Saturday, April 5, 2008

Chinese Repression of Tibetan Monks Worsens

The questions is will the butchers of China get away with it as they always have. It really is up to you:

New violence has broken out in a volatile Tibetan region of western China, leaving eight people dead, an overseas Tibet activist group said Friday. China's official Xinhua News Agency said a government official was seriously injured.

The London-based Free Tibet Campaign said police opened fire on hundreds of Buddhist monks and lay people who had marched on local government offices to demand the release of two monks detained for possessing photographs of the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled Buddhist leader.

[...]The report indicates continuing unrest in Tibetan areas despite a massive security presence imposed after sometimes violent anti-government demonstrations broke out last month in Tibet's capital Lhasa and neighboring provinces.

There are some showing leadership by not participating in China's Olympic propaganda:
India's soccer captain has refused to carry the Olympic torch during its passage through India to protest the recent Chinese crackdown on anti-government protests by Buddhist monks in Tibet. As Anjana Pasricha reports from New Delhi, Tibetan activists have welcomed the decision.

[...]President of the New Delhi-based Tibetan Youth Congress, Tsewang Rigzin, welcomed the Indian soccer captain's decision.

"It sends out a strong signal to the rest of the world that when it comes to principle[s], people should abide by their principles, and that they should stand up for what they truly believe in," he said.

Bhutia is the second person to refuse to take part in the Olympic torch relay. Last month, a Thai environmentalist, Narisa Chakrabongse, also withdrew from the relay to protest human-rights violations in Tibet.

...Including the President of France:
French President Nicholas Sarkozy stepped up the pressure on China Saturday over its handling of the Tibet crisis by warning he may boycott the Olympic opening, following fresh violence.

If Sarkozy can do it, why not you Mr.President:
Hundreds of protesters and members of the Tibetan-American diaspora gathered Monday in rain-soaked Lafayette Park in front of the White House to appeal to President Bush to speak out on behalf of Tibet and to boycott the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games in August. Leaders of Tibetan advocacy groups and a congressman also joined the rally.

[...]Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii) attended the rally and told the crowd that he has begun to work with House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to press for an American boycott of the Olympics opening ceremony. Abercrombie told Cybercast News Service that he hopes to create a subcommittee, possibly under the Human Rights Caucus, to explore the idea.

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