Tibet should be free….

Tibetans in India Enraged by Details of Crackdown – New York Times

Throughout the day on Monday, hundreds of protesters gathered near the gates of the temple of the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, chanting, “We want freedom!”

Come on, India. We need to support the Tibetans in their quest for freedom. The easiest thing India can do is make a statement by boycotting the Olympics. It is a win-win situation because anyway even if we went would hardly trouble the scorers and finish 22nd out of 21 competitors in most sports. Give the athletes and officials (sometimes we have sent an equal number of officials and athletes) who want to go 15 free lunches to chinese restaurants and a four year supply of fortune cookies. Thus solidarity with the movement and saving ourself from ignominy can become bedfellows.

Jokes apart, shall we do something to get this march going and at least give some space for dissent. I do not understand why we are trying to tango with China. Are we worried because our kids cannot play with cheap toxic toys? I would not be surprised if the Govt. is pissing in the pants that the politburo would withdraw its support to the center for acting against their comrades in China.

Tibetan Marchers Arrested in India – New York Times

India’s attitude toward Tibetans who protest China’s control of their birthplace has been slowly shifting from support toward repression, some human rights advocates say. Arresting peaceful marchers, some carrying photographs of Gandhi, “signifies a toughness that does not seem legitimate,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, a South Asia researcher for Human Rights Watch.
“It was probably done because India did not want to displease China,” Ms. Ganguly said.

The Tibetans are not alone in their fight and they have found support from all corners of the world.

RFA: China Detains Six For Tibet Great Wall Protest

China has detained a group of activists after they unfurled a banner calling for a Free Tibet from China’s Great Wall ahead of a countdown ceremony for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, a U.S.-based campaign group said.

“There was a team of six that went to Great Wall of China and hung a banner off the wall with two climbers,” Lhadon Tethong, head of the Students for Free Tibet group told RFA’s Tibetan service.

The 20-foot (six meter) long banner was emblazoned with the words: “One World, One Dream, Free Tibet 2008”.

The six protesters were: Climbers Melanie Raoul and Sam Price from Vancouver, Canada, U.S. citizens Leslie Kaup of St Paul, Minnesota, Nupur Modi of Oakland, California and Duane Martinez of Sausalito, California, and Pete Speller of Cambridge, UK.

It is a choice of decency whether you recognize and support a “non-violent” freedom struggle or not.

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