Free Tibet

I was sitting in my office today around noon and heard a loud mob coming up the street which happens from time to time on Michigan Ave. Sometimes it’s Palestinians, sometimes it’s Jews for Israel, sometimes it’s anti-Iraq war protesters, today it was the Tibetan supporters.

It seems that things have heated up in the protest over China’s human rights violations in regards to Tibetans. People  have been protesting all over the world over this issue since China won some Olympic host bid.

It seems the protesting has been claiming lives recently. The Chinese are trying to quell the protests and there are reports of fatalities inflicted by Chinese security forces for the past few weeks.

TCHRD[Tuesday, March 18, 2008 22:49]
The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) received confirmed information from multiple sources, that at least three Tibetan protesters were shot dead this afternoon during a peaceful demonstration in Kardze County, Sichuan Province in eastern Tibet after Chinese security forces started an indiscriminate firing on the peaceful Tibetan protesters. 
Source: Phayul.com

 It seems the protesting has turned to rioting in Bejing and has prompted the Dalai Lama to threaten to step down as the leader of the Tibetan government in exile if the violence doesn’t ceace.

By Chris Buckley and Lindsay Beck

BEIJING (Reuters) - The Dalai Lama said on Tuesday he was willing to step down as head of the Tibetan government in exile if that was needed to stop the riots in his homeland, but China repeated its charge that he had masterminded the violence.

The government-in-exile, based in the Indian Himalayan foothills, said it believed 99 people had died in clashes between Chinese authorities and Tibetans over the past week, including 19 on Tuesday alone.
Source: swissinfo.ch

For some reason the international community is ignoring China’s abuse and feud over Tibet, even allowing them to host the Olympics.

By Francois Murphy

PARIS, March 18 (Reuters) - Rights group Reporters Without Borders urged officials on Tuesday to boycott the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics over what it called brutal repression in Tibet, and France said it could examine the idea.

The Paris-based group, known by its French acronym RSF, has avoided calling for an outright boycott of the games and has held fruitless talks with Beijing aimed at securing the release of prisoners held in Chinese prisons.
Source: Reuters

It would seem to me not just the opening ceremony should be boycotted, but the entire Olympics. I don’t understand why China was chosen considering their record on human rights abuses. Granted a lot of the countries in the world aren’t exactly saints. Even the U.S. has it’s issues since our current president feels it’s acceptable to kidnap random people and torture them in secret locations scattered about the Eastern Bloc and other not-so-nice places in the world. But China is notorious for “crushing” opposition to their governmental practices. The most notorious in recent memory would have to be Tianamen Square, where they killed a bunch of student protesters in 1989. They haven’t exactly gotten any better about this kind of stuff either considering what’s going on with Tibet at the moment.

I think that this country should try to at least stand up for human rights in the world and boycott the Olympics. This country and every other allied nation owes it to the rights of people across the globe to stand up to governments like China. We’re so hot and bothered to go around policing the Middle East, why aren’t we trying to do more about abuses coming from Asia and Africa? I can tell you one thing, money is the motivating factor for us not dealing with China. Considering most of what you buy in this country (safe or not) comes from China, it’s no surprise that our government turns a blind eye to their abuses or at the most, half heartedly scolds them with a wink. 

I think this maybe something MSNBC should be covering instead of the crap Dan Abrams has been showing as of late on his show. I turned it off completely lastnight because it was just stupid and absolutely irritating to watch. He’s gotten a little full of himself. I was glad to see him replace Joe Scarborough, because that guy is just a tool, but as his show has gone on, it’s becoming as useful as watching Scarborough Country. I would hope Keith Olberman would have something to say about our policies on China’s human rights abuses and our lack of response from our inept government too.

Anyways, here’s some photo’s of today’s protest in downtown Chicago:

   

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

~ by g0thicicecream on March 18, 2008.