Tibet
Today:
Press Release
Looking at Tibet through Beijing Olympics: As Tibetan saying goes," If you could see through a part, you will understand the whole", we can similarly summarize to some extent the Tibet situation from the prism of ongoing Olympic games in Beijing. Just a couple of weeks before the start of the Olympics in Beijing, Chinese authorities ordered the forced expulsion of ethnic Tibetans from Beijing and nearby Chinese cities to their native Tibetan places and other far off areas. Accordingly hotels and lodges in these cities were asked to report the arrival of any Tibetan to the nearest police authorities. Tibetan performing troupe from the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) had been rehearsing for months to perform in the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic games. And they were called in advance to Beijing for further rigorous rehearsals, which went on for days and nights. Despite these rehearsals, 99% of the opening ceremony performances were dominated by the majority Han culture where as other 55 nationalities including Tibetans were relegated to mere few seconds of display. This amounts to the usual Han Chauvinistic attitude of the Chinese government. Tibetan people are generally known for their valor, strength and agilities. But in spite of these inborn qualities, no Tibetan has so far represented China in the Olympic games even in the events related to horse skills and archery, which the Tibetan people are skilled at, not to speak of other sports. Not a single Tibetan has been nurtured as a part of the present national level sportsperson. But what we can see as a special program during the ongoing Beijing Olympics is the exhibition currently held depicting "the dark and barbarous old Tibetan society" which the Chinese government claims has prospered to a "shining and happy" society under the care of the Communist Party of China (CPC). China has allowed the media persons to freely visit all the places during the Olympic games except for Tibet, which continues to remain under heavy military clampdown and restrictions. Reports of Tibetans being arrested and their homes raided, some event shot at for no reasons, has still not abated. The monks of Drepung and Nechung monasteries near Lhasa are still under tight security control with their movements heavily restricted. Moreover, Tibetan officials have been ordered not to seek leaves during the Olympic from their works. Tibet supporters who have staged protest in support of Tibetan people in Beijing have been immediately arrested and expelled while those reporters who tried to record these incidents have been dealt with rudely and detained, preventing them from reporting. To sum up, what we can understand from Beijing's action during the Olympic games is complete lack of equality among the nationalities, and continuous oppression of Tibetan people. This stands in total contrary to Mao Tsetung's dictum, "Beijing is owned by the entire 56 nationalities of China." In view of the ongoing critical situation inside Tibet, we urge the United Nations and the International community and organizations to the following urgent needs:
- Tibetan Solidarity Committee
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