‘Beijing 6′ Brian gives Shout Out to SFT on PBS Idea Lab
Brian Conley, creator of the well-known videoblog, Alive in Baghdad, and one of the ‘Beijing 6‘ citizen journalist detained this summer in Beijing for capturing images and videos of pro-Tibet actions during the Olympics, was interviewed for PBS Idea Lab about his incredibly important new project Alive in Tehran.
During his interview, Brian gave the following shout out to SFT and our efforts to break through China’s Great Firewall. Read and listen to the fill interview.
Ryan: So while you weren’t on the ground in Gaza, you had connections who were, and were able to get information out, too.
Brian: Exactly, and then we used Twitter to pull in questions from people and enable people to sort of interact with our guy on the ground there. So then when Iran started happening it seemed like a natural fit to try and use the same tools for the folks there, to enable them to basically communicate out. The primary thing that we’re trying, that we’re pushing right now, is basically a phone number that people can call, get to a voicemail box and record whatever they would like to say, and right now I have a public voice mailbox available via an Alive in Tehran Facebook [group].
Also, people can message me via twitter.com/baghdadbrian and then for people who are more private or who have family, they just want to share one voicemail box…we can set up a specific number for any individual. Beyond that, we’re looking at other tools. I’ve learned a little bit about how Students for a Free Tibet have gotten video out of Tibet. So there’s one tool I’m sort of sharing with people privately. Then there on Alive in Tehran we have a list of tools Iranians can use to communicate securely. So basically, right now it’s a lot of organizing and working it.
SFT Canada’s Tsering Confronts HDI/Continental Minerals’ Executives
Footage from HDI/Continental Minerals Shareholders’ meeting in Vancouver, Canada on June 24th. Tibetans and their supporters protested at the meeting to intenisfy pressure on the company to Stop Mining Tibet.
China’s Re-election to the UN Human Rights Council
On Tuesday, May 12th, China was re-elected to the United Nation’s Human Rights Council in what can only be described as a step backward for human rights and a major blow to the integrity of the UN Human Rights Council.
In spite of China’s brutal human rights record and ongoing crackdown in Tibet, there was sadly little doubt that they would be re-elected to the Council. However, opposition to China’s membership did not go unnoticed.
Tibetan NGOs in Geneva joined forces with human rights organizations to challenge China’s re-election. Tibetans and their supporters also made sure our opposition to China’s membership was heard loud and clear outside of the UN General Assembly building here in New York City.
The Chinese government – likely feeling vulnerable about the upcoming 20th Tiananmen Square anniversary and its ongoing crackdown in Tibet – went out of its way to submit a 5-page propaganda paper to the UN General Assembly in an attempt to convince them that human rights have improved in China.
The very notion of China as a human rights defender is a complete farce. And as former president for the Czech Republic and Nobel Peace laureate, Vaclav Havel, suggests: China’s candidacy (and the candidacy of other human rights offending governments) for the Human Rights Council casts a dark shadow over the very purpose of the Council.
There are those who argue that engaging China on the Council will make a difference for human rights . In reality, China’s membership will only serve to embolden the Chinese government to use its position to deflect criticism of its human rights abuses and to silence any discussion about its ongoing military crackdown in Tibet.
The day after China’s re-election to the Council, Human Rights Watch released a video highlighting the Chinese government’s ongoing victimization and harassment of Tiananmen Square survivors, their families, and anyone who dares challenge the government’s version of history. Watch the video.
The message in Human Rights Watch’s video is clear and one that the Human Rights Council should heed: Unless the international community is willing to exert real pressure on the Chinese government, it will continue to violently oppress and disregard human rights in Tibet, China and other Chinese-occupied territories – violating everything the UN Human Rights Council is intended to protect.
SFT’s Tendor and Yangchen interviewed in Al Jazeera’s special M10 report
SFT’s Tenzin Dorjee (from Dharamsala) and Yangchen Lhamo (in the Washington, DC studio) were interviewed for Al Jazeera’s special program on the 50th anniversary of the 1959 Tibetan National Uprising.
This is what democracy looks like
Members of Students for a Free Tibet meet with the top staffer for Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who recently replaced Hillary Clinton in the U.S. Senate, to ask for her support on a number of congressional bills, resolutions and efforts in support of Tibet.
Senator Gillibrand was on the floor of the Senate that day speaking so she could not meet with them directly, but she is a strong supporter of the Tibetan people:
At Dartmouth, she learned to speak and write Chinese before spending a semester in China, and wrote a senior project titled “The History of Tibetan Resistance to the Chinese Occupation of Tibet 1950-1988.” As part of her studies, she and her mother visited the Dalai Lama’s house while traveling in India.
OUR NATION: EPISODE 13 - News of Daring Vigil by Monks in Tibet
Tibetans cancel New Year celebrations
Tibetans inside Tibet and around the world are refraining from Losar (Tibetan New Year) celebrations this year to mourn the more than 200 Tibetans killed by Chinese forces.
For first hand information about the situation inside Tibet from Tibetan bloggers, visit: www.highpeakspureearth.com
This announcement was released on January 27th:
TIBETANS CANCEL NEW YEAR CELEBRATIONS TO MARK ‘BLACK YEAR’
Prayer vigils planned to mourn Tibetans killed by Chinese forces in 2008Dharamshala, India – Tibetan exile groups announced today they will cancel Tibetan New Year celebrations to mourn the deaths of over two hundred Tibetans killed by Chinese forces following the uprising in Tibet last year, and to protest China’s ongoing crackdown. According to the Tibetan lunar calendar, February 25th will mark the first day of 2136, the year of the Earth Ox. Instead of the usual celebrations marked by singing, dancing and other festivities, silence will be observed and butter lamps will be lit in the temples and homes to pray for the deceased. Tibetan leaders also called on Tibetans worldwide to organize similar observances in their communities.
also from Reuters:
This year, some Tibetans, including exiles and intellectuals, are refraining from celebrating as a quiet protest gesture, and have urged others to do the same in heated exchanges on the Internet. Meanwhile, some communities that usually celebrate at the same time as Chinese have delayed their holiday to coincide with the Tibetan calendar.
They Write Letters
Adam Zenko, who was detained near Tiananmen Square on August 10th following an SFT action that included the unfurling of a Tibetan flag by a Tibetan woman, writes to the editors of the New York Times in response to one of Nick Kristof’s ridiculous columns.
To the Editor:
Re “Malcontents Need Not Apply,” by Nicholas D. Kristof (column, Aug. 17):
Imagine my surprise to learn from Mr. Kristof that China is “no longer a totalitarian state.”
If he could somehow share this with the many thousands of Tibetan political prisoners, they would be gladdened to hear it.
Also, please pass the word to the undercover policemen who punched and kicked me on Aug. 10 while I stood near Tiananmen Square holding a banner reading “Tibetans Are Dying for Freedom.” Adam Zenko
San Francisco, Aug. 20, 2008
The writer is a member of Students for a Free Tibet.
Great work Adam.
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CNN: Buddha’s Warriors
CNN’s Special Investigations Unit has made a news documentary called “Buddha’s Warriors” about the international Tibetan independence movement. SFT’s own Lhadon Tethong is featured, along with our friend Tenzin Tsundue. The documentary is narrated by Christiane Amanpour, who has also posted a blog entry on CNN on the back story of the piece and how she came to tell this story about the Tibetan struggle for freedom. Amanpour has also blogged about the new generation of Tibetan monks and their push for independence for Tibet. The crux of the coverage is the role the return march to Tibet played in driving energy and attention in the Tibetan exile community towards the Olympics and in support of independence. Both of Amanpour’s blog posts are worth a read, not so much because they present new information that readers of Tibet Will Be Free won’t be familiar with, but because Amanpour’s coverage and commentary represent some of the most mainstream, honest reporting on the contemporary Tibetan independence movement I can recall seeing in recent years.
Watch our videos!
Phayul Latest News- Two monks arrested in Tsawa Pashoe January 31, 2009
- Man Blinded, Sentenced to 4 years' in jail January 31, 2009
- Nationwide Journey for Tibet Stops over in Dharamsala January 30, 2009
- Non-violent approach can change China: Tibetan PM January 29, 2009
- China should resume dialogue with Dalai Lama:Merkel January 29, 2009
