Olympic Torch paraded through Tibet

I really don't know what to say about this one. It is no shock, after major protests rocked torch-passing cities like Paris and San Francisco, that there would be an unholy clampdown on Lhasa and its environs as the torch passed through.

- Tensions simmering over torch in Tibet
"Over the weekend the Chinese Government went ahead with its controversial plan to run the Olympic torch relay through Tibet. Heavy security guaranteed there were no human rights demonstrations. Instead, the relay ended up being a rallying point for local political leaders who vowed to destroy the Dalai Lama, even as they put new touches to some of Lhasa's landmarks. Though foreigners are still banned from entering Tibet, after the violent rebellion in March a handful of journalists were allowed into Lhasa to cover the torch relay, which had been cut from three days in Tibet to three hours... " from ABC news

- Here's what the NY Times had to say about it:
"Olympic Torch’s Tibet Visit Is Short and Political
BEIJING — The visit of the Olympic torch to the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, came and went in about two hours on Saturday. Leaders of the ruling Communist Party probably exhaled once the flame was trundled onto an airplane without incident and flown out of a city that only three months ago had erupted in violent anti-Chinese protests.

But if Chinese leaders were anxious to avoid protests, they did not avoid using the torch relay as a stage to again lash out at the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader. Zhang Qingli, the Communist Party secretary of Tibet, stood beneath the Potala Palace, the historic seat of the Dalai Lama, and bid farewell to the flame with a speech that at times was itself fiery. “Tibet’s sky will never change and the red flag with five stars will forever flutter high above it,” Mr. Zhang said, according to Reuters. “We will certainly be able to totally smash the splittist schemes of the Dalai Lama clique.”

The broadside against the Dalai Lama punctuated an abbreviated torch relay in Lhasa that was partly broadcast on state television and that quickly brought criticism from pro-Tibetan groups outside China. For months, advocates for Tibet have demanded in vain that China not take the torch through Lhasa.

“The torch relay in Lhasa is China’s latest episode in a series of betrayals of everything the Olympics represent,” Kate Woznow, campaign director of Students for a Free Tibet, said in a statement. “Parading the torch through Lhasa while Tibetans live under virtual martial law is China’s most egregious exploitation of the Games yet.”

The Tibet Autonomous Region and other Tibetan regions of western China have been under a security crackdown since March, when violent protests broke out in Lhasa and spread. China has accused the Dalai Lama of masterminding the uprising, a charge he denies. Last week, he called on Tibetans not to protest when the torch passed through Lhasa."

Japanese temple refuses to host Olympic torch
Speculation is monks are sympathizing with protesters over Tibet situation
updated 1:06 a.m. ET April 18, 2008


Olympic torch update:

"TOKYO - A major Japanese Buddhist temple withdrew Friday from a plan to host the Beijing Olympics torch relay, citing safety concerns and sympathy among its monks and worshippers for Tibetan protesters facing a Chinese crackdown… An official at the temple’s secretariat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the temple and its worshippers were also concerned about the treatment of fellow Buddhists in Tibet.

'There have been a lot of talk about the Tibet issue and the public opinion is heightening,” she said. “We are Buddhists just like them. We hear words of concern from many people every day.'"

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/24192903/

Protests and Petitions CAN make a difference in Tibet!

(from 09 Apr 2008)

Protests and Petitions CAN make a difference in Tibet! Updates:

I. "Paris protests force cancellation of torch relay:
Security officials call off final section after huge pro-Tibet demonstrations.

PARIS - Paris’ Olympic torch relay descended into chaos Monday, with protesters scaling the Eiffel Tower, grabbing for the flame and forcing security officials to repeatedly snuff out the torch and transport it by bus past demonstrators yelling "Free Tibet!" The relentless anti-Chinese demonstrations ignited across the capital with unexpected power and ingenuity, foiling 3,000 police officers deployed on motorcycles, in jogging gear and even inline skates. Chinese organizers finally gave up on the relay, canceling the last third of what China had hoped would be a joyous jog by torch-bearing VIPs past some of Paris’ most famous landmarks…"

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/23978408/

II. - Obama urges Bush to consider Beijing boycott
Candidate falls short of Clinton position, but says keep option 'on the table'
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24039876

- Torch kept from demonstrators, rushed away
Original route shortened; flame taken to airplane, skips closing ceremony
Gere joins Olympic Torch protests
April 9: At a protest in San Francisco, actor Richard Gere says he believes China will one day regret their actions toward Tibet.
http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/24024416/
 
III. from John Ackerly, President of International Campaign for Tibet:

"Nearly everyday a new story of brutality in Tibet surfaces as the Tibetan people of Tibet stand up for their rights. Chinese soldiers and police continue to arrest, interrogate and torture Tibetans, including Buddhist monks and nuns. We know just last week eight Tibetans were killed in eastern Tibet after police fired into a crowd of several hundreds monks and laypeople protesting the "patriotic education" by the Chinese government as they visit Buddhist monasteries and demand monks to denounce the Dalai Lama. We are asking President Bush to take a stand for the Tibetan people and not attend the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympics.

For more than 50 years the Tibetans have suffered at the hands of the Chinese government. Today a climate of fear pervades Tibet. As the Tibetans stand up to China, the Chinese authorities have stepped of their campaign demanding the Tibetans denounce the Dalai Lama leading to increased resentment creating a viscous cycle. It’s time the violence and intimidations tactics stop. The Chinese government must resolve this conflict peacefully and begins a dialogue with the Dalai Lama.
Your voice is essential. We must keep the pressure on world leaders and ensure we know the truth inside Tibet. Tourists have been asked to leave. Journalists have been forced out of Tibet leaving China without witnesses to their strong-armed and deadly tactics."

IV. What YOU can do:

- if the Olympic torch is coming to your city, go down and join the protests.
Here is a map and itinerary of its progress: http://torchrelay.beijing2008.cn/en/journey/map

- many cities are having pro-Tibet or anti-China rallies on their own. Find yours and join in.

- Go to the ICT website http://www.savetibet.org/ and click on Take Action!
You can donate your time or money, and sign a petition to your national leader.
Protests and Petitions CAN make a difference in Tibet!