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The Crisis in Tibet and the International Response to China's

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The Crisis in Tibet and the International Response to China's INSIDE: • Timeline of Tibetan Protests • Tibet in the News • Voices: The Presidential Candidates Speak Out SPRING 2008 A publication of the TibetPRESS WATCH International Campaign for Tibet ICT Candlelight Vigil for Tibet in San Francisco The Crisis in Tibet and the International Response to Chin a’s Brutality MANDALA SOCIETY YOUR LIVING LEGACY TO TIBET The Mandala Society is an intimate group of Tibet supporters, committed to helping future generations of Tibetans. By including the International Campaign for Tibet in their will or trust, Mandala Society members ensure that ICT will continue to have the resources to promote a peaceful resolution of the occupation of Tibet, and will be able to help rebuild Tibet when Tibetans achieve genuine autonomy. For more information about Mandala Society member - ship, please contact Chris Chaleunrath at 202-785-1515, ext. 225, [email protected], or use the envelope attached to this newsletter to request a call. The Mandala Society of the International Campaign for Tibet 2 … as w e’ ve been struggling in these past months to help the people of Tibet, I ’ve been struck by some similarities between the U.S. civil rights movement and the plight of Tibetans today. TIBET PRESSWATCH From the President The International Campaign for Tibet works to promote human rights Dear Friend, and democratic freedoms for the people of Tibet. This issue of Tibet Press Watch is devoted to the sweep - Founded in 1988, ICT is a non-profit ing protests in Tibet and the international response to membership organization with offices the resulting Chinese crackdown. It’s filled with facts and in Washington, D.C., Amsterdam, information, so I hope you won’t mind if I take this Berlin and Brussels. moment to make a personal observation. John Ackerly, President EXECUTIVE OFFICERS Before I devoted my career to the cause of justice in Tibet, I was a civil rights lawyer in Richard Gere, Chairman the American south. As we’ve been struggling in these past months to help the people of Lodi Gyari, Executive Chair Tibet, I’ve been struck by the situation’s similarities to the U.S. civil rights movement. John Ackerly, President Marybeth Markey, V.P. Intl. Advocacy Bhuchung Tsering, V.P. Special Programs The Chinese response to international outrage has been one of resentment. They don’t want to be told how to handle “their” Tibetans and seem to believe that their BOARD OF DIRECTORS institutionalized racism and repression are an acceptable way to treat the people of Richard Gere Tibet — just as many leaders of the American south insisted that their treatment of Lodi Gyari blacks was fair and proper. Venerable Geshe Tsultim Gyeltsen Mark Handelman There comes a watershed moment in any citizen’s movement — a point at which a Melissa Mathison Joel McCleary people will no longer accept the excuse of “That’s the way we’ve always done it.” At that Keith Pitts point, even the most dominant institutions can be overcome. Jim Crow laws are over - Mark Rovner thrown; apartheid is ended in South Africa; the Berlin Wall comes down. Steve Schroeder Gare Smith I believe we’re closer to that moment now in Tibet. Grace Spring Julia Taft This March, the Tibetan people — steeped in the proud traditions of compassion and acceptance — rose up to confront their oppressors after decades of abuse. Violent CONTACT INFORMATION acts were committed on both sides — Chinese immigrants were killed and Chinese ICT Headquarters: 1825 Jefferson Pl, NW, shops attacked by Tibetans, and Tibetan protestors were beaten and killed by Chinese Washington, DC 20036 police. We condemn the violence on both sides. Perpetrators must be fairly tried. But 202-785-1515 the incidences of violence must not blur the reality that injustice must be addressed. www.savetibet.org This is our time to push for peaceful change and a true respect for rights in Tibet — [email protected] and by so doing, help China grow stronger by confronting its prejudices. Newsletter Design: Wm. Whitehead Design Systemized repression may appear to be immune to protest or change — but we know change is possible. More than that, change is essential , and those who do not take Editorial Support: action are unwittingly supporting a brutal status quo. Pru Bovee and Mal Warwick Associates I thank you for standing with us. Please let us know if you have any questions. Cover Photo: In solidarity, Steve Rhodes flickr.com/photos/ari John Ackerly 3 News Round -up: The Eyes of the World FOR DECADES, THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT has implemented heavy-handed policies that under - mine Tibetan identity. Large numbers of Chinese Op-ed immigrants have flooded into Tibet. And China’s CHINA’S LOYAL YOUTH virulent official denunciations of the Dalai Lama Matthew Forney in Beijing — April 13, 2008 helped to push Tibetans to the breaking point. In March, peaceful protests spontaneously erupted Many sympathetic Westerners view Chinese society along the lines of what they saw in the waning days of across the Tibetan plateau. The brutal response by the Soviet Union: a repressive government backed by Chinese authorities led to violence, imprisonment, old hard-liners losing its grip to a new generation of death, and the “disappearance” of many Tibetans. well-educated, liberal-leaning sophisticates. As pleasant as this outlook may be, it’s naïve. Educated young Chinese, far from being embarrassed or upset by their government’s human-rights record, rank among The eyes of the world were already on China in anticipation of the most patriotic, establishment-supporting people the 2008 Summer Olympic Games to be held in Beijing this you’ll meet. August — and overwhelmingly, the global response to China’s repressions of peaceful protests in Tibet was one of horror and As is clear to anyone who lives here, most young ethnic outrage. In the wake of violent repressions of monks in Burma Chinese strongly support their government’s suppres - recently, the world press rightly saw the repression of protest in sion of the recent Tibetan uprising. One Chinese friend China as an issue of real concern. who has a degree from a European university described the conflict to me as “a clash between the commercial The following extracts are a sampling of the widespread atten - world and an old aboriginal society.” She even praised tion these protests received in nations around the world. As her government for treating Tibetans better than New ICT’s Board of Director, Richard Gere has pointed out, it has World settlers treated Native Americans. been challenging in the past to find a forum for discussion of the situation in Tibet — but now the world is watching. Now Barring major changes in China’s education system or a tremendous energy has been generated. Now we must pursue economy, Westerners are not going to find allies among every opportunity to keep international attention and interest the vast majority of Chinese on key issues like Tibet, at a peak in the months before the Games. Darfur and the environment for some time. If the debate over Tibet turns this summer’s contests in Bei - jing into the Human Rights Games, as seems inevitable, Western ticket-holders expecting to find Chinese angry at their government will instead find Chinese angry at them. Asian Wall Street Journal TRAGEDY IN TIBET Robert Barnett — March 17, 2008 Today, Tibetans exist in a shadow world, where criti - cism of Chinese policies can rarely be spoken for fear of political and professional suicide, or worse. No one 4 POLITICAL VOICES: PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE SENATOR BARAK OBAMA “I am deeply disturbed by reports of a crackdown and arrests in the wake of peaceful protests by Tibetan monks. I condemn the use of violence and call on the Chinese government to respect the human rights of the people of Tibet, and to account for the whereabouts of detained Buddhist monks. If Tibetans are to live in harmony with the rest of China’s people, their religion and culture must be respected and protected.” —March 14, 2008 Monks demonstrating on March 10, 2008 in Lhasa. Monks throughout Tibet now face an increased ‘patriotic education’ campaign by authorities targeting the Dalai Lama's influence and attempting to ‘restore order’ in Tibet. who has lived in Tibet and speaks Tibetan will have INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE/OP-ED been unaware that Tibetans were hiding deep and unexpressed discontent and fear. Random people would TURNING POINT approach me in Lhasa alleyways, sometimes weeping, whispering and begging me to tell the world that the FOR TIBET Chinese were denying them freedom, or some such Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari — April 3, 2008 phrase. The only surprise is that after 20 years they dared to take to the streets in such numbers. As the representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in talks with the Chinese leadership since 2002, I have All sides have made mistakes. The West has depicted been deeply fearful that such events would come to Tibetans as likeable victims, rather than as agents pass. But none of us imagined the scale of the protests, with coherent political agendas that needed urgent given China's tight control in Tibet. answers. The Dalai Lama has been accused by the Chinese of sending mixed signals about his promise to The protests that we have seen among my Tibetan give up independence. The Chinese side has failed to compatriots are not only a result of several years of listen to the warnings of their own advisers, let alone hard-line policies by Beijing. They have deeper roots, those opinions offered by Tibetans and outsiders. arising from 50 years of Chinese misrule. I salute the 5 POLITICAL VOICES: PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE SENATOR HILLARY CLINTON “I am deeply concerned about the violent clashes that erupted in Lhasa.
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