Chand | Tibet Will Be Free

Are you up for a Challenge?

Posted by Chand on Oct 28, 2009 in General | 0 comments

SFTtv: Lhadon on the ground at the Empire State Building Protest

Posted by Chand on Sep 30, 2009 in General | 0 comments

Lhadon Tethong, Executive Director of Students for a Free Tibet, on the ground at the Empire State Building during the lighting ceremony

Update: Unrest in East Turkestan

Posted by Chand on Jul 9, 2009 in General | 0 comments

Armed Chinese troops have flooded Urumchi, the capital of East Turkestan (Chinese: Xinjiang) following days of violent unrest. The situation remains incredibly tense and Chinese president Hu Jintao has vowed to “restore order” and “severely punish”those involved in the unrest, after he was rushed back to China yesterday from the G-8 meeting in Italy.

We fear that, as in Tibet last year, China’s efforts to restore order will result in a prolonged military crackdown against the Uyghurs. Already, Chinese authorities have arrested more than 1,400 Uyghurs, blocked phone lines and the internet, and launched a propaganda campaign to portray the Uyghurs as the sole perpetrators of the violence.

On Sunday, thousands of Uyghurs peacefully marched in the streets of Urumchi to protest the Chinese authorities’ inaction amid the beating deaths of two Uyghur men at a toy factory in southern China. Chinese armed police responded to the protest in Urumchi with a heavy hand, and a riot ensued in which more than a hundred people were reportedly killed. Armed Chinese citizens have since taken to the streets to seek revenge, escalating the violence and chaos.

To avoid the negative international news coverage that followed the media blackout in Tibet last year, Chinese officials have allowed foreign journalists into Urumchi but have tried to tightly control their movement and censor their coverage. Despite these efforts, on Tuesday hundreds of Uyghur women and children burst into the streets in front of the journalists, weeping and pleading for the release of those detained. Watch the moving footage.

Sign a petition calling on the Chinese authorities to stop the crackdown on the Uyghur people and to allow an independent investigation into the situation in Urumchi.

This tragic turn of events clearly shows that China’s policies in East Turkestan, as in Tibet, have been a colossal failure. Uyghurs have rejected Chinese rulesince the invasion of their homeland in 1949, and continue to struggle for their basic rights and freedoms. The systematic suppression of the Uyghurs’ religion, culture, and unique identity – as well as the flooding of East Turkestan with millions of Chinese settlers – have led to deep-seated resentment and desperation amongst the Uyghur people.

Instead of admitting its own failure to address the long-standing grievances of the Uyghur people, the Chinese government is blaming the violence on exiled Uyghur leader Rebiya Kadeer, just as it blamed the Dalai Lama for the widespread protests in Tibet. Rebiya Kadeer has spoken out to tell the true story of her people’s suffering under Chinese rule.

Please sign the petition and support her call for an open and independent inquiry into the unrest and for an end to the violent suppression of her people.

We will continue to send updates on the unfolding situation in East Turkestan. For more news and analysis, please visit the SFT blog.

Global Phonathon to Stop Mining in Tibet!

Posted by Chand on Jun 23, 2009 in General | 0 comments

stopmining_logofinal-web We need your help to turn up the heat on HDI/Continental Minerals, a Canadian company that is preparing to begin operations at a massive mine site in Tibet.

Tomorrow, June 24th is HDI/Continental Minerals annual shareholders’ meeting. YOU can help ensure that the company hears opposition from people of conscience worldwide.

TAKE ACTION!

Call the company’s head office at 1-800-667-2114 or +1 604-684-6365 to voice your opposition to HDI/Continental Minerals’ Tibet operations. Click here for helpful talking points.

Change your Facebook profile picture and Twitter avatar to the Stop Mining Tibet logo and encourage others to take action on your twitterfeed and status update.

Check out SFT’s fan page for updates on this global action. We want to hear from you! Become a fan of our page and let us know about your call to Continental Minerals.

With a proposed lifespan of 14 years, HDI/Continental Minerals’ mine will irreversibly disrupt the lives of Tibetans in Shetongmon, central Tibet. The mine is located dangerously close to the Yarlung Tsangpo river, which is the main water source for Shigatse, Tibet’s second largest city and many other Tibetan towns and villages. Help stop HDI/Continental Minerals in its tracks!

Learn more about this important campaign: http://www.StopMiningTibet.org

Even as Tibet remains under military lockdown, we’re hearing incredible reports of Tibetans risking arrest, imprisonment, and even death to protest devastating resource extraction operations on their land. Help stop foreign companies and the Chinese government from profiting off the Tibetan people’s land and help protect Tibet’s fragile environment for generations to come.