With only a few hours to go until the Olympics opening ceremonies, we have been busy this week making sure the world hears about the ongoing crackdown inside Tibet and understands the true nature of the Chinese government in the lead up to the Games.
Tibetans and people of conscience from all over the world have taken bold, brave, and creative action this week in a manner that is truly overwhelming. And it is only the beginning.
On August 6, while China’s leadership was trying to focus the world’s attention on their strictly controlled torch relay, four courageous activists climbed poles outside the Bird’s Nest stadium and hung two huge banners to draw attention to the Tibetan people’s struggle for freedom and the ongoing violent repression inside Tibet. The activists were detained and quickly deported. Check out www.FreeTibet2008.org to find out more about this action and to see the incredible global coverage it garnered.
By that evening an international day of action had begun in full force. Students for a Free Tibet’s global network of students and activists along with members of the Tibetan community and Tibet support groups gathered in New York, London, San Francisco, Toronto, Paris, New Delhi, Mexico City, and other cities to shine the spotlight on the ongoing repression in Tibet and the thousands of Tibetans that remain missing or imprisoned in the massive pre Olympics security clampdown in Tibet. Check out a few highlights below:
| In Ottawa, SFTers Bhutila Karpoche, a Tibetan-Canadian and Queenly Lee, a Chinese-Canadian, climbed light poles on either side of the embassy’s gates and hung banners reading “One world, One Dream, Free Tibet” in English and French. The protest also included a blockade involving six Tibetan-Canadians who locked themselves to the entrance of the embassy and displayed a fifteen-foot banner reading “Tibetans are Dying for Freedom”. |  |
| In New York City, local Tibetans and supporters marked the start of the Beijing 2008 Olympics with a high profile projection on the facade of the Chinese Consulate. The protesters projected images of the victims of China’s brutal crackdown in Tibet and photos from the popular Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule this year. |  |
| In New York City, there was also a beautiful candlelight vigil in Union Square where hundreds of Tibetans and supporters peacefully and powerfully demonstrated. |  |
On a more sobering note, at the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco, two members of Students for a Free Tibet were assaulted by several people who appeared to be employed by the Chinese Consulate, according to witnesses at the scene.
Nyendak Wangden, a 22 year-old Tibetan woman from Suisun City, CA, rappelled on a climbing rope from the roof of the Chinese Consulate to form the image of a ‘mock hanging’ with a sign reading “Stop the Killings in Tibet” while Tibetans and supporters rallied in front of the building below. Brihannala was on the roof supporting her.
Brihannala was assaulted on the roof by several individuals, while she explained that they were nonviolent protesters. A man forced Brihannala away from the climbing anchors, while another individual cut the rope holding Nyendak, who fell at least 15 feet to a balcony below. She sustained a fractured wrist and fractured radius in the fall, and was rushed in an ambulance to San Francisco General Hospital.
What happened in San Francisco, underscores two things. One, how little regard for human life the Chinese government has. And secondly, how committed and courageous Tibetans and their supporters are in demanding freedom for Tibet. Nyendak was prepared to face the risks and consequences of her peaceful protest because she is determined to bring attention to the critical situation in Tibet. Tibetans continue to suffer under a brutal clampdown by the Chinese government that has only escalated with the approach of the Olympics, which begin today.
As the ceremonies begin tonight, Tibetans and their supporters worldwide are as determined as ever to use nonviolent direct action to shine a spotlight on China’s brutal occupation of Tibet and speak out in solidarity with Tibetans in Tibet who continue to cry out for human rights and freedom.
Stay tuned…