US House Passes Pro-Tibet Resolution

Great news from the US Congress. The Gavel reports:

The House has just overwhelmingly passed a resolution calling on the Chinese government to end its crackdown in Tibet and to enter into a substantive dialogue with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, H.Res. 1077. House Resolution 1077 was introduced by Speaker Nancy Pelosi and members of the bipartisan Congressional Delegation that met with His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Government-in-Exile in India. Speaker Pelosi, along with Reps. Rush Holt, Jay Inslee, and Hilda Solis traveled with the Congressional Delegation and spoke in favor of the resolution during debate last night, as did Chairman Howard Berman of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Speaker Pelosi: “I was reading the paper the other day as the torch was going through Paris that one of the carriers of the torch said that what was happening with the protesters was ‘very unpleasant.’ And I thought ‘You think that’s unpleasant? Maybe you should be in the subhuman conditions that the refugees are in Darfur. If you think that’s unpleasant maybe you should be in a prison in Tibet for your faith in His Holiness the Dalai Lama. If you think that’s unpleasant maybe you could still be in prison from the Tiananmen Square Massacre, some people are still in prison from that time.’” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9nY-8AwnE0

Rep. Holt: “I have in my office a crayon-drawn Tibetan flag given to me during our delegation’s visit to the Tibetan children’s village and I keep this flag in my office because it reminds me of the human toll of this situation. Children and adults flee the villages of Tibet, cross the highest range of mountains in the world to reach the promise of a life where they can preserve their culture and have freedom. The journey is treacherous but children try to escape the oppression in Tibet. I am pleased that all the members of this important trip joined Speaker in introducing this resolution.”  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcb_RgzAlcE
Chairman Berman: “China’s response to Tibetan protests over the last month has been tragically predictable. For half a century the Tibetan people have struggled under the repressive policies of the Chinese authorities. And sadly, the current crackdown is only the most recent example of Beijing’s mistreatment of Tibetans. As the world watched events unfold inside China, we were sickened, not only by the shock of seeing images of Chinese authorities beating Tibetans in the street, but also by the realization that these are images we have seen before and fear we may see again.”  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9NZH51up20

These statements and this resolution come not from Tibetan exiles or activists marching on the streets of American cities, but some of the most respected leaders of the US government. This resolution is a recognition of the brutal oppression Tibetans live under, the courage it takes for them to rise up in protest, and the importance of speaking out on about the political weight of the Beijing Olympics.