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March 10 : Some Pretty Successful Movements

As you know March 10 is Tibet Uprising Day. This year marks the 49th anniversary of Tibetan people rise up against Chinese Government invasion of Tibet.

Here are some of the March 10 Movements that was able to grab media’s attention:

A reminder to China that the world has not forgotten Tibet - By Clifford Coonan in Beijing; The Independent

Red-robed Tibetan Buddhist monks have taken to the streets of the capital Lhasa to mark the 49th anniversary of the People’s Liberation Army crushing an uprising in Tibet against Chinese rule, which forced the Dalai Lama into exile. It appears to be the largest open protest in Lhasa since demonstrations in the late 1980s led to imposition of martial law in Tibet in 1989, when China’s current president, Hu Jintao, was Communist Party chief there.

Tibetans Keeping Marching, Defing Ban: Tibetan Exiles Press Ahead With March, Defying Indian Ban - By Ashwini Bhatia Associated Press Writer

Tibetan protesters shout slogans at a foot march in Dharmsala, India, Monday, March 10, 2008. Hundreds of Tibetan exiles began a six-month march from India to Tibet on Monday to protest Beijing’s hold on the Himalayan region and China’s hosting of the Olympic Games. The march, which started Monday, was expected to take six months, reaching Tibet during the Aug. 8-24 Beijing Games in a bid to turn the Olympic spotlight onto China’s often harsh 57-year rule over the Himalayan region.

Pop Star Bjork Stands Up for Tibet

Bjork is a pop star from Iceland and her performance in front of the Shanghai audience will be cherished by Tibetan people world wide. She declared “Tibet, Tibet” in her popular song “Declare Independence” during her concert in Shanghai, China.

Bjork’s message have been widely covered in the media, and she has included the following message in a statement on her website: “i am first and last a musician and as such i feel my duty to try to express the whole range of human emotions. the urge for declaring independence is just one of them but an important one”. Click here to read her full statement.

This brave action by Bjork for Tibetan people has ignited both the controversy and discussion. “Chinese government officials are afraid of the inspiration and courage that she represents to thousands of young Tibetans, their supporters, and Chinese dissidents who believe in justice and freedom for all - and who will ultimately be a force for change in Tibet and in China,” says Students for A Free Tibet organization.
And here is what Bjork has to say, “”I would like to put importance on that I am not a politician, I am first and last a musician and, as such, I feel my duty to try to express the whole range of human emotions.” “The urge for declaring independence is just one of them but an important one that we all feel at some times in our lives. This song was written more with the personal in mind but the fact that it has translated to its broadest meaning, the struggle of a suppressed nation, gives me much pleasure.” And she adds that she would like to wish all individuals and nations good luck in their battle for independence.
Her website is located @ www.bjork.com/unity

Year 2007: Tibet Faced the Second Highest temperature in 37 Years

In year 2007, Tibet recorded its second-highest temperature in 37 years. The average temperature of Tibet that year was 4.7 degrees Celsius (about 11.6 degrees Fahrenheit), was only second to the record of 4.9 degrees Celsius in 2006, according to statistics released by the Tibet Regional Meteorological Bureau.

A study by the bureau showed that the temperature in Tibet had risen by 0.3 degrees Celsius every 10 years, or about 10 times as fast as the average of China, which is 0.4 degrees per century.

A Letter From Tenzin Tsundue

2008 the year of ACTION for Tibet!

Dear Friends,

The time has come for me to go to Tibet again. Last time when I went to Tibet in 1997 - after my graduation - I was arrested by the Chinese authorities, beaten up, interrogated, starved and finally thrown out of Tibet after keeping me in their jails for three months in Lhasa and Ngari. I walked to Tibet, on my own, alone, across the Himalayan Mountains from the Ladakh.

Eleven years later, I am walking to Tibet again; this time too, without permission. I am returning home; why should I bother about papers from Chinese colonial regime who have not only occupied Tibet, but also is running a military rule there; making our people in Tibet live in tyranny and brutal suppression day after day, everyday for fifty years.

The Year 2008 is a huge opportunity for the Tibet movement to present the injustices the Tibetans have been subjected to, when China is going to attract international media attention. I am taking part in the return march from Dharamsala to Tibet, that is being organized as a part of the “Tibetan People’s Uprising Movement”, a united effort put together by five major Tibetan NGOs: Tibetan Youth Congress, Tibetan Women’s Association, Gu-Chu-Sum Movement of Tibet (an association of former political prisoners), National Democratic Party of Tibet and Students for a Free Tibet, India.

The march will start on 10 March 2008, from Dharamsala, the capital of Tibetan exiles and will pass through Delhi and then head towards Tibet. Walking for six months, we might reach the Tibet border around the time China opens the Beijing 2008 Olympics (August 14-25). Presently it’s too early to approximate at which border point we would be crossing; Tibet and India share a border that runs 4,075 Km along the length of the Himalayas. We might choose any point, or even multiple points. We’ll see the situation.

I know there had been similar attempts in the past, but this is 2008, and I have seen the organizers working extra hard with strategic planning, taking care of every minute detail, and the best thing is that we have all the NGOs working unitedly for the common goal. This unity is our strength! I do not know where we would end up, that’s why I am giving away the little collection of books (my only possession in life) to a library at is being setup in McLeod Ganj, Dharamsala. My friends: Lobsang and Nyingje (who served in the Indian army as part of the Tibetan battalion) are also giving away their personal belongings; committing themselves for the march.

Of course the Indian police will do their duty; the Chinese army at the Tibet border would be overtly enthusiastic. Since we are leading a peaceful march, with absolute commitment to non-violence, I do not think anyone - either from Indian authority or Chinese - would impose themselves on us. Inspired by Gandhi’s Salt March, even if they did try to stop us, we are not stopping. For how many days can they jail us for just walking peacefully? And why should the Indian government stop Tibetan refugees voluntarily returning home on foot?

In the past I have climbed buildings to shout for freedom, thrown myself at the Chinese embassy gate in New Delhi, spent months in jails, got beaten up police, fought court cases, but I never lost the dignity of the struggle: my believe in Non-violence. The March to Tibet will be non-violent; it is a sadhana, a spiritual tribute to the truth and justice that we are fighting for. This is our Long March to freedom.

And on our journey home, we will cook and camp in tents on the roadside, there will be the marchers and the support marchers, the kitchen team, logistics, media and the medical team. There will be dancing and singing, and theatre and film shows on the road as we take this long journey home.

Dear friend,

Here is an opportunity to join a historic non-violent freedom struggle, a people’s effort to win freedom for a country that remains subjugated even in 2008. I request you to join us, support us in whatever ways possible. We need people to know about it, so spread the word. You can walk with us, as we walk for six months, maybe you can join us for a day along the path, even one hour, or for a week, months as a supporter. Schools, colleges and even whole town can walk with us. We need volunteers, media people, writers, photographers, bloggers can help us. We need nurses, cooks, technicians and your prayers.

Ever since the march was announced on 4th January 2008, Tibetans have been talking about it; it’s a major discussion in the refugee camps. Recently the organizers launched the entry form. And I heard people are slowly getting themselves registered. You too can register your volunteer online. For more information please visit: www.TibetanUprising.org For enquiries email the coordinators: Lobsang yeshi or sherab woser

Join us.

Tenzin Tsundue
Dharamsala

Tenzin Tsundue’s Intention to Walk into Tibet

Tenzin Tsundue is a restless young Tibetan, who after graduating from Madras, South India, braved snowstorms and treacherous mountains, broke all rules and restrictions, crossed the Himalayas on foot and went into forbidden Tibet!

Tenzin Tsundue has made his intentions clear to walk right into Tibet without any documents to bring the Tibetan struggle for independence from Chinese occupation back into international focus.

Tsundue’s march into Tibet is to begin March 10 from this hill station - the headquarters of the Tibetan government-in-exile led by Tibetan spiritual and temporal head the Dalai Lama. The town is nestled at the feet of the towering snow-clad Dhauladhar range of the mighty Himalayas.

Tsundue sports a red bandana on his head at all times and says he will remove it only when Tibet is free from Chinese occupation. He has termed his march to Tibet as being comparable to the famous salt march initiated by Mahatma Gandhi to break British laws in 1930.

The march will move, along with other Tibetan independence struggle volunteers, from here to New Delhi before moving onward to a border point with Tibet-China. The entry of Tsundue into Tibet is planned to coincide with the start of the Beijing Olympics beginning in China in August.

Getting into Tibet illegally is not new for Tsundue. He did it in 1997 and was promptly arrested by Chinese security forces.

“I went to Tibet in 1997 - after my graduation - and was arrested by the Chinese authorities. I was beaten up, interrogated, starved and finally thrown out of Tibet after keeping me in their jails for three months in Lhasa and Ngari,” Tsundue said.

“I walked to Tibet, on my own, alone, across the Himalayan Mountains from Ladakh. Eleven years later, I am walking to Tibet again; this time too, without permission.

“I am returning home; why should I bother about papers from (the) Chinese colonial regime who have not only occupied Tibet, but is also running a military rule there; making our people in Tibet live in tyranny and brutal suppression day after day, everyday for 50,” he said after his latest announcement to go to Tibet.

“I don’t know how long the march will last and from where it will enter Tibet. But we are determined to complete it,” Tsundue told IANS.

Several Tibetan organisations like Tsundue’s Friends of Tibet, Students for Free Tibet, Tibetan Youth Congress, Tibetan Women’s Association and Gu-Chu-Sum Movement (an association of former Tibetan political prisoners living here in exile) are planning various activities this year to draw maximum international media attention in a year when China hosts the biggest sporting event - the Olympics - for the first time.

Apart from his 1997 walk, Tsundue, born to Tibetan refugee parents in India, waved the flag of independent Tibet at Mumbai and Bangalore before the visiting Chinese prime minister and president in January 2002 and April 2005.

His action, for which he hid himself at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore for two days before coming out from a rooftop to fly the Tibetan flag at the venue where the Chinese president was present, embarrassed the Indian and Chinese authorities.

Now his movements within India are closely watched by security agencies. But Tsundue is not worried.

“Of course, the Indian police will do their duty; the Chinese army at the Tibet border would be overtly enthusiastic. Since we are leading a peaceful march, with absolute commitment to non-violence, I do not think anyone - either from Indian authorities or Chinese - would impose themselves on us.

“Inspired by Gandhi’s Salt March, even if they did try to stop us, we are not stopping. For how many days can they jail us for just walking peacefully? And why should the Indian government stop Tibetan refugees voluntarily returning home on foot?” Tsundue said.

Studens For A Free Tibet Wins $25,000 in Facebook Challenge

SFT, Students For a Free Tibet, came 2nd in the Facebook Giving for a Cause challenge, winning $25,000 in prize money. So far, the total amount of money SFT was able to raise through this challenge is $94,624.

Here is the description of SFT in Facebook’s The Giving Challenge:
Positions:

1. Tibetan people’s right to self determination.
2. Ending China’s brutal occupation and oppressive colonization of Tibet and the Tibetan people.
3. Through education, grassroots organizing, and non-violent direct action, we campaign for Tibetans’ fundamental right to political freedom.

Category: International - International Human Rights
Description: Students for a Free Tibet (SFT) works in solidarity with the Tibetan people in their struggle for freedom and independence. We are a chapter-based network of young people and activists around the world. Through education, grassroots organizing, and non-violent direct action, we campaign for Tibetans’ fundamental right to political freedom. Our role is to empower and train youth as leaders in the worldwide movement for social justice.

VISION:
In our work for Tibetan independence we also aim to inspire and enable people, especially youth, to create a just and equitable world, free of oppression, in which there is respect for the earth and all living things.

VALUES:
We believe every individual has the right to be free. Those who enjoy freedom have the power and also the responsibility to make positive change in the world. We seek to create opportunities to inspire, enable and motivate all people to see that change is possible. We value creativity in every pursuit and we believe it is essential to have fun while working towards our vision of a just and equitable world.

How is China Handling Tibet

Time Magazine recently published an article called Tackling Tibet:

Since 2002, a little-known academic ritual has taken place each year at Harvard University. Academics of every stripe, from historians to constitutional lawyers, gather to discuss Tibet’s past, present and future. Uniquely, these intellectual debates have brought together Chinese and exiled Tibetan scholars. In the real world, the simplest facts about Tibet are so divisive that dialogue is impossible. Chinese speak of the 1950 peaceful liberation of the Chinese province of Tibet, and of its subsequent modernization; Tibetans speak of the invasion of an independent nation, and the suppression of its religious and cultural traditions. The polite rules established at Harvard, however, at least allow the two sides to exchange views. In fact, a senior Chinese scholar attending the first Harvard event met with the Dalai Lama’s envoy. That secret meeting birthed the official Sino-Tibetan dialogue between the Dalai Lama’s representatives and the Chinese government, which still takes place annually in Beijing.

The most recent Harvard Tibet conference, late last year, occurred amid a hurricane of news events. The Dalai Lama met the leaders of Germany, the U.S. and Canada in quick succession. Headlines trumpeted Beijing’s angry response. In Tibet, 4,000 armed police confronted monks at Lhasa’s venerated Drepung Monastery when they tried to celebrate the Dalai Lama being awarded the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal. Then the Chinese government announced that it must certify all new reincarnations of Tibetan Buddhism’s top clerics, signaling its firm intention to select and control the next Dalai Lama when the current 14th Dalai Lama passes away. He, in turn, announced that he was considering the idea that he might select his successor before he died. At the Harvard conference, you could see these news events landing like mortars amid the polite dialogue. The scholars carried on, reflexively, trying to peel away each other’s assumptions, looking for any sliver of space where a beachhead of shared meaning might be established.

Can reconciliation ever be achieved? Beijing first needs to give Tibetans, in exile and in Tibet, at least a hint of mutuality in their relationship. China could start by listening to Tibetans like Phuntso Wangye. He founded the first Communist Party in Tibet in 1940, which he merged with the Chinese Communist Party in 1949, and then helped lead Chinese troops into Tibet in 1951. Mao Zedong trusted Wangye so implicitly that he selected him as the translator for his 1954-55 meetings with the Dalai Lama. Today, the 85-year-old Wangye lives in Beijing. He believes that those Tibetan leaders collaborating with Beijing are misleading the Chinese leadership by claiming the Dalai Lama no longer has much sway over Tibetans. Wangye has urged Beijing to invite the Dalai Lama to China. Only the Dalai Lama has the standing among Tibetans to convince them to give up their hope for independence (it’s self-deceiving to think such feelings do not exist).

The Dalai Lama has clearly indicated that he wants to negotiate meaningful autonomy, not independence, for Tibet. Yet the hawks in Beijing refuse to deal with him; they believe China can solve its Dalai Lama problem by letting the current one die in exile. However, history proves no power has ever successfully imposed a fake Dalai Lama on the Tibetan people.

Harvard’s professor emeritus Ezra F. Vogel — who has enjoyed good relations with many of China’s leaders, past and present — chaired several sessions during the Tibet conference. Beijing might want to consider Vogel’s opinion regarding the 15th Dalai Lama: “If the Dalai Lama passes away without agreement with China, then you could have someone Beijing selects, who would not be acceptable to Tibetans. Then China could be in for a long-term problem, like Russia has in Chechnya.”

Today’s sporadic Sino-Tibetan dialogue continues not because China wants to use it to reach some accommodation with the Dalai Lama, but because China does not want to be blamed for ending it. Yet Beijing needs to engage the Dalai Lama because only he has the legitimacy among Tibetans to negotiate, and sell, genuine autonomy to the Tibetans. Inviting the Dalai Lama to China would do more to burnish the country’s international image in this Olympic year than any other single step. When the Dalai Lama departs the scene, things will become harder, not easier, for China to deal with Tibet.
With reporting by Journalist Thomas Laird’s latest book is The Story of Tibet: Conversations with the Dalai Lama

Jet Li says China, Tibet should be unified

Jet Li has started to generate controversy in recent few days. The 44-year-old action star has said at a taping of an interview for CNN’s “Talk Asia” in Hong Kong late Wednesday that Taiwan and China should be unified. In addition to that Jet Li, a prominent follower of Tibetan Buddhism, says he has met with the Dalai Lama and respects his teachings but believes that Tibet and China are part of one country.

This news story has been provided by the Associate Press (AP), the primary news provider for online news websites. This news has been published all over the internet. Here the story continues:

“From the religious point of view, he’s the master,” Li said of the Dalai Lama, adding that when he met him in 2000 he told the spiritual leader that he backed having the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. China was bidding for the Olympics at the time and there was some opposition to the bid.

“They (the Chinese) just want to show a wonderful party, the Olympics, to the world,” he said. “Lots of famous guys … they are my (spiritual) teachers. But it doesn’t mean I agree with their politics,” Li said without specifically naming anyone.

He said he believes China, Tibet, as well as the self-ruled island Taiwan, should be “unified together.” Li, a major star in his native China, said he hasn’t run into trouble with the Chinese government for his meeting with the Dalai Lama. Li says on his official Web site that Tibetan Buddhism, “has inspired me and accelerated my understanding of life.”

—So some people claim that AP has taken the whole story out of a context and we should wait until the whole CNN’s interview of Jet Li video gets released. The interview was done in English language and is said to be nearly 1 hour long in a big theater in Hong Kong in font 50 audience members presence. The video is supposed to be out in December 22nd.

—Here is the response to this news story by Students For A Free Tibet organization.