China pressiona Nepal

A China pressionou as autoridades Nepalesas de modo a que empreguem medidas mais firmes que impeçam os protestos Tibetanos na capital Nepalesa.

O comunicado foi emitido pela embaixada Chinesa em Kathamndu, onde a polícia Nepalesa tem vindo a deter manifestantes Tibetanos numa base quase diária.

Várias organizações de direitos humanos e grupos de apoio ao Tibete manifestaram já a sua preocupação relativamente ao número de detenções realizado e a violência com que os manifestantes são tratados.

In

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7328554.stm

Mais informações

http://www.telegraphnepal.com/news_det.php?news_id=3195

Activistas pró-Tibete detidos

Quatro activistas Tibetanos foram detidos esta manhã, após dois deles terem descido da ponte de Westminster tornando visível uma enorme faixa onde se lia "Um Mundo, Um Sonho: Tibete Livre 2008.




A acção teve lugar na véspera da controversa chegada da tocha Olímpica a Londres. Milhares de Tibetanos e apoiantes são esperados nas ruas de Londres amanhã, como forma de condenação da contínua repressão Chinesa sobre os manifestantes no Tibete.

Veja o video em:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQJOFoHA04A

Fazemos votos para que tenham sucesso na vossa acção !

G.A.T.

In
http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?id=20359&article=Activists+hang+%e2%80%9cFree+Tibet%e2%80%9d+banner+to+protest+Olympic+torch+arrival

Até quando ?

Pelo menos oito Tibetanos faleceram na quinta-feira, na província Sichuan, após a polícia Chinesa ter disparado sobre uma multidão de centenas de monges e civis.

No seguimento da intensificação das campanhas de "educação patriótica" por parte das autoridades Chinesas em diversos mosteiros, vários monges negaram-se a participar nas mesmas, que envolviam nomeadamente atirar para o chão fotografias de S.S. o Dalai Lama.

Entramos numa nova fase de protestos no Tibete, sob a forma de respostas às campanhas políticas Chinesas que obrigam a denunciar S.S. o Dalai Lama, por parte dos Tibetanos.

In

http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?id=20333&article=Eight+Tibetans+killed+in+Kardze%3a+new+phase+in+protests+in+Tibet

Cancel Olympic torch relay in Tibet: Dalai Lama's envoy

A special envoy of Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, called on Beijing Thursday to cancel plans to carry the Olympic torch through Tibet, saying it was a "provocative" move after the Chinese crackdown of protests in the Himalayan territory.

"This idea of taking the torch through Tibet, I really think, should be cancelled precisely because that would be very deliberately provocative and very insulting after what has happened," envoy Lodi Gyari told a US congressional hearing.Pro-Tibet protesters had earlier demanded the Olympic torch be kept out of the Himalayan territory as part of the scheduled 130-day relay itinerary, saying carrying the flame there could trigger more unrest.

The torch will pass through Tibet for the Everest leg in May, and then again when it goes through Lhasa in June. Chinese officials have already pledged tight security for the Tibetan legs. But Gyari told American lawmakers that if the Chinese authorities went ahead with the torch run in Tibet, it "would bring more adverse publicity" to the Olympic Games in Beijing.He said the International Olympic Committee, if they wanted the games to be successful, "should tell China, 'Look that stretch of relay through Tibet needs to be cancelled.'"Under the present circumstances, it would be really very insulting to the sentiment of the Tibetan people," said Gyari, who had led the Dalai Lama's delegation in six rounds of talks so far with the Chinese authorities to press for "meaningful autonomy" in Tibet.

China has accused the Dalai Lama of trying to take the Olympic Games "hostage" over Tibet, a charge which the spiritual leader calls "baseless."The Dalai Lama had openly said that he supported the games hosted by China.Gyari said China must bear full responsibility for the bloody turmoil in Tibet as he had warned in all the negotiations with Beijing so far that the Chinese authorities should not push Tibetans to their limits."What is happening in Tibet, the Chinese government must bear full responsibility. At every meeting in the last six years I told the Chinese, 'Please, you are pushing our people to the limits. If you continue pushing this policy, an unfortunate situation can happen.""But they did not listen," Gyari said, accusing Beijing of "marginalization of the people Tibet" even though it was supposed to an autonomous region."Tibet has become, particularly in the last few weeks, in every sense, an occupied province, brutally occupied" by the Chinese military, he said. "The Chinese communist party is running our monasteries."

Gyari urged US legislators to press Beijing to allow the United States to set up a permanent diplomatic mission in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa, as required under US law.Under the Tibetan Policy Act signed into law by US President George W. Bush in 2002, the State Department "should make best efforts to establish an office in Lhasa to monitor political, economic, and cultural developments in Tibet."He also urged the US Congress to send an urgent mission to look into the plight of the Tibetans, some of whom he said were not give access to medical treatment after suffering injuries during Beijing's crackdown.House of Representatives Republican lawmaker Chris Smith, who chaired the hearing, said he had introduced a resolution in the House urging the Chinese government to "provide details of each Tibetan arrested and allow access by diplomats and international observers to their trials."

In
http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?id=20316&article=Cancel+Olympic+torch+relay+in+Tibet%3a+Dalai+Lama's+envoy

Paris City Hall and athletes to highlight human rights during Olympic torch relay

A banner supporting human rights will be draped over Paris City Hall when the Olympic torch relay passes through the French capital on Monday.

Mayor Bertrand Delanoe said City Hall will display the banner because "Paris defends human rights all over the world."Delanoe spoke Wednesday at the announcement of the route for the torch relay which will start at the Eiffel Tower.

David Douillet, a two-time gold medalist in judo, said torch carriers will wear badges as a "distinctive sign" celebrating free expression, without saying what will be written on them.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) promised to protest China's crackdown on demonstrations in Tibet. Robert Menard, the group's president, condemned China as "the biggest prison in the world" and said his members would wear T-shirts during the relay with the five rings of the Olympic logo depicted as handcuffs.

"(There is) a contradiction between the International Olympic Committee and human rights," said Menard, adding that not enough has been done by France's Olympic Committee (CNOSF) to pressure the IOC over China. "The French Olympic Committee did not want us to reach an understanding with us (over Tibet)," said Menard, who was wearing the handcuffs T-shirt.

"We will take action the day of the procession."

In

http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?id=20290&article=Paris+City+Hall+and+athletes+to+highlight+human+rights+during+Olympic+torch+relay

Relato de Miguel Sacramento

O Sérgio Silva recebeu o seguinte relato enviado pelo Miguel Sacramento, que passamos a publicar.

Namaste (ou Bom Dia) Caros Amigos,

Acabei de chegar a Kathmandu no Nepal. Conseguimos sair há 7 dias de Lhasa, no Tibete (um autêntico cenário de guerra). Arranjámos um Land Cruiser e percorremos toda a Friendship Highway, cruzando os Himalaias e fazendo uma escala obrigatória no Everest Base Camp.

Foi uma das viagens mais espectaculares que já fiz, mas ao mesmo tempo uma das mais complicadas e tristes da minha vida. Fomos o último grupo de estrangeiros a conseguir sair de Lhasa sem sermos enviados de volta de avião e também os únicos a conseguir a licença (missão quase impossível) para entrar no Everest Base Camp.

A minha viagem ao Tibete deixou-me um sabor muito amargo na boca. Se por um lado realizei um sonho de infância, estar na base do Everest (ainda nao foi desta que fui lá cima), por outro, pude ver ao vivo com os meus próprios olhos o medo com que o Povo Tibetano vive e a brutalidade que o governo chinês usa para os controlar, silenciar e oprimir.

Para nós, além de violento psicologicamente, tornou-se mais complicado porque acabou por se saber que eu e a Clara fomos as duas únicas testemunhas do princípio de tudo (no mosteiro de Drepung, onde estávamos no dia 10 de Marco, por acaso). Ficámos imediatamente controlados pela polícia ao ponto de, a caminho para o Nepal, nos dizerem que estávamos presos no hotel. O nosso mail e telefone ficaram, também, imediatamente controlados e as nossas máquinas fotográficas bem inspeccionadas.

Vimos a maior violência policial que podem maginar, sobre pessoas desarmadas. Não vimos ninguém morrer, mas sabemos que muitos dos monges com quem estivemos durante todo o dia 10, morreram depois, nesse mesmo dia.

A situacão que se vive no Tibete é verdadeiramente séria e complicada e testemunhámos pessoalmente situacões muito graves e violentas. Durante estes últimos dias, na viagem de Lhasa-Everest-Kathmandu, fomos completamente controlados pelos polícias e militares chineses. No Tibete, como no resto da China toda a informacão é controlada e censurada. Por isso só agora pude enviar este mail.

Peço-vos um grande favor, divulguem o que se está a passar no Tibete a todos os vossos contactos.

A constante violacão dos direitos humanos pelas autoridades chinesas, a propaganda, e a manipulacão de toda a informacão, é algo de inacreditável para nós Portugueses do pós 25 de Abril.

Os Tibetanos, como um dos povos mais pacíficos, acolhedores e generosos que já conheci, merecem ser Livres e Felizes!!!

Volto a referir: por coincidência, estávamos no Mosteiro de Drepung, precisamente no local e hora a que tudo começou e assistimos pessoalmente à forma como os militares chineses trataram os monges que apenas queriam celebrar, pacífica e ordeiramente, o 10 de março - o mesmo dia em que no ano de 1959 os militares chineses assassinaram centenas de pessoas que se manifestavam pacificamente na praça principal de Lhasa pela falta de liberdade de expressão e violação contínua dos Direitos Humanos pelo governo chinês.

Devido aos cortes de energia, tenho muito pouco tempo e a ligação à net está também muito complicada. Mais tarde contarei mais pormenores.

Muito obrigado pela atenção e também pelos vossos mails e comentários no nosso blog.

Espero que esteja tudo bem com voçês. Nós estamos muito bem, ao contrário dos Amigos que deixámos no Tibete.

Grande Abraço e Beijos

Miguel

www.historiasdomundo.blogspot.com

Well said !

The IOC lives in a wonderland of 18th century amateur ideals and are determined to remain apolitical which is practically a joke given the way quadrennial Olympiad has become the most politicised sporting event ever: Germany 1936 (Hitler v Jesse Owens), Mexico 1968 (Tommie Smith and John Carlos), various Olympiads 1948-84 (cold war politics), Munich 1972 (murdered Israeli athletes), Montreal 1976 (African boycott), Moscow 1980 (Western boycott), Los Angeles 1984 (reciprocal eastern boycott).

Despite the IOC website stating their belief that "sport is a powerful tool to promote peace, dialogue and reconciliation" they show more agility than a gymnast when it comes to avoiding political questions in general and China's contravention of human rights specifically.

IOC president Jacques Rogge said last week. "NGOs and human rights activists want to leverage the games and ask the IOC to act along by their side. The IOC respects NGOs and activist groups and their causes, and speaks regularly with them but we are neither a political nor an activist organisation.

"The events in Tibet are a matter of great concern to the IOC. The IOC has already expressed the hope that this conflict should be resolved peacefully as soon as possible. The IOC will continue to respect human rights."

These ostriches need to stop hoping and start doing something.
In sweeping aside the Tibet issue, Rogge neatly passed the torch of protest and revelation to the media: "We believe that China will change by opening the country to the scrutiny of the world through the 25,000 media who will attend the games.

In

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4457337a2201.html

China arrest over 572 monks from Kirti Monastery in two-day raid

From credible information received from multiple sources in Tibet by the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD), a total of 572 monks from Ngaba Kirti Monastery were arrested by the Chinese People's Armed Police (PAP) and Public Security Bureau (PSB) following a two day raid in monks' residence on 28 and 29 March 2008.

As reported earlier by the Centre, more information on the number of monks arrested following two days of raids in Ngaba Kirti Monastery in Ngaba County (Ch:Aba Xian), Ngaba " Tibet Autonomous Prefecture" ('TAP'), Sichuan Province, is surfacing from the area. According to several credible sources, a total of 572 monks including novice as young as ten years old from Kirti Monastery were known to have been arrested in two days' raid at the monastery by PAP and PSB officials.

Before the launch of raids in the monastery on 28 March, hundreds of PAP and PSB reached the monastery, dispersed people, mostly devotees and visitors gathered around the monastery compound, and ordered surrounding shops to be shut down. During the sudden and thorough raid, monks with modern communication gadgets such as mobile phones, cameras, computers or MP3 players in their residences were known to have been arrested under suspicion of having communicated with the exile Tibetan communities. The PAP and PSB ransacked every room of the monastery, baring every box and cupboard with rifle butts. There were even reports of security forces taking advantage by taking away valuable items from monks' residences.

The sources also confirmed that in an attempt to hurt the religious sentiment of the Buddhist monks, the PAP and PSB officials forced monks to step over the portraits of the Dalai Lama found in monks' residences. The security forces even took photographs of monks who were coerced to hold the banned Tibetan national flag and portrait of the Dalai Lama to use as evidence of their crimes. The sources confirmed that symbolic ceremonial weapons hung on the statues of protecting deities inside the monastery altar were also reported to have been confiscated, and were accused of being weapons used by the protesters.

In

http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?id=20227&article=China+arrest+over+572+monks+from+Kirti+Monastery+in+two-day+raid

Beijing games participants and visitors urged to wear “Freedom” badge

Reporters Without Borders would like all those planning to attend the Olympic Games in Beijing to wear a badge with the word “Freedom” in Chinese characters. The press freedom organisation has created a series of five badges in the colours of the Olympic rings for this purpose.

“We are calling on athletes, journalists, members of official delegations and members of the public who are going to go to Beijing for the Olympic Games to wear this badge and to start wearing it now,” Reporters Without Borders said.

“This will enable athletes participating in the games to express their concern about the human rights situation in China,” the organisation added.

“With less than five months to go to the opening ceremony, as many people as possible must join in this protest.”

In
http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=26384

Gesto de solidariedade

O capitão da equipa de football da Índia, Bhaichung Bhutia, recusará carregar a chama Olímpica que chegará ao seu país dentro de duas semanas

Pretende desta forma protestar contra a repressão Chinesa no Tibete, e demonstrar a sua solidariedade para com o povo Tibetano

A tocha Olímpica deverá chegar à Índia a 17 de Abril e será rodeada de grande segurança devido ao peso da comuniade Tibetana aí exilada.

In
http://tempsreel.nouvelobs.com/actualites/international/20080401.OBS7587/le_footballeur_refuse_de_porter_la_flamme_olympique.html