Pastors and Everyday Citizens Voice Dismay at 'Rally to Denounce Religious Persecution' Held by Shincheonji Church of Jesus
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On the 18th, Shincheonji Church of Jesus held its second 'Rally to Denounce Religious Persecution' in front of the Gyeonggi Provincial Office in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, and strongly condemned the religious discrimination by Gyeonggi Province and Gyeonggi Tourism Organization.
This was the second rally and the first of a relay rally, following the large-scale rally held in front of the Gyeonggi Provincial Office on the 15th, where an estimated 25,000 people gathered. This rally was triggered by the cancellation of the 'Religious Leaders Forum and Graduation Ceremony', a large-scale international event with tens of thousands of domestic graduates and over 6300 religious leaders and graduates having already entered the country from overseas, scheduled for the 30th of last month at the Imjingak Peace Park in Paju, but cancelled one day before.
The participants who gathered at the second rally to denounce the Gyeonggi Province and Gyeonggi Tourism Organization's unfair cancellation of the event numbered around 1000.
The head of the Bartholomew Tribe of Shincheonji Church of Jesus said, “Gyeonggi Province and Gyeonggi Tourism Organization should issue an official apology to Shincheonji for this unfair treatment and provide compensation. (We) will definitely receive compensation for the damage to our faith,” and shouted to the believers, “Please join us so that true ‘freedom of religion’ can be realised in the Republic of Korea.”
At the rally held on that day, pastors and everyday citizens voiced their dismay towards the Gyeonggi Provincial Government and Gyeonggi Tourism Organization.
Gyu-chan Kim, a senior pastor at Bucheon Church, said, “It is biased religious oppression and clear discrimination against the people that directly violates Article 20 of the Constitution” and “If all citizens of the Republic of Korea are equal before the law, why do they discriminate and divide the people?”
Dong-guk Shin, a senior pastor at Gimpo Church, also denounced the decision, saying, “Politics and religion should be separated, but Gyeonggi Province’s actions are discriminatory and violate the Constitution,” and, “Gyeonggi Province has suppressed a specific religious group, and this is the result of collusion between politics and religion.”
Mr. Choi (62, male), who works as a maintenance worker at a nearby park, said, “Freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Constitution, but I don’t think it’s right to block the event itself just because there are some negative voices about Shincheonji,” and added, “It’s right for the Gyeonggi Provincial governor to apologise and compensate for the damages.” Mrs. Kim (54, female), a housewife living in an apartment near the Gyeonggi Provincial Office, said, “I think it is unreasonable to unilaterally cancel the event after only listening to one side of the story,” and “If the Gyeonggi Province governor continues to remain silent, resentment will only grow.”
Shincheonji believers chanted slogans such as, “Stop biased religious oppression and guarantee religious freedom,” “Politics and religion must be separated,” and “Pay compensation immediately”. According to Shincheonji, the financial cost of the event preparation stands at around £5.5 million.
The rally is resolved to mobilise all legal means until institutional measures are put in place to prevent recurrence, protect human rights by informing international human rights organisations of the reality of Korea's biased religious oppression and draw the world's attention, and continue the fight until there is a sincere apology from Gyeonggi Provincial Governor Dong-yeon Kim and fair compensation for damages from the Gyeonggi Tourism Organization.
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