Tibet: less talk, more action

Here is another great photo taken by Caroline aka Sirensongs who is in Nepal right now.

She wrote another great post about how to take action in support of Tibet.

I checked out how many American cities the Olympic torch will pass through and there's only one, San Francisco. you can bet if it passed through Chicago I'd be out there waving my Tibetan prayer flags. Hopefully more and more protesters will line up along the torch's route throughout the world.

As Sirensongs wrote, "if you're stuck in a torch-less locale, you can at least phone, write, fax or email the International Olympics Committee (who keep insisting the Olympics are not political)." Below are letter-writing guidelines courtesy of Students for a Free Tibet:

Use the following talking points as guidelines when calling your NOC or drafting your own letter:

--Say you would like to leave a message with the President of the NOC.
--If the Torch goes through Tibet it will likely cause further unrest, which would result in another heavy-handed crackdown and consequently more arrests, torture, and loss of life.
--On humanitarian grounds alone, it is inconceivable that the Torch relay pass through Tibet at this time.
--Please urge the IOC to immediately remove all Tibetan area from the Olympic torch relay route.

The Students for a Free Tibet website has current information about the Tibet protests and instructions on how to take action. Here is a list of action you can take via the website:

IOC: Speak Up About the Tibet Crisis
Take Action: Tell your Congressional Representative to Support Tibet
Tell the Indian Government to Release the Tibetan Marchers
China: Allow Journalists Access to Tibet
Support the Protests in Tibet

This is a letter you can send to the IOC:

"I am outraged that the International Olympic Committee has remained silent while hundreds of Tibetans across Tibet are intimidated, imprisoned, beaten and killed by Chinese forces.

Tibetans have suffered greatly for almost six decades under Chinese rule and are now risking everything to speak out. Despite the growing unrest in Tibet, the Beijing Olympics organizers are moving ahead with preparations to carry the Olympic torch through Tibet and to the top of Mount Everest. China must not be allowed to bring its torch to Tibet after the Tibetan people have so strongly denounced China's occupation of their homeland. So far, the IOC has shirked any responsibility for the Chinese government's recent atrocities inside Tibet.

Mr. Rogge, we call on you to take action now and show the global community that you value the principles upon which the Olympic institution was founded. If the IOC allows China to carry its torch through Tibet, it will be complicit in the violent crackdown on Tibetans that will undoubtedly occur.

Unless you want the Olympic Torch to become a symbol of bloodshed and repression, you must immediately withdraw the Tibetan Autonomous Region and the Tibetan provinces of Amdo and Kham - now annexed into China's Qinghai, Sichuan, Yunnan, and Gansu - from the Beijing Olympic Torch Relay route.

As reports spread of arbitrary arrests, house-to-house raids, killings, and even beatings of schoolchildren, it is unthinkable that the IOC would continue to move forward with "business as usual". Allowing the torch to be carried through Tibet will escalate tensions, giving the Chinese forces an excuse to continue its violent crackdown.

People of conscience worldwide have responded with an outpouring of support for Tibetans inside Tibet and condemnation of the Chinese government's heavy-handed crackdown. Stand on the right side of history and immediately withdraw all Tibetan provinces from the torch relay route."

Those of us in the United States can contact our National Olympic Committee (NOC) to ask them to directly appeal to the IOC. Our NOC speaks not only for American athletes but for the US as well. Here is contact information for the National Olympic Committees.

Lastly, if you want to hear excerpts from a talk by my teacher, Gelek Rimpoche (who escaped Tibet in 1959), go to the Jewel Heart website to listen to MP3s on Karma & Tibetan Uprising, Part 1, Tibetan Uprising, Part 2, and The Collective Karma of The Tibetan People. Great stuff from a Buddhist master (and someone whom I believe is self-realized although Rimpoche would probably deny it!)

Less yakking, more action. please.

for your consideration: Tibet situation

This is an excerpt from a recent talk by Gelek Rimpoche, one of my spiritual teachers. Rimpoche was recognized as an incarnate lama at a very early age and he is from the family of the 13th Dalai Lama. when he escaped Tibet in 1959 he never saw his family again. any time he talks about his old life, he refers to Tibet as "good old Tibet."

"Let's try to understand the current situation in Tibet. This has been going on for fifty years. The Communist Chinese have always been suspicious of monasteries and Buddhism. For example, in Drepung, the monastery where I was educated in Tibet, the Communists openly set up government-sanctioned committees, organizing people to spy on each other. You couldn't trust anybody - your teachers, friends, students, not even your parents. Kids were spying on their parents, students on their teachers, and disciplinary monk officials on their abbots. That is how it has been functioning for fifty years.

Close to two years ago, Communist officials had the idea to ensure that the monks there didn't respect His Holiness the Dalai Lama. They made up a document that basically said: "The Dalai Lama is evil" and wanted everybody to agree by signing it. The monks refused to sign. They said their refusal had nothing to do with politics, but was purely for spiritual reasons.

The authorities arrested the monks who refused to sign and put them in jail and never released them. A few days ago, some Drepung monastery monks went into the market place to demonstrate their request for these monks to be released. They were beaten, tear gassed and jailed. Turn by turn, each day following, monks from Sera, then Ganden monasteries also demonstrated, were beaten and jailed as well as nuns from various monasteries. The sound of their cries and screams were heard all over Lhasa. Everybody was crying. Eventually, some people got angry and started to throw molotov cocktails into Chinese owned shops, so there was a huge amount of destruction. The central government of China declared martial law at three am on March 14. The whole city of Lhasa is now completely filled with soldiers and para-military that were trucked in and the Chinese government said they would violently suppress any demonstrations. The Chinese claim 10 people were killed. Tibetan sources say that more than 200 were killed -- quite a different picture.

It is very clear that the Chinese authorities have had complete control over Tibet for 50 years but failed to win the heart of the people. That is because their policies are not helping the people much. In particular the local government of Tibet is run by lesser educated officials, many of whom are relics of the Cultural Revolution. They are confused and don't understand the true situation. Their reports to the Central government in Beijing are confused and incorrect and that is why the Chinese authorities were taken by surprise by the events of the last weeks.

The local Chinese authorities also can never understand the relationship between the Dalai Lama and Buddhism. They can neither separate the two nor put them together. They are completely confused about the role of the Dalai Lama. Vilifying statements like "The Dalai Lama is nothing but a wolf covered by monk's robes, a demon with human face" clearly show the limit of knowledge and character of those making such statements.

This situation is indeed very, very sad. It really calls for international support. This can be done by people expressing their sympathy and feelings and also urging their representatives, senators and house representatives, as well as journalists in national and local media, to pay attention and try to find out the true situation."

save Tibet now

(Agence France-Presse — Getty Images)
Tibetans throwing stones at army vehicles as a car burns on a street in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, after violent protests broke out on Friday. (NY TIMES PHOTO)



The world screams about Burma, Sudan, and Rwanda, but where are the tears for Tibet? A genocide has been going on since the Chinese marched in over 50 years ago, yet the world does nothing.

Chinese Police Clash With Tibet Protesters
By JIM YARDLEY
BEIJING — Violent protests erupted Friday in a busy market area of Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, as Buddhist monks and other ethnic Tibetans clashed with Chinese security forces. Witnesses say the protesters burned shops, cars, military vehicles and at least one tourist bus.

The chaotic scene marked the most violent demonstrations since protests by Buddhist monks began in Lhasa on Monday, the anniversary of a failed Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule in 1959. The protests have been the largest in Tibet since the late 1980s, when Chinese security forces repeatedly used lethal force to restore order in the region.

The developments prompted the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, to issue a statement, saying he was concerned about the situation and appealing to the Chinese leadership to “stop using force and address the long-simmering resentment of the Tibetan people”.

Gunshots Fired as Thousands of Tibetans Hold Fresh Protest

"...Around 50 monks from the Labrang Tashikyil Monastery began staging demonstration carrying the banned Tibetan national flag and shouting “Tibet Independence” slogans around 2:00pm today.

Some 600 more monks from the same monastery later joined the demonstration.

The number later swelled up to few thousands when general public continued to join the procession of monks and the protest became more intensive.

The source said police started to fire live ammunitions in the air and started to beat the demonstrators when the procession reached the Sangchu County Public Security Bureau headquarter.

“Public security and armed police began firing shots later as it (protest) became very
intensive. Whether it caused casualties is unclear,” the source said.

“Gradually the number increased and thousands of Tibetans gathered around in the main market. At the police station they shouted more loudly out of control, then the Chinese police started shooting among the protesters, as a result the mass scattered rapidly due to gunfire,” the source said...."

Riot in Tibet as Police Clash with Protesters

"...One resident of the old city near the monastery told The Times: “It’s very dangerous. Tibetans are fighting the Han people in the street outside. I can’t talk because I’m afraid.”

The nearby Tromsikhang market, built in 1993, had been set on fire and a column of smoke could be seen billowing into the sky, one witness said. The market contained shops belonging to Tibetans as well as ethnic Han Chinese and members of the Hui Muslim minority.

One Tibetan, covered in blood, was seen carried away from the scene by about five or six other people. Witnesses said dozens of ambulances and police cars had raced to the city’s 102 People’s Hospital but it was not known how many people were hurt or how seriously.

Dozens of paramilitary police vehicles were seen patrolling central Lhasa to try to restore order. However, crowds of Tibetans and monks were still demonstrating in the afternoon. One witness wept as he spoke and said he was too afraid to say anything...."

Here are the faces of protest...



(photos from Phayul.com)

Monasteries Under Lockdown

"Conditions are said to be increasingly tense within the three major monasteries in Lhasa, which are under lockdown and surrounded by troops following peaceful demonstrations over the last three days by hundreds of monks from Drepung, Sera and Ganden monasteries on the outskirts of the capital. Ganden monks demonstrated yesterday, marking the third day in a series of protests unprecedented in recent years that have now rippled through the Lhasa area, while others are reported in at least two remote rural monasteries and towns in areas of central and eastern Tibet.

All three monasteries are closed off to tourists according to several tourism operators. Two Drepung monks are said by Radio Free Asia to be in serious condition after stabbing themselves in a possible attempt to commit suicide, while monks at Sera are refusing to attend classes and are on hunger strike in a bold act of protest despite the crackdown at the monastery...."

of course the Chinese are blaming His Holiness the Dalai Lama for all of this.

I am beyond words when I read these stories. it disgusts me that the world screams in horror when these atrocities occur in other parts of the world but does nothing about Tibet. the world's leaders, and especially American politicians, are spineless and gutless when it comes to China. from the New York Times story: "The White House responded with expressions of concern, but not direct criticism, although it urged the Chinese authorities to use restraint." the word I'm thinking of right now starts with the letter "P".

Below is the letter I received from Barack Obama (he is my senator) when I wrote to him via his website...just a bullshit canned response from one of his staffers....

"Thank you for contacting me with your concerns about human rights in the People's Republic of China. I appreciate your perspective on this issue.

As the world's most populous nation, China's influence and power has been growing steadily over the past several decades. This is likely to continue for the foreseeable future, and presents America with challenges and opportunities to seek change.

In particular, China's treatment of ethnic and religious minorities and political dissidents, as well as its relationships with Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Tibet are very troubling. Despite progress over the last few decades, China must do much more to comply with modern human rights norms. I look forward to working with my colleagues on these difficult issues and am deeply committed to promoting human rights in China and other countries.

As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and the East Asian Subcommittee, I will keep your thoughts in mind as the discussion on this subject continues.

Thank you again for contacting me. I hope you will continue to keep in touch on this or any other subject of importance to you.

Sincerely,

Barack Obama
United States Senator"

"I will keep your thoughts in mind as the discussion on this subject continues." yeah, right.

I am Buddhist and my teacher, Gelek Rimpoche, escaped Tibet in 1959. you can read about Tibet and Rimpoche here on my sister blog.

If you care, read The End of Tibet, a Rolling Stone story.

"The small concrete room smells of urine. In the corner, a young woman lies on a metal cot, moaning softly and vomiting up blood. A former Buddhist nun, she is recovering from an operation on her stomach to fix internal injuries caused by beatings from Chinese guards. Her roommate, Lhundrub Zangmo, speaks in a whispery monotone. Zangmo's head is no longer shaven, and her straight black hair falls over her tight sweater emblazoned with the words The Coolest Boy. But even though she has left the clergy, Zangmo remains deeply religious. She has plastered the walls of the tiny room with photos of Buddhist deities and the Dalai Lama, leader of Tibetan Buddhists."

I sponsor a Buddhist nun who fled Tibet and who now lives at a monastery in India. if I went to Tibet and wore my Dalai Lama pendant, at best it would be taken from me, at worst I would be thrown in jail -- images of His Holiness are forbidden in Tibet, his birthplace.

The Rolling Stone story contains a link for the International Campaign for Tibet that lists six things you can do to help make the 2008 Beijing Olympics a catalyst for change in Tibet.

I will not watch any part of the Olympics this year. the monks that the Chinese have captured will still be in jail when the Olympics begin. as you sit down in your comfortable living rooms to watch the opening ceremonies, they will still be in jail, if they are not already dead.

FREE TIBET

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