It's good to rejoice in the release of these 8 Americans. They achieved a lot with good actions. Whatever hardship they had will be overcome by these good deeds.
China returns detained activists to NYC
AP[Tuesday, August 26, 2008 10:30]
By SARA KUGLER
NEW YORK, August 25 — Eight American activists jailed by the Chinese for protesting during the Olympics said Monday after being sent home from Beijing that they were interrogated for hours, deprived of sleep and accused of having ties to the U.S. government.
The activists were sent home late Sunday during the closing ceremony. Some were activists and artists who demonstrated against China's occupation of Tibet; oth
ers were bloggers who photographed the protests.
Speaking outside City Hall in New York, the detainees said they were kept in cells and were allowed to leave only for interrogations, which sometimes lasted for hours. Some said they emerged more dedicated than ever to their cause.
"Our conditions were uncomfortable, but because we're Westerners, we suffered absolutely nothing compared to what the Tibetan people suffer," said John Watterberg, a 30-year-old musician who lives in New York.
The U.S. government expressed disappointment Sunday that the Olympics did not bring more "openness and tolerance" in China.
China's Foreign Ministry said in a statement Monday that "the protesters participated in 'Tibet independence' activities and that is against China's law."
The statement said China hoped "the relevant countries will teach their citizens to abide and respect China's laws."
Watterberg and another New Yorker, Jeremy Wells, said they were tackled and detained the evening of Aug. 20 while staging a demonstration with two other activists outside the National Stadium, one of the main Olympics venues.
During an initial interrogation, they were told they had broken Chinese law and would be held for 10 days. They were then moved to a detention center, where they were locked in a cell and allowed to leave for interrogations that lasted between four and 16 hours.
With lights shining on them, prisoners were locked into high-backed metal chairs with bars across their laps. [This behavior would have been condemned as torture before George W. Bush took the presidency]
Interrogators, sometimes speaking through interpreters, would not let them sleep and accused them at times of working for state-funded groups and organizations that had ties to the U.S. government, the activists said.
"They asked about our actions, our roles, about our lives — everything from where I went to high school to everything I ate in China," Wells said.
Detainees said they wore dirty uniforms of red T-shirts and black shorts. Drinking water was turned on for only 15 minutes a day, so prisoners would scramble to fill old soda bottles or other containers."It was the scariest — it was beyond anything I could imagine in a movie," said Jeff Rae, a 28-year-old photojournalist from New York. Rae said he was videotaping a demonstration when he was detained Aug. 18.
Some of the detainees said they asked daily to speak with the U.S. Embassy but were not allowed to do so until a day or two after they were imprisoned.They said they were given no warning about their release and were not told why they were being let go. Once the prisoners were rounded up and put into vans, possessions that had been seized days earlier were returned to them. The luggage the detainees had left at their hotel rooms was also rounded up and given back.
Many detainees said the Chinese officials kept some of their electronics, like cameras, laptops and media cards. [my bold] http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?id=22641&article=China+returns+detained+activists+to+NYC&t=1&c=1
August 26, 2008
China Releases 8 Americans
August 24, 2008
US, Other Embassys Roll Over for China
How more obvious can it get? Pretend it's the not too distant future, like ten (10) years from now. Venezuela is hosting the Olympics and ten (10), TEN American citizens are suddenly placed in detention for ten (10), TEN days (whew, at least that's a relief! What if they're not honest about releasing them? In the meantime, these are some of the heroes from today's Tibetan Freedom Fighters, courtesy of Students for Free Tibet and Free Tibet 2008.
Beijing: Tibetan Flag
Rangzen Fist Salute
Aug. 21, 2008
A plain clothed security official, bottom right, grabs a Tibetan flag from three pro-Tibet activists as they gesture in protest opposite the National Stadium, where the Olympic athletics competition had just finished, Beijing, early Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008. Swarms of plainclothes police took away four foreign activists protesting Chinese rule over Tibet - the latest in a series of such demonstrations during the Olympics. (AP Photo)
August 22nd Update: Four Sentenced to Ten Days ‘Administrative Detention’ Breaking news– the embassies of the four Tibet activists arrested early on August 21 have told family members that they have been sentenced to 10 days “administrative detention” by Chinese police. Under Chinese law, Chinese police can subject people to the punishment of administrative detention without a trial or court hearing This follows on yesterday’s sentencing of six other Tibet supporters in Beijing to the same punishment. Little else is known at this time but Students for a Free Tibet will fight this however we can and we will post additional information as we learn more.
What You Can Do To Help
1) Create your own videos and images in support of Florian, Jeremy, John and Mandie and submit them to: http://freetibet2008.tv/submit/. We will air them on the Windhorse report and promote them on our site.
2) Demand their release today by calling the Chinese foreign ministry: +86-10-65961114
3) Send emails and letters of support to: ft08tv@studentsforafreetibet.org
5) Watch and share Florian Norbu Gyanatshang’s personal video statementAt approximately 12:05 am Beijing time, Florian Norbu Gyanatshang, a Tibetan-German man and American Tibet supporters, Jeremy Wells and John Watterberg were detained by Beijing authorities for protesting near the Bird’s Nest stadium. The three had been unde r intense surveillance by up to 50 plainclothes police.
They called out “Free Tibet” and Florian Norbu unfurled the Tibetan flag. They raised their fists in a salute in the spirit of defiance and resistance displayed by Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. Last night’s protest took place as spectators were leaving the Bird’s Nest where the men’s 200 metre final had been held just hours before. It was on the medal podium for this same event 40 years ago that Smith and Carlos stage d their courageous protest.
A fourth Tibet activist, Mandie McKeown from Britain, who observed the protest was also detained. The four were taken away in a police vehicle and their whereabouts are unknown. Two photographers from the Associated Press who were at the scene were also briefly detained.
http://freetibet2008.org/globalactions/tibetanflag/
August 20, 2008
Tibet Lives After Olympics
Lhasa on my mind...
A rally for Tibet is planned for Sunday, August 24 (the closing day of the Beijing Olympics) to be held in front of the United Nations in New York City. The organizers of the rally include Students for a Free Tibet, the Tibetan Women’s Association and the Tibetan Youth Congress, and they have asked the International Campaign for Tibet and our supporters to join in sending a message to China that the Tibetan struggle continues long after the Olympics conclude.
The event is planned to start at 11:00 in the morning at
Dag Hammars
kjold Park, 47th Street and 1st Avenue.
Thousands of Tibetans from all over the United States are expected to attend. The Tibetan people and their supporters made sure that China’s crackdown in Tibet this spring and summer was known to the Olympics audience, in spite of the Chinese government’s determination to control every element of its Olympics story.
I hope you will join the rally to amplify the call for human rights in Tibet and basic freedoms for the Tibetan people! For more information, please email Mr. Tsering Palden at tsering.palden@gmail.com.
Olympian Ideals Support Tibet
China can’t block the music! If the bureaucrats think people won't buy this CD because THEY tell them not to, then they're going to be disappointed. Remember: use your freedom to help others without it. Peace can only exist when we are all free to express ourselves.
Over 40 Olympic athletes in Beijing download Tibet solidarity album 'Songs for Tibet'
International Campaign for Tibet and the Art of Peace Foundation
August 18th, 2008
Washington DC, (August 18, 2008) - The album 'Songs for Tibet: The Art of Peace,' a top-selling rock download in the US, Canada, several European countries and Japan - which reached #4 on the Billboard album download charts in its first week of sales - has been downloaded by more than 40 Olympic athletes competing at the Beijing Games. China's official media published a provocative online article that reported many "angry" Chinese 'netizens' are "denouncing" the project and that some have called for a boycott on companies that make the pro-peace album available for sale on the web, and a ban on those involved in making the album from entering China. Over a hundred download sites and on-line retailers sell the album worldwide. Twenty musicians contributed tracks, including Sting, Dave Matthews, Alanis Morissette, John Mayer and Moby. [my bold]
Michael Wohl, Executive Director of the Art of Peace Foundation which initiated the project, said today: "We are delighted that Olympics athletes took the opportunity to download this unique album, which conveys a message of hope and solidarity with the Tibetan people, as well as a commitment to freedom of expression that cannot be suppressed."
Over 40 Olympic athletes in North America, Europe and even Beijing contacted The Art of Peace Foundation by email and through the Foundation's website. Athletes downloaded the album as an act of solidarity with Tibet. International organizations including the International Campaign for Tibet, Students for a Free Tibet, and Team Darfur helped contact the athletes. Several of the athletes, who were assured anonymity, thanked the Art of Peace Foundation. In one case, an Olympian commended the Foundation's "efforts, music and passion for peace."
Following international media coverage of the album and its success, an article about the album - which referred to "angry netizens" who "are rallying together to denounce internet retailers that offer 'Songs for Tibet' for purchase" was published on two Chinese websites, china.org.cn - the authorized government portal site to China, managed by the Information Office of the State Council (http://www.china.org.cn/china/national/2008-08/08/content_16161481.htm) - and http://www.chinanews.com, a semi-official internet news portal which operates under close scrutiny and control of the Communist Party. This follows demonstrations by overseas Chinese against some companies (such as the French supermarket chain Carrefour) and broadcasters (CNN and the BBC) that have occurred since the international community has criticized China for its crackdown in Tibet, and in the buildup to the Olympics. The demonstrations and outpouring of Chinese nationalism, particularly linked to protests against Chinese government policies at the time of the Olympic torch relay, have been fueled by misinformation and propaganda from the Chinese authorities.
"The predictably hostile response to the album from Chinese internet users and an official website at this time reflects continued attempts to suppress any support for Tibet
at a time of crisis for the Tibetan people, as well as the level of entrenched misinformation about Tibet propagated by the Beijing government among the Chinese public," said Kate Saunders from the International Campaign for Tibet, which is supporting the project.
The double album, 'Songs for Tibet' celebrates peace, the Dalai Lama and Tibet. Twenty artists, including Sting, Alanis Morissette, Dave Matthews, John Mayer and Moby contributed songs for the release.
Proceeds that the foundation receives will support initiatives for promoting peace and Tibetan cultural preservation projects. Details at http://www.artofpeacefoundation.org. The video for the album, 'Songs for Tibet - Freedom is Expression,' is available on YouTube.
August 8, 2008
Tibetan American Reporter Denied Entrance to Bejing Olympics
Hello, State Department? Condo Sleeza, are you there? Just imagine the howls of protest if this reporter was German American or Italian American. And just look at this photo of goose-stepping Chinese cops!!! But I forgot--we can't criticise China because a) they own us, and b) CRITICISM OF THE PARTY IS NOT ALLOWED!
Hong Kong, August 8, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned that Dhondup Gonsar, an American citizen of Tibetan ethnicity [my bold] who works for the U.S. government-funded broadcaster Radio Free Asia (RFA), has not yet received press accreditation from Olympic organizers that would allow him to enter China to cover the Olympic Games, which begin Friday.
Gonsar and Radio Free Asia officials in Washington have told CPJ that RFA was informed in writing by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in July 2007 that RFA had been allocated two sets of press credentials by the IOC, but only received one, for RFA’s Mandarin-service reporter. The RFA Mandarin reporter, Jill Ku Martin, has been allowed to enter the country, RFA officials said.
They said that even though the IOC has said it has passed along Gonsar’s credentials to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games, neither have followed through on issuing the Olympic Identity and Accreditation Card that serves as both an identity card and an entry visa.
“We call upon the IOC and China to resolve this issue quickly so that Dhondup Gonsar can travel to Beijing to cover the Games,” said Bob Dietz, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator.
Gonsar is currently in a hotel in Hong Kong, waiting for his papers to enter China. “The IOC has promised RFA that two of our reporters could cover the Games. I don’t understand why I have not gotten my IOC accreditation and am not allowed to cover the Games,” Gonsar told CPJ. “Maybe it has something to do with my ethnicity as a Tibetan.”
http://cpj.org/news/2008/asia/china07aug08na.html
May 16, 2008
UK Site Sets Up Israeli Boycott
Unfortunately, the information below only applies to products sold in the United Kingdom. There are pages and pages of references and links to other sites, initiatives, educational sources, even a section providing a historical frame for the crises.Keep an ey
e on the goods bar code:
Israel's country prefix is 729.
This website has been set up for two main purposes:
- To help people who want to boycott produce from Israel and illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Gaza, by providing sources of information about companies, products etc.
- To act as an educational resource... many people have not the foggiest idea of the war crimes, human rights abuses and flagrant breaches of international humanitarian law that are regularly committed by the Israeli Government and its armed forces (the IDF) in the what remains of Palestine. The many links on this page will lead you to valuable sources of information.
Lest there be any doubt on the subject, this site is not anti-Jewish. Many of the sites linked to on this page are run by Jews and/or Israeli citizens who are at the forefront of efforts to secure peace and justice in the Middle East. We are opposed to the Likud Government that is in power in Israel today, however we are not anti-Israel, on the contrary, we believe that it is only through the delivery of peace and justice for all citizens of the region that Israel can prosper in the long term.
As soon as Israel reaches a just peace with the Palestinian people within the framework of international law we will call an end to this boycott.
http://www.mylinkspage.com/israel.html
In fact, I've had my own ad hoc boycott going on for a while, but not regarding Israel. Whenever I start aimlessly browsing for things I probably don't need, I look at the label. If it says, Made in China, I say out loud--but not necessarily loudly, "Made in China," and put the object back. It's most effective if I keep my affect completely neutral. People haven't a clue what I'm doing or why, but they'll be thinking about it, especially next time there's a report about China and American debt.
May 8, 2008
NO Chinese Assault on Mt. Everest!
Join/Create a Vigil for Tibet and Mount Everest
On Tuesday, a spokesman for the Beijing Olympic Committee issued an ominous threat:
"The command centre has given its order for the final assault tomorrow."
He was referring to China's climbing team that took the Olympic torch to the summit of Mt. Everest late yesterday. But never before has the mountaineering term 'assault' been used more appropriately.
China's assault on Mount Everest – sacred Mount Chomolungma to Tibetans – is in fact an assault on Tibet and the Tibetan people, not to mention the Olympic ideals.
After an Olympic torch relay that has already been met with free Tibet protests and heavy-handed security everywhere it's gone, China's ascent of the Everest summit with the torch is a blatant attempt to underscore its claims to Tibet. Desperate to ensure a successful propaganda exercise, the Chinese government staged its assault on the sacred peak, but only after surrounding the climbing team with armed police, while Nepal threatened to shoot anyone who might protest on its side of the mountain!
Because of China's intense secrecy, we learned of its "final assault" on Everest just hours before the team summitted with the torch.
Tibetans and supporters around the world have planned prayer vigils to mourn those Tibetans killed in the recent crackdown while the Chinese government celebrates its hollow victory.
Please join a vigil today – CLICK HERE to see if there is a gathering planned for your area, or if there is an organizer who can help you get involved.
If there is no vigil planned for your area, please consider organizing one. Gather some friends or family. Even a vigil of one in a busy place in your community is an inspiring act of solidarity with Tibetans inside Tibet. CLICK HERE to find materials and helpful hints.
Don't forget, the Tibet movement beat China's tainted torch to Everest by more than a year when SFT's Tenzin Dorjee and several courageous Tibet supporters lit the Tibetan Freedom Torch at Everest base camp in April 2007. And the fire of Tibetan freedom is still raging in the hearts of Tibetans everywhere.
Together, we'll show the world that the Chinese government's propaganda victory on Everest is as hollow as its rule in Tibet.
One World, One Dream: Free Tibet!
-The SFT Headquarters Crew
Some simple tips for holding a vigil:
- Find an appropriate location. If you don't live near a Chinese Consulate (99% of people don't), choose a busy place with a lot of foot traffic.
- Establish a pattern where you can be seen. Don't block entranceways or sidewalks.
- Stand far enough apart to increase the visual impact of the group.
- Decide with your group whether you will be silent, or sing quietly, or chant slogans, etc.
- If passersby want to talk, give them a flier, tell them why you're there, and how to find more information (the SFT website). You may consider having a couple people distributing information away from the vigil line.
- Spread your strongest supporters out. Their spirit can help maintain the vigil.
CLICK HERE for an information flier (as a word document)
CLICK HERE for an information flier (as a PDF document)
CLICK HERE for a general '10 Facts About Tibet' flier (PDF)
CLICK HERE for more materials, etc. in SFT's Activist Toolbox
CLICK HERE to read SFT's press release about China's assault on Everest
Contact: David Demes- david.demes@studentsforafreetibet.de
http://www.studentsforafreetibet.org/article.php?id=1517
April 7, 2008
Beleaguered Olympic Torch Bussed into Paris
Isn’t it about time we Americans step up and show some serious support for human rights and basic civil liberties in China? It’s really amazing how more devoted some of us are to “political correctness” than in recognizing the simple fact that the people of Tibet have started a truly amazing movement which is spreading throughout China. It’s no longer enough to debate who’s on what side when people are imprisoned for having a photograph of this week's "counter-revolutionary," nor is it "progressive" to assume everybody in Tibet is a prop for the CIA, Chinese warlords or Black Hat Buddhists! Vive Le France! Right On, London! Get Your Feet in the Streets, San Francisco! 
By KATRIN BENNHOLD and JOHN F. BURNS
Published: April 8, 2008
PARIS — What was supposed to be a majestic procession for the Olympic torch through the French capital turned into chaos Monday as thousands of people from around Europe, many with Tibetan flags, massed to protest the passage of the flame. The torch went out several times, and police officers had to put it onto a bus to try to protect it as demonstrators swarmed the security detail. In the end, organizers canceled the final leg of the procession.
A police spokeswoman, s
peaking on the condition of anonymity in accordance with policy, said the torch went out “for technical reasons” unrelated to the protests, without offering further clarification. CNN reported that the torch was extinguished at least twice amid the melee, and The Associated Press said officials were forced to extinguish the flame five times to carry it in the safety of the bus.[...] It was yet another unscripted moment in the passage of the Olympic flame, and the second time in two days that the torch relay had been disrupted in a European capital.
Some 3,000 police officers in Paris — on foot, horseback, in-line skates and motorbikes and even in boats on the Seine — tried to prevent a repeat of the scenes in London on Sunday, when the torch’s progression through the streets turned into a tumult of scuffles. One man broke through a tight security cordon in the London protests and made a failed grab for the torch, and 35 people were arrested.
[...] Officers with machine guns guarded sensitive Metro exits along the 17-mile route.
“One would almost think oneself in Lhasa,” said Jean-Paul Ribes, leader of the Support Committee of the Tibetan People in France, who was among the thousands massed on the Trocadero square, across the Seine from the Eiffel tower, where the flame began its passage through Paris. “It snowed last night, now t
he sky is blue — and police are everywhere,” Mr. Ribes said.Many protesters — demonstrating against China’s human rights policies in general, or for a free Tibet, or simply for a boycott of the Olympics in Beijing — echoed a headline emblazoned across the front page of the left-wing daily Liberation, under a picture of the Olympic rings restyled as handcuffs: “Liberate The Olympic Games!”
[...] Tibetan organizations have said they plan protests at every stop on the torch’s 21-nation tour. After Paris, it moves to San Francisco, its only American stop, on Wednesday. The monthlong tour is scheduled to end in Vietnam; it is to be followed by a six-week, 46-stop tour of China.
[...] One protester who broke through the police cordon, David Allen, said his anger flared at the sight of British sports stars being guarded in London by Chinese security men.
“It makes us complicit in the regime’s repression,” Allen said. ”You have to ask: Where were these security men last week? Beating up people in the villages of China, no doubt.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/08/world/europe/08torch.html?hp
Retired French tennis player Arnaud Di Pasquale carried an extinguished Olympic torch to a bus for safe keeping. A police spokeswoman, speaking on condition of anonymity in accordance with policy, said the torch went out "for technical reasons" unrelated to the protests, without offering further clarification.
April 2, 2008
Uyghur Muslems Want Liberty!
The "terrorism" talking points sound like they came right out Michael Chernoff's mouth. But this is China!
Chinese Police R
aid Houses in Xinjiang
2008.04.02
HONG KONG—Chinese police have conducted raids on several houses in the restive northwestern region of Xinjiang, possibly looking for weapons, sources in the area have told Radio Free Asia (RFA).
Authorities in Yengiyer township near Gulja (in Chinese, Yili) city raided four familiy homes belonging to Muslim Uyghurs, detaining several people, the sources said.
Police dug up the yard at one house, although they gave no indication what they were looking for, a Uyghur source in Gulja told RFA’s Uyghur service.
[...] Police dug up the yard at one house, although they gave no indication what they were looking for, a Uyghur source in Gulja told RFA’s Uyghur service.
[...] A Han Chinese resident of Alamatuya village in Yengiyer township said that at least one house had been searched by police in his neighborhood.
“Because the Uyghurs were causing trouble...They had explosives in their house,” he told RFA’s Mandarin service.
Several people detained
“Maybe someone reported it,” he said, adding that he believed the Uyghurs had been influenced by recent unrest in Tibet and were possibly connected to unrest in Gulja which was brutally suppressed by Chinese security forces in the 1990s.
[...] Many Uyghurs, who twice enjoyed short-lived independence as the state of East Turkestan during the 1930s and 40s, are bitterly opposed to Beijing’s rule in Xinjiang.
Beijing blames Uyghur separatists for sporadic bombings and other violence in the Xinjiang region. But diplomats and foreign experts are skeptical. International rights groups have accused Beijing of using the U.S. “war on terror” to crack down on nonviolent supporters of Uyghur independence.
[...] The raids come one week after several hundred ethnic Uyghurs staged protests following the death in custody of a prominent Uyghur businessman and philanthropist.
Numerous sources said the demonstrations followed the death in custody of a wealthy Uyghur jade trader and philanthropist, Mutallip Hajim, 38. Police returned his body to relatives March 3 after two months in custody, saying he had died in hospital of heart trouble. According to an authoritative source, police instructed the family to bury him immediately and inform no one of his death.
[...] China has waged a campaign over the last decade against what it says are violent separatists and Islamic extremists who aim to establish an independent state in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, which shares a border with Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Mongolia.
In March 2008, Chinese authorities announced that they had foiled a plot by Uyghur terrorists targeting the Beijing Olympics. In the early 1990s, Uyghurs in Xinjiang launched large-scale riots, attacking and killing Chinese officials. Chinese authorities alleged that such acts killed 162 people and injured another 440, prompting a harsh crackdown.
U.S.-based Human Rights Watch says authorities in Xinjiang maintain “a multi-tiered system of surveillance, control, and suppression of religious activity aimed at Xinjiang’s Uyghurs...At a more mundane and routine level, many Uyghurs experience harassment in their daily lives.”
“Celebrating religious holidays, studying religious texts, or showing one’s religion through personal appearance are strictly forbidden at state schools. The Chinese government has instituted controls over who can be a cleric, what version of the Koran may be used, where religious gatherings may be held, and what may be said on religious occasions.”
March 30, 2008
An "Everlasting Bond"?
I'm so glad Pakistan has the bomb, thanks to the USA!
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Pakistan against blows to Chinese sovereignty, says Musharraf
Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: President Pervez Musharraf said on Friday that Pakistan was firmly opposed to any attempts to undermine China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. He congratulated China on hosting the upcoming Beijing Olympics, and said Pakistan was happy to have been chosen as one of the venues for the Olympic torch relay. Speaking to Liu Hongcai, vice minister of the International Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, Musharraf said Pakistan cherished its long-standing friendship with China. “Relations with China form the bedrock of Pakistan’s foreign policy,” he said, adding that the Pak-China friendship would only grow stro
nger. Musharraf thanked China for its cooperation in developing Pakistan’s socio-economic sectors, and highlighted the need for increased trade and investment ties. The Chinese minister said China had always stood by Pakistan and would continue its support. “This cooperation will be further consolidated in the future,” he added. Lui said the Pak-China friendship lived in the hearts of the two peoples and that bilateral relations were marked by a high level of mutual trust and co-operation. He lauded Musharraf’s contribution to promoting continued friendly ties between the two countries. He also conveyed greetings from Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao to the president for successfully holding parliamentary elections. On Pakistan’s position on fighting terrorism and extremism, Liu said both countries shared similar views on combating the menace.
Courtesy Daily Times
http://www.pakistanlink.com/Headlines/March08/29/14.htm
March 26, 2008
EU Debates Olympic Boycott Over Tibet
26.03.2008 - 09:24 CET By Elitsa Vucheva
[...] Asked by journalists whether he was considering a boycott of the Olympic Games' opening ceremony in retaliation for the Chinese crackdown, Mr Sarkozy said he was not "closing the door to any possibility."
March 18, 2008
Support Team Tibet!
Like other nations, the Tibetan people want to be represented at the Olympics. Yet Tibet remains occupied and Tibetans as a nation remain barred from participating in the Games.
The members of Team Tibet, all passionate sports people, are forced to live as refugees around the world. Their dream is to fly their flag alongside athletes from other nations as they walk into the Olympic Stadium at the opening of the Beijing Games on August 8, 2008. It is their passion for sports as well as a greater vision of freedom - to live free as a people and nation - that gives these athletes the strength to believe in their audacious mission.
Team Tibet is also made up of honorary members - individuals everywhere who believe in a political solution to Tibet's occupation and who want to be counted in support of that goal.
We ask you to join Team Tibet as a supporter, and help us "Bring Tibet to the 2008 Games".
http://www.supportteamtibet.org/teamtibet
March 13, 2008
Be Inspired by the Tibetan National Uprising!
I do not want to paraphrase his holiness, and therefore only include his closing remarks. This is a very serious and important statement. Please read his statement at your leisure but with mindfulness:
The Dalai Lama 10 March 2008
http://www.dalailama.com/page.70.htm
Help Them Reach Their Motherland
Tibetan protests ripple across mountain region
Thu Mar 13, 2008 5:24am EDT
By Benjamin Kang Lim
BEIJING (Reuters) - The biggest protests by Tibetan monks in nearly two decades have rippled into Chinese provinces populated by Tibetans, as the government's tough response draws condemnation from international groups.
The demonstrations over past days have followed marches around the world to mark the 49th anniversary of an uprising against Communist rule in the remote, mountainous region that has become a focus for protest ahead of this year's Beijing Olympics.
"The reports of protests outside Lhasa show that Tibetans know the eyes of the world are upon them and are determined not to let the momentum drop," Matt Whitticase of the London-based Free Tibet Campaign told Reuters.
On Monday, 500 monks from Drepung monastery defied authorities by staging a rare march in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa, an act that the Chinese government called "an illegal activity that threatened social stability".
About 2,000 Chinese security personnel fired tear gas to try to disperse 600 monks from Sera monastery taking part in a second day of street protests in Lhasa, a source told Reuters.
They demanded the release of about a dozen fellow monks from Sera detained this month for waving a Tibetan flag and shouting pro-independence slogans, the source said.
[...] Another rights group said about 400 monks from Lutsang monastery in the northwestern province of Qinghai, known in Tibetan as Amdo, protested on Monday and shouted slogans for their exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, to return.
[...] On Wednesday, China closed the north face of Mount Everest to expeditions until after the Olympic torch ascends the peak in early May. Five Americans, including an ethnic Tibetan, unfurled "Free Tibet" banners on Everest -- known in China by its Tibetan name, Qomalangma -- last year.
[...] "The march will continue and we are determined. Each one us. No one can stop us, we will reach our motherland," said Lobsang Yeshi, chief coordinator for the march.
Additional reporting by Chris Buckley in Beijing and Abhishek Madhukar in Dehra, India; Editing by Nick Macfie and Alex Richardson)
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSPEK29133420080313