Issue (#69)
|
|
||||
| Current
Issue (#69) |
||||
|
|
|
||
|
Ten
Thousand Things "Ten Thousand Things" is a Buddhist expression representing the dynamic interconnection and simultaneous unity and diversity of everything in the universe. FREE TIBET Posted March 15, by Jean On March 10, the anniversary of the failed uprising against invading Chinese soldiers in 1959, Tibetan Buddhists initiated the largest open protest in Lhasa since the late 1980's, when the Chinese government instituted martial law in Tibet, according to Clifford Coonan, reporter for The Independent: Red-robed Tibetan Buddhist monks have taken to the streets of the capital Lhasa to mark the 49th anniversary of the People’s Liberation Army crushing an uprising in Tibet against Chinese rule, which forced the Dalai Lama into exile. Demonstrations in support of the monks in Tibet have sprung up around the world, coordinated by Tibetan Buddhists and activists interconnected in one of the most impressive alt-global campaigns in the world: the International Tibetan Support Network, a network of 153 organizations founded in 2000. Thirteen Asian countries are represented. As peaceful demonstrators have been replaced by some violent crowds, the Chinese authorities blamed the Dalai Lama – who repeats that he is not a part of the protests. In a statement of solidarity with Tibetans and Tibetan Buddhists everywhere, the Buddhist Peace Fellowship condemns the Chinese government's repression of Tibetans: As hundreds of Buddhist monks and ordinary citizens take to the streets of Lhasa protesting Chinese occupation of Tibet, like their brothers & sisters in Burma last September, they have been met with beatings and bullets. Lhasa's Drepung, Sera, and Ganden monasteries have been closed and surrounded by troops for the last three days. Yet the monks are undeterred, and continue to protest in Tibet's cities wherever possible. In solidarity with the people of Tibet, our brothers and sisters in dharma, we condemn the Chinese government's suppression of peaceful demonstrations, the closing of monasteries, and the broad imposition of martial law. The violent response Chinese security forces only adds fuel to fires that they set many years ago. The Chinese occupation, in place since 1951, continues throughout Tibet, amounting to de facto ethnic cleansing, destroying indigenous Tibetan culture by a massive Chinese population transfer and economic infiltration, backed up by the barrel of a gun. According to the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT), "In Tibet's cities and fertile valleys, particularly in eastern Tibet, Chinese outnumber Tibetans by two and sometimes three to one." We agree with John Ackerly, President of ICT, who says: The recent events in Tibet and reported deaths of Tibetans are a tragic consequence of decades of Chinese misrule in Tibet. The only lasting solution for the Tibetan problem is for the Chinese government to react positively to the Dalai Lama's call for a negotiated solution for Tibet. A statement from His Holiness the Dalai Lama appeals "to the Chinese leadership to stop using force and address the long-simmering resentment of the Tibetan people through dialogue with the Tibetan people...I also urge my fellow Tibetans not to resort to violence." We second the Dalai Lama's appeal, and condemn the violent repression of natural and proper protest of China's longstanding repression of Tibet. We ask all friends of Tibet – people and governments – to do the same. We call on the government of the People's Republic of China to release all Tibetans held on political charges. Finally we encourage the brave and patient people of Tibet to stay strong, and to uphold the Buddha's teachings of nonviolence. Previous
........... Next
|
|||
|
|