starr on 24 March 2021. Graeme was a truly great and inspirational Australian and a close friend of our family.

Dr Starr was a highly accomplished political scientist, former Director of the NSW Liberal Party, Research Officer at the Federal Liberal Secretariat, chief of staff to a senior federal Coalition cabinet minister, Ian Sinclair, and to John Howard. He was also the author of many books including the well regarded, “The Liberal Party of Australia. A Documentary History” published in 1980. A short article about Dr Starr’s life by Dr Scott Prasser can be found at https://www.menziesrc.org/news-feed/graeme-starr

We first met Dr Starr and his family in Armidale, NSW where he was a senior lecturer in the Department of Politics at the University of New England. At the time I was working on my Ph.D. thesis in the neighbouring Department of Sociology and we immediately found a common interest in the governance of Communist Poland and the emerging “Solidarity” revolution, the politics of, and social trends in, the United States of America and closer to home, the Whitlam dismissal. Beverley and Graeme were also the first Anglo Australian family who kindly invited us (a very new migrants) to their home for a dinner. Over the years we built a strong friendship living nearby to each other in Armidale, Canberra and then Sydney.

Graeme will be sadly missed by his family, friends and all those he inspired alike. His contribution to our nation is timeless. We extend our deepest sympathies to his family, in particular to Bev, Kimberley and Sam.

It was a great honour to have known him and we will cherish his memory forever.

Graeme’s funeral service was held in the beautiful St Pauls Church in Burwood NSW on Wednesday, 31 March – a very appropriate place as Graeme had just finished documenting the history of the Church. His contribution to Australian political discourse, his love of democratic principles and the Liberal Party and perhaps most importantly, his generosity of spirit, will not be forgotten.

Starr and Ozdowski families, Armidale, NSW, 1979

Dr Sev Ozdowski, Dr Graeme Starr and Dr Scott Prasser in Vincentia, NSW in 2017

Prime Minister Morrison has today addressed the issue of temporary postponement of flights from India (until 15 May) because of the COVID-19 situation over there.

See the link:
https://lnkd.in/gZFtiCX

Let’s hope that all Australian citizens will be able to return home soon, should they wish to do so.

My best wishes for the annual World Falun Dafa Day that will be celebrated on 13 May.
In 1999 communist leader of China Jiang Zemin ordered the Falun Dafa practice be “eradicated”. Since then, over 100,000 Falun Gong followers have been tortured or abused in custody, and thousands have perished in custody from torture. Killing of Falun Gong practitioners so their organs could be sold by China’s booming organ transplant business is a particularly disgusting crime.
On 13 May let us celebrate Falun Dafa’s remarkable contributions to our society. Falun Dafa practice focusing on how-to live-in peace with ourselves and in harmony with the universe contributes to Australia being an open and tolerant society. The Chinese “eradication” practices also serve as a warning to all of us about the real nature of the Chinese Communist Party.
My best wishes to all Falun Gong practitioners!

Enclosed is a copy of an article I have published in Minghui journal in February 2021 about Falun Gong movement and its contribution to building democracy in China. See the link below:

Chair of the Australian Multicultural Council: Falun Gong Will Win in the Long Term | Falun Dafa – Minghui.org

Hon. Mathias Cormann next Secretary-General of the OECD – see attached Congratulations

On 29 July 2019, the Senate referred an inquiry into nationhood, national identity and democracy to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee. Information about the inquiry is available on the committee’s webpage at: https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Legal_and_Constitutional_Affairs/Nationhood

The Australian Multicultural Council (AMC) has lodged two public submissions with the Inquiry. All submissions, including both AMC submissions, can be found on:
https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Legal_and_Constitutional_Affairs/Nationhood/Submissions

On Friday 13 November 2020 between 9.30am – 10.15am (AEDT) I was invited to provide further evidence as Chair of AMC at a public hearing conducted by the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Reference Committee at Parliament House, Canberra. The hearing was public, and it was broadcasted and recorded. A Hansard transcription was made of the hearing, which will become official records of the Australian Parliament.
I look forward to reading the Committee’s report on that important subject matter.

This morning I participated in a teleconference with multicultural community leaders in Australia that was addressed by Hon Scott Morrison MP, Prime Minister of Australia, Hon Alan Tudge MP, Acting Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs and the Hon Jason Wood MP, Assistant Minister for Customs, Community Safety and Multicultural organised by Australian Department of Home Affairs with Multicultural Community leaders from across Australia. Few hundreds of community leaders attended, including FECCA Chair Mary Patetsos, Hass Dellal, CEO, Australian Multicultural Foundation and many others leaders across Australia.

Prime Minister and Ministers responded to questions dealing with development of vaccine for COVID-19, return of international students to Australia, a range of budget issues including lowering of taxation and support for small business, return to previous migration levels as well as access to free English language tuition by all those who need it, including fiancés arriving in Australia on temporary visas. It was interesting to learn that only 11% of people in Australia with no English language are in employment.
Great initiative. Congratulations Minister Tudge for hosting it.

Teleconference – Hon Scott Morrison MP, Prime Minister of Australia

Teleconference – Hon Alan Tudge MP, Acting Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs

Teleconference