Global Reaction to the Tibet Crisis Continues to Grow
Filed Under Tibet, Human Rights, China | Posted on March 28, 2008
Calls for a boycott of the Beijing Olympic games and/or its opening cermony continue to be heard.
EU foreign ministers to debate response to Chinese crackdown in Tibet:
Foreign ministers from the European Union’s 27 countries were to debate ideas for an EU response to China’s crackdown in Tibet during talks starting Friday [March 28], amid calls from some politicians for a boycott of the Beijing Olympics’ opening ceremony.
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French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Tuesday suggested that a boycott of the opening ceremony was a possibility.
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Arriving at the foreign ministers’ meeting Friday, Germany’s Frank-Walter Steinmeier said the German government would not be represented in Beijing at the ministerial level, but spoke against a full boycott of the games.
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Last week, some former world leaders and dissidents, including former Czech President Vaclav Havel and former South African President Frederik Willem de Klerk, questioned whether the Olympics should go ahead at all. But the idea of a full-blown boycott of the games has gained no support from the EU and has even been rejected by the Dalai Lama.
Czechs, Poland leaders to boycott Olympic opening:
Leaders from the Czech Republic and Poland have declined invitations to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Beijing, in protest of recent crackdowns on Tibetan protesters.
Czech President Vaclav Klaus says those who voted to give the Games to China should now not be surprised by the recent trouble.
“China is what it is,” he said.
Mr Klaus and some Czech ministers will boycott the ceremony.Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk questioned whether world leaders should attend, given China’s conduct.
“The presence of politicians at the Games’ inauguration seems inappropriate,” he said.
Mr Tusk says he will try to convince other European Union countries that they should speak out more strongly on the issue of Tibet.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who is currently visiting London, repeated that he may also boycott the ceremony.
But British Prime Minister Gordon Brown says he will be attending.
Concerned Tibetan Studies scholars issue a joint statement “on the current crisis in Tibet addressed to President Hu Jintao and the government of the People’s Republic of China:
The civilization we study is not simply a subject of academic enquiry: it is the heritage and fabric of a living people and one of the world’s great cultural legacies. We express our deep sorrow at the horrible deaths of the innocent, including Chinese as well as Tibetans. Life has been altered for the worse in places with which we are well acquainted; tragedy has entered the lives of a people we know well …
Silence in the face of what is happening in Tibet is no longer an option. At this moment the suppression of political dissent appears to be the primary goal of authorities across all the Tibetan areas within China, which have been isolated from the rest of China and the outside world. But such actions will not eliminate the underlying sense of grievance to which Tibetans are giving voice …
… we call for an immediate end to the use of force against Tibetans within China. We call for an end to the suppression of Tibetan opinion, whatever form that suppression takes. And we call for the clear recognition that Tibetans, together with all citizens of China, are entitled to the full rights to free speech and expression guaranteed by international agreements and accepted human rights norms.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu issues a statement:
China is uniquely positioned to impact and affect our world. Certainly the leaders of China know this or they would not have bid for the Olympics. Killing, imprisonment and torture are not a sport: the innocents must be released and given free and fair trials.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama issues an appeal to Chinese people in the wake of Tibet unrest:
I am deeply saddened by the loss of life in the recent tragic events in Tibet. I am aware that some Chinese have also died. I feel for the victims and their families and pray for them. The recent unrest has clearly demonstrated the gravity of the situation in Tibet and the urgent need to seek a peaceful and mutually beneficial solution through dialogue. Even at this juncture I have expressed my willingness to the Chinese authorities to work together to bring about peace and stability.
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Chinese brothers and sisters - wherever you may be - with deep concern I appeal to you to help dispel the misunderstandings between our two communities. Moreover, I appeal to you to help us find a peaceful, lasting solution to the problem of Tibet through dialogue in the spirit of understanding and accommodation.
Tibetan Protests Continue and Spread Further: Official and Estimated Detentions Surpass 2,000:
PROTEST. As of March 27, Tibetan protests were reported in at least 42 county-level locations, as well as in Chengdu (the capital of Sichuan province), Lanzhou (the capital of Gansu province), and Beijing. Protests have occured at multiple locations in several counties.
Locations of the 42 counties: Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), 10; Tibetan Autonomous Prefectures (TAPs) in Qinghai, 12; TAPs in Gansu, 6; TAPs in Sichuan, 12; other county-level locations in Qinghai, 2. These figures show that about three-quarters of the county-level locations are outside the TAR. It remains unclear whether the protests have or have not spread widely in the TAR, or if information about their spread is unavailable.
DEATH. The estimated number of Tibetan deaths currently reported by the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) and the Tibetan government-in-exile (TGiE) differ significantly.
TCHRD reported on March 25 a total of 79 Tibetan deaths.
The TGiE reported approximately 140 deaths as of March 25, and published a list of the names and details of 40 of the Tibetan deaths on March 26.
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What can government officials say to China?The Chinese government should: (1) distinguish between peaceful protestors and rioters, honor the Chinese Constitution’s commitment to the freedoms of speech and association, and not treat peaceful protest as a crime; (2) provide a detailed account of Tibetan protest activity in each location where such activity took place; (3) provide details about each Tibetan detained or charged with a crime, including each person’s name, the charges (if any) against each person, the name and location of the prosecuting office (’procuratorate’) and court handling each case, and the name of each facility where a Tibetan is detained or imprisoned; (4) allow access by diplomats and other international observers to the trials of Tibetans charged with protest-related crimes; (5) allow access by international observers and journalists to the Tibetan autonomous areas of China; (6) meet directly with the Dalai Lama.
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