Tibet Activists Call on President Obama to Live Up to His Promise of Change by Making Real Progress on Tibet
For Immediate Release: November 19th, 2009
Contact: Tenzin Dorjee, +1 646-724-0748
Kate Woznow, +1 917-601-0069
Tibet Activists Call on President Obama to Live Up to His Promise of Change by Making Real Progress on Tibet
New York – In response to U.S. President Obama’s brief reference to Tibet during his visit to Beijing this week, Students for a Free Tibet is calling on the Obama administration and other democratically elected governments to move beyond verbal statements of support to press China for real change on the ground inside Tibet. By calling for the resumption of dialogue between the Chinese government and the Dalai Lama’s representatives, President Obama indicated that the issue remains a concern for the U.S. government. But his statement, which also recognized Tibet as a part of the present-day People’s Republic of China, failed to address the reality of the Chinese government’s ongoing, violent repression of the Tibetan people.
“President Obama’s remarks on Tibet failed to embody the messages of hope and change that Americans elected him on. The Tibetan people need more than the same old statements from governments; they need America to lead with concrete actions that will actually pressure China to sit down at the negotiating table,” said Tenzin Dorjee, Executive Director of Students for a Free Tibet. “In March 2008, Tibetans rose up in a clear rejection of Chinese rule, showing once again that they do not see themselves as part of China, but as citizens of a formerly independent nation. It is well past time for leaders of the world’s democracies to stand up for the Tibetan peoples’ right to freedom.”
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An Open Letter to My Favorite President Ever: You Can Do Better- By Josh Schrei
A must read open letter by Josh Schrei, life long SFT’er and activist for Tibet.
Originally written at The SchreiWire.
Dear President Obama:
In Walt Disney’s 1994 film The Lion King, there is a Kenobi-esque moment in which the deceased head of the pride — Mufasa — appears as an apparition before his reasonably accomplished yet somewhat misguided son Simba and utters the words: “My son, you are more than what you have become.”
I write to you today as someone who not only voted for you, but also actively championed you, campaigned for you, and called disgruntled old ladies in rural Pennsylvania for you on election eve. Simply put, I think the world of you. I think you have beaten all the odds, and you have shined every step of the way. I think the world is a better place with you as President, and I think your clearly demonstrated intelligence and leadership as Commander in Chief has not only elevated America’s standing in the world, it has set the bar for nations for years to come.
That said sir, with all due respect… and I recognize that there is indeed a lot of respect due, I write to tell you that you can do better.
Barack, you can do better.
Don’t get me wrong, whatever you do with this Presidency, you’re still a Lion. You’re still — pardon the verbiage — a complete bad-ass.
But oh, Mr. Obama, you can be so much more.
The challenge, in the complex mix of factors you’ve inherited, is to not succumb to the lowest common denominator but to lead, truly lead, with purpose and with clarity of vision. We all face situations in this life where we make a choice to either live fearlessly according to our own truth or to accept what is possible… given the context.
Given the context of our economic crisis, it is understandable that you would make the choices you have on federal spending. Given the context of the egregious attacks of your malcontents, it is understandable that your beloved health care bill would have to be trimmed down to have a chance of passing. Given the context, it is understandable that you would seek a middle ground on climate change legislation. Given the context, it is understandable that you would stay the course of your foreign policy predecessors and make no significant changes in our relations with China.
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Details of Tibetan’s Trial and Death Sentence Emerge
This RFA news article provides a window into some of the details behind the closed-door trial of Lobsang Gyaltsen, who was recently executed by the Chinese government for his involvement in the 2008 Tibetan uprising: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/execution-11162009094256.html
On the morning of his execution, Lobsang expresses his last wish to his mother:
“I have nothing to say, except please take good care of my child and send him to school…”
Will the Next Nation Please Stand Up
Read Lhadon and Choeying’s analysis of the Dalai Lama’s recent visit to Arunachal Pradesh and call to other countries to stand up to China’s bullying.
By Lhadon Tethong and Tenzin Choeying
An analysis: Indian government brushes off China’s opposition to Dalai Lama’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh
Tibetans across India and around the world this week applauded the Indian government’s decision to allow the Dalai Lama to visit Arunachal Pradesh in the face of Chinese opposition. But contrary to what people may believe, we did so not just because Tibetan interests are at stake, but because we know the security of India itself rests on standing up to the Chinese government.
Make no mistake, Beijing is playing a long-term game in pushing its claims to Arunachal and other areas along the border with India. Less known is that China’s geographical ambitions extend beyond the sub-continent. Extraordinarily, their claims on a part of South Korea are based on almost mythological past events. Chinese historians have been commissioned to write articles and books on the area, which at some point in the future will undoubtedly be used by Chinese leaders as evidence to back their claims.
Tibet stands as a contemporary case in point. Over the past 60 years Beijing has effectively rewritten the history of Tibet and its relations with China and the world. And in a rush to secure their economic interests the world has acquiesced. Only last year the British government quietly sold out to China by formally recognizing their sovereignty over Tibet—a move achieved by describing Britain’s former recognition of China’s “suzerainty” of Tibet under the 1914 Simla Convention as an “outdated concept.”
But simply rewriting history neither reflects the reality nor does it do enough to legitimize the occupation of Tibet. The 2008 protests in Tibet awakened the Chinese leadership to the fragility of their hold over the region. This, alongside the leverage of their perceived economic advantage in the global financial crisis, put Beijing on an even more determined mission to weaken once and for all global support for the Tibet issue. Only last month they achieved a clear victory when President Obama declined to meet the Dalai Lama on his visit to the United States—the first time since 1991 that an incumbent U.S. President has failed to meet him even informally. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd soon followed, saying he also would not meet the Dalai Lama during his visit to Australia next month.
Tibetans have long looked on in horror as the international community has bent over backwards to appease the Chinese government. This shortsighted and naïve policy to promote their economic interests is only emboldening and sanctioning Beijing’s bullying, as well as its geo-strategic ambitions. This is the debate the world should focus on. China’s aggressive response to the Dalai Lama’s trip to Arunachal—indeed, to his trips anywhere in the world—is above all a reflection of its imperialist and expansionist nature.
Now is the time for India to recognize that a free Tibet is its best insurance against Chinese aggression. If Tibet remains a part of China, Beijing will continue to strengthen its Himalayan military advantage over India and control the increasingly valuable water resources that much of Asia depends upon. Tibetans know China perhaps better than any other people. In our long history as neighbors we have been both the conquerors and, as most know us now, the conquered. But most relevant to India and the world today are the terrible lessons we have learned through our first hand experience over 50 years of occupation—of what lies underneath the veil Beijing draws over its true ambitions.
In standing up to China, India has charted a course that the rest of the world should follow. Meaningful engagement with China should not depend upon compromising on integrity or national interests. As long as China wants to play a leadership role on the global stage it needs to be a responsible actor. For this, the world needs to hold China to account, and Tibet is a critical place to start.
Tenzin Choeying is the National Director for Students for a Free Tibet India and Lhadon Tethong is the Director of Tibet Action Institute.
Join the Global Call: Record your own video message calling for the release of Dhondup Wangchen
SFT has joined other Tibet organizations to press President Obama to raise Dhondup Wangchen’s case with Chinese President Hu Jintao this week. Add your voice to the international call for his immediate release from Chinese prison at FreeTibetanHeroes.org
Record your own video message and upload to the Gallery of Voices: http://www.freetibetanheroes.org/gallery/submit-your-words-photos-or-videos
Watch TenDolkar’s video here:
One American’s response to China’s ‘Lincoln’ statement
SFT’s former board chair, Josh Schrei, responds to Chinese spokesman Qin Gang’s outlandish comparison of Tibetan society under the Dalai Lama to slavery in the U.S.
Read more about Qin Gang’s statement here: http://studentsforafreetibet.org/article.php?id=2100
Josh Schrei’s response:
“Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves; and, under a just God, can not long retain it.”
– Abraham Lincoln
The Chinese Government’s most recent abomination — comparing Abraham Lincoln’s war on slavery to the PRC’s brutal invasion and occupation of Tibet (and wrapping it all up with a ‘you-should-understand-slavery-because-you’re-black’ message to President Obama) — is only worth commenting on because there may be those uninformed unfortunates that actually give pause to the PRC’s stance.
Fundamentally, there is no comparison. Yes, President Lincoln declared war on secessionists. He also strongly championed the values of individual liberty and freedom and took considerable political risks to ensure that all people were entitled to these freedoms. None of the freedoms that Lincoln championed are on display in Tibet or China. And drawing reference to one of the great champions of individual liberty from a government that has no interest in such liberty is — to any student of American history — insulting. Lincoln’s name should not even be mentioned in the same sentence as Beijing’s current cronies. Luckily, most thinking people know this.
President Obama, we will not insult your intelligence — a your current hosts have – by explaining to you why it is racist, colonist, and utterly unfounded to make comparisons between the Confederate South and Tibet. I’m sure you are as shocked and outraged as we are, as is the entire world community.
What we do question is why the world community continues to legitimize, fund, and coddle a dictatorship that is so dangerously out of touch with the norms of modern society. The Chinese government is positioning itself as — and quickly becoming — the next great world superpower, and we are busily helping them. It is high time this stopped. You did not meet with the Dalai Lama before you left for China. But you can make a difference now. We urge you to publicly distance yourself from the Chinese Government’s recent statements and to push for immediate improvements in Tibet, where the people enjoy no freedom of speech and are still suffering the results of a brutal crackdown after last year’s March protests. As someone who respects Lincoln’s name and has an understanding of his politics, this is the least you can do.
The simple truth is that the people of China and Tibet have no freedom, and the fundamental issue is the right of people to determine their own future, which our President Lincoln was a champion of to the end. In the absence of that right — and in defense of the repression of it — mad minds make ludicrous claims. Comparing Lincoln to the current leadership in Beijing is a violation of all that we as Americans value. We trust that — as our President — you will respond accordingly.
ONLY 4 DAYS LEFT TO SFT UK FUNDRAISER & ANNUAL CONFERENCE!!
Dear Supporter,
Some of you must be aware that this month SFTUK is holding TWO SPECIAL BACK TO BACK EVENTS!
4 DAYS FROM TODAY i.e. on 20,21,22 of November, SFT UK is holding its Annual Conference and a Fundraiser Party with the New Executive Director of SFT - Tenzin Dorjee aka Tendor.
If you haven't yet booked the ticket for the Conference, Now is the Time!!
If you book the Ticket in Advance, it will only cost £12!! and moreover you will get our Fundraiser Party Ticket for a DISCOUNTED PRICE - £ 4.50!!!
For more Info kindly read the following:-
************
DATE: FRIDAY 20th NOVEMBER'09
7pm - 2am, be sharp!
WHERE: Boston Arms
178 Junction Road,
London, N19 5QQ
NEAREST STATION: Tuffnell Park (opposite the station)
ADMISSION: £4.50 for advanced conference bookies only!
£10 on the door
EVENT INFO: SFT UK FUNDRAISER PARTY!
The Talk is -- VISION & TECHNOLOGY
Whats next for the movement? Where do we go from here?
What does SFT have planned next?
TENZIN DORJEE (Tendor) the new Executive Director of
SFT will talk about how technology is enhancing and changing the course of the Tibetan Freedom Movement.
DJ CyZE aka Choezin will debut and entertain us with his New Tunes of East Meets West Collision!! ( Its going to be worth every PENNY! )
Tendor, will also be performing few songs live from his acclaimed album "Logchopa"!!
Come and join on us to celebrate the works of SFT International and Tibet's supporters for its past and current work.
*************
DATE: SATURDAY 21 - SUNDAY 22, NOVEMBER'09
WHERE: SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies)
University of London
Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square,
London WC1H 0XG
ADMISSION: £12 advance booking!
£15 at the door
EVENT INFO: SFT UK ANNUAL CONFERENCE!
It going to be a 2 day weekend, packed full of inspiring workshops and seminars by very active and strong leaders in our Tibetan Movement as well as other great global activists.
To name a few: - NON-VIOLENT DIRECT ACTIONS (NVDA), MEDIA TRAINING, POLITICAL LOBBYING, CHINESE OUTREACH etc are few of the programmes that have been organized for the weekend.
SPEAKERS like Tendor, the new executive director of SFT, Thubten Samdup ( Europe His Holiness the Dalai Lama's Representative), Mandie Mckeown from ITSN ( International Tibet Support Network), Fiona from SCC(Stop Climate Chaos) and many more will lead the conference!!
We will also be joined by long-term Tibet friends and supporters who work in other fields, like Greenpeace, Guardian, Friends of the Earth Scotland, and others to share with us their knowledge and skills, so that we can enhance our movement in the right direction
FYI - LUNCH and ACCOMMODATION are included in the Conference Fees!
You can book the ticket advance online by visiting our website www.sftuk.org and donate the correct amount for the conference under the paypal logo. For more info regarding the booking and the conference programme please contact: pema@sftuk.org
SFTUK, Conference is open to all.
If you would like to tell your friends about the conference please visit www.sftuk.org where you can download the flyers and distribute.
DON’T FORGET: IF you book in advance for the conference, the entrance fee for the SFT PARTY is only £4.50 and student price bar!!
Essex Students For a Free Tibet Fresher’s Fair
10th Oct'09, Essex - The array of colourful banners and posters attracted many towards the SFT stall at the University of Essex Fresher’s fair. The student’s continued to raise awareness about Tibet by handing out flyers and giving information to those who stopped by. Many students came to browse through the display of books on Tibetan culture and history also interested in society activities. Through the fair the society managed to gain more members and are now planning follow up events in order to continue to raise awareness and bring the situation of Tibet to the attention of individuals both on and off campus. 
‘Bumps in the Road’ Should Bring Canadian Mining in Tibet to a Halt
ECOCIDE ON THE THIRD POLE
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