Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Great Wall Protesters Gone

From a recent note by a friend of mine in Students for a Free Tibet:

Dear Friends, Family, Allies

We are writing you from the Students for a Free Tibet office where the phones are ringing off the hook.

Around 10 p.m. NYC time (10 a.m. Beijng time) six courageous Tibetan independence activists from the UK, US, and Canada were detained by Chinese authorities after rappelling (abseiling) off the top of the Great Wall of China with a 450-square foot banner reading “One World, One Dream, Free Tibet 2008” in English and Chinese.

The activists from the UK, the US and Canada are Sam Price, Melanie Raoul, Leslie Kaup, Duane Martinez, Pete Speller and Nupur Modi. Their current whereabouts are unknown but we are monitoring the situation closely.

The action took place on the eve of the one-year countdown to the 2008 Beijing Olympics as China was preparing for what they thought would be a glorious celebration. As Ben Blanchard from The Guardian has already reported: "Free Tibet activists on the Great Wall, a barrage of critical rights reports, a shroud of smog hanging over Beijing -- China's government must surely have imagined a more auspicious one-year countdown for the Olympics."

To see the footage of these amazing Tibetan freedom activists in action, click on the links below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xp5mAMrfvI8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6Qp2-pJUio

You can also see still photos at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/greatwallaction

To read the press release, go to: www.studentsforafreetibet.

org

ALSO, DON'T FORGET to check www.BeijingWideOpen.org for Lhadon Tethong's latest posts. Watch footage of her recent encounter with IOC President Jacques Rogge at his Beijing hotel. Lhadon and Paul continue reporting from Beijing, exposing the reality of China's propaganda campaign.


********************PLEASE TAKE ACTION NOW!!************************

With Beijing playing host to top IOC officials, National Olympic Committees, international media, and other high-profile guests for tomorrow’s one-year countdown celebrations, it is extremely important to keep the pressure on China and the IOC.

PLEASE CALL and E-MAIL them today:

BEIJING ORGANIZING COMMITTEE FOR THE OLYMPIC GAMES (BOCOG):
+86 10 6669-9185
mishubu@beijing2008.cn

INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE (IOC):
+41 21 621 6111
info@olympic.org

**Tell the IOC that Tibetans and their supporters around the world are calling on them to publicly oppose China's propaganda efforts, and to use its influence to affect substantive progress on human rights in China and a meaningful resolution to the occupation of Tibet.

**Let the IOC know that its silence is enabling China to continue its brutal oppression of Tibet while wrapping itself in Olympic colors.

**Let the IOC and BOCOG know that people around the world are concerned for the whereabouts of The Great Wall activists and they should use their influence to secure their safety.

YOUR VIGILENCE IS IMPORTANT. PLEASE CALL AND WRITE TODAY.

These courageous acts are just the tip of iceberg. Students for a Free Tibet will continue to mount actions through the last day of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, from Mount Everest to the Great Wall, from San Francisco to Beijing.

Join us! Following on activities happening throughout the week, tomorrow, Wednesday August 8th is an international day of action to mark the one-year countdown to the Olympics. Demonstrations and other events are planned for cities around the world. To get involved, go to: www.FreeTibet2008.org

We will keep you posted as more information comes in.

In Solidarity,

Tendor, Kate, Kala, Heather, Han, Bianca, Kathy, Sophia, Nathan, Kurt, Emily, Dechen, Nick, Kai and Brady

2 comments:

bobby fletcher said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
bobby fletcher said...

Why don't we righteous Americans/Canadians set a good example for the Chinese by reliniquishing our established statehood towards Native American Independence? First Nation Independence?

Of cours not, we are hypocrits. We want to keep our stolen land and demand Tibet Independence.

Proverb goes "people living in glass house should not throw stones."

Not sure if esteemed RS is aware of the fact Students for a free Tibet is conntected with the Canadian government thru PM Harper's advisor Tenzin Khangsar:

http://www.google.com/search?q=Tenzin+Khangsar+Students+For+Free+Tibet