NO Chinese Assault on Mt. Everest!

Join/Create a Vigil for Tibet and Mount EverestOn 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

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

One World, One Dream

Free Tibet! And Burma, the Lakota People, todos compañeros, all the people who just want to live in peace and harmony on this planet. This video was made last year, to inspire us to action in support of the Tibetan people.

May it be so.