BEIJING OLYMPICS

Most respected president & members of the International Olympic Committee,

Ours is a political prisoners association. All our members have suffered brutal torture in the Chinese prisons in Tibet, and were forced to flee to India when released. So, we unanimously object to hosting the 2008 Olympics in China. Within communist China there is no freedom for its citizens, and human rights abuses are still prevalent. Apart from its internal chaos, China has forcefully invaded other countries for transfer of its population, which has thrown these countries into turmoil. The Olympic games are meant to promote peace among the nations of the world. They should be a tool for “world peace through sport”. We feel that giving China the distinction of hosting the Games while its government commits genocide in Tibet and violates the rights of its own people will not satisfy the objectives behind holding the Olympics and could prove to be very damaging.

We would like to make the following points,

1. China forcefully invaded Tibet, Turkistan and Mongolia. The people of these nations, unable to tolerate further oppression, have risen up against Communist China carrying out demonstrations and protests demanding freedom and the withdrawal of Chinese forces. Many involved in such pro-independent activities were imprisoned and some were executed, as reported in the Annual Report of the International Human Rights Association. At present China has the worst record at the international level for human rights violations.

2. If the Olympic games are to be held in China in 2008, then the Olympic Committee would be putting billions of dollars-worth of foreign currency into the pocket of the Chinese government. Money raised from the Olympics will be used to fund China’s control over Tibet. There have been cases of bomb blasts and other attacks by people belonging to Chinese occupied countries as a protest against the Chinese government. There is every possibility of the Stadium turning into a blood bath if the Olympic games were to be held in China. If such a mishap occurs then where is the so-called world peace through sports?

3. The way the Democratic party of China and the Falun Gong religion have been oppressed shows how human rights abuses in China are not restricted to the occupied territories. The blood shed during the Tiananmenn Square massacre has still not dried up. Therefore even nowadays, the Chinese citizens do not enjoy the basic human rights that are taken for granted in the west.

We feel it is now too early to host the peace-propagating Olympics in China. We are not opposed to China hosting the Olympics; we are opposed to China hosting the Olympics at a time when Tibetan, Mongolian, Turkistani and even Chinese citizens are made to suffer so much at the hands of the Chinese government. We would welcome warmly an Olympic games in China when the occupied territories become independent nations and when Chinese citizens' human rights are respected.

Finally we would like to pay our heartfelt thanks to the president and all the other members of the International Olympic Committee for allowing us to make this request. Our sincere prayers for the success of the Olympic games, and may it promote peace in the world.

Olympics Letter Writing

Letter Writing Campaign

We feel it is very important to keep up the pressure on the Chinese government, and encourage you to write letters both to your President or Prime Minister, as well as the President of China, Mr. Jiang Zemin. Below are two sample letters, which you can copy and send by e-mail to the respective authorities.

To your President

Your Excellency,
I am deeply concerned about the present situation in Tibet. There seems to be no end to the suffering of Tibetans; for exercising their right to freedom of religion and expression many have been killed and many more have been imprisoned in institutions where torture is commonplace. With the massive population transfer of Chinese into Tibet, the Tibetans are becoming marginalised in their own homeland and finding it increasingly difficult to find work. Examples of racism in the health and education service are rife, with Tibetans having to pay much more than the Chinese do. So that the Tibetan people can also enjoy the basic rights that are so often taken for granted in our country, I respectfully appeal to you to actively seek a resolution of the Tibet issue within the international community.
Yours respectfully,

President Jiang Zemin. Guojia Zhuxi, Beijing-shi. People's Republic of China

Your Excellency,
I would like to congratulate you on Beijing winning the battle to host the 2008 Olympics. The Olympics is a wonderful event, where people from all over the world can celebrate peace, harmony and freedom. However, in Tibet today, many people do not enjoy the same peace and freedom, and those who choose to exercise the right to freedom of speech are thrown into prison and savagely beaten. It is my sincere wish that the 2008 Olympics are successful, and I hope that all Tibetans can also join in the celebration. I therefore respectfully appeal to you to release all Tibetan prisoners of conscience presently detained in Chinese prisons.
Yours respectfully,

Please send appeals to:

ipc@fmprc.gov.cn (Minister of Foreign Affairs of People's Republic of China )

President Jiang Zemin. Central Committee Zhongnanhai Xi Cheng Qu, Beijingshi, People's Republic of China.Salutation: Your Excellency

Premiere Zhu Rongji. Guowuyuan 9 Xihuangchenggenbeijie, Beijingshi 100032. People's Republic of China. Salutation: Your Excellency

Legchog Zhuren. Chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Regional People's Government, Xizang Zizhiqu Renmin Zhengfu, 1 Kang'angdonglu, Lasashi 850000, Xizang Zizhiqu, People's Republic of China.Salutation: Dear Chairman

Free the missing Panchen Lama

SOUNDS OF SILENCE
by Shobhan Saxena

Gendun Choekyi Nyima, missing since 1995

The Chinese say "may you live in interesting times". However, for two nine-year old Tibetan boys' lives it has not been so interesting. One has been abducted for being someone. And the other one has been forced to become someone he is not. It's a curious, and terribly sad story of Gendun Choekyi Nyima and Gyaltsen Norbu. In the heated political climate of Tibet the two boys have become pawns in a battle the Chinese want to win by hook-or-crook.
Gendun Choekyi Nyima's troubles started soon after he was selected by His Holiness the Dalai Lama as the 11th Panchen Lama. This was in 1995. The Panchen Lama was last seen in July that year. No one has seen him since then despite the Chinese claims that he is well.

And that very year, amidst chanting of prayers, beating of drums and supervision of a Chinese official, Norbu was installed as the 11th Panchen Lama, the second most important position in Tibetan Buddhism. The controversy had started in July 1995 when the Chinese government rejected the Dalai Lama's selection of Nyima as the new Panchen Lama. The Communist party bosses flayed the Dalai Lama for "promoting Tibetan independence". The Chinese repeated their old rhetoric, accusing the Dalai Lama of trying to split the "motherland". The Chinese ordered senior monks to find another Panchen Lama.

This was a major shift in the Chinese policy on Tibet. First time since the ugly days of the Cultural Revolution the Communist officials had played active role in the selection and enthronement of the Panchen Lama. The move signified the fact that even the theological affairs of Tibet should be controlled from Beijing.

The controversy has been going on since then. But the question is where is the Panchen Lama? Isn't he the youngest political prisoner in the world? Isn't the Chinese government using a young Tibetan boy for political purpose by forcing him to masquerade as Panchen Lama? The answer to this question is yes.

The Chinese generally keep mum about the location of the Panchen Lama. Or sometimes they give wrong, misleading and conflicting information. Two delegations from the Western nations were given absolutely different information about the Panchen Lama's whereabouts recently.

An Austrian delegation, led by foreign minister Wolfgang Schuessel, visited Tibet some time back. The delegation was informed by vice-governor of the Tibet Autonomous Region, Yang Chuantang, that the eight-year old Choekyi Nyima was living in his birth place - village Lhari, located some 250 km from Lhasa, in Nagchu prefecture.

On the contrary, a group of three US clerics, who visited Tibet and China, were told that the boy was in Beijing. Earlier reports had also said that the boy was living in the Chinese capital.

That's not the end. In another report, the senior most Tibetan leader in the Chinese hierarchy, Ngapo Ngawang Jigme, said that he believed the boy was in Gansu province.

So where is he? Where is the 11th Panchen Lama? Is he in Lhari or in Beijing or in Gansu? Who do we believe? Why can't the Chinese government give a clear-cut answer. Maybe the Beijing mandarins do not have an answer. Maybe they do not want to talk about the Panchen Lama. Because they have something to hide from the world . Obviously, they can not say that an nine-year old boy is being held as a political prisoner somewhere in China.

They only say nice things. The boy was last mentioned in the Chinese press in September 1997, when Ragdi, the executive deputy secretary of the Tibet Communist Party, was reported by a Hong Kong news agency on 16th September as saying : "He goes to school as every other child does and is perfectly free without restraint."

If he is free why is he invisible? Why are foreign delegations which visit China and Tibet not allowed to see the Panchen Lama? The Chinese have no answer to these questions. They want to force the Tibetan people to accept Norbu as the 11th Panchen Lama. The abbot of Tashi Lhunpo monastery, Shigatse, was expelled in July 1997 for refusing to endorse Norbu as the 11th Panchen Lama. The secretary of Tashi Lhunpo Democratic Management Committee, Lama Gyatrul Rinpoche, was also expelled for defying the Chinese dictates. He was arrested, imprisoned and expelled.

Even the office of His Holiness Dalai Lama has no information about the Panchen Lama.

The Chinese government has always tried to check the Dalai Lama's influence in Tibet. The 10th Panchen Lama was encouraged to speak against the Dalai Lama. Now, they have installed Panchen Lama of their choice so that he can be manipulated to speak in favour of Beijing. The Chinese have issued orders to Tibetan monks to keep away from the Dalai Lama.

Interestingly, during the enthroning ceremony about three years ago, Norbu, the fake Panchen Lama, expressed his gratitude to the Beijing rulers and said he loved his motherland and Tibetan religion. No points for guessing who asked him to utter those words.

So this is the Chinese game - keep the real Panchen Lama in captivity and use the fake one for political purposes. And this is the story of two Tibetan boys who are being manipulated by the Chinese. One is visible. The other is not.

Gendun Choeki Nyima, the eight-year old boy from Lhari, is the youngest political prisoner in the world. His survival is important because the future of Tibet depends on him. The seat of the Panchen Lama plays major role in the selection of the Dalai Lama. The Chinese know that and that's why they have kept Gyaltsen Norbu in their pocket. Whereas they keep silent about or mislead the world about the real Panchen Lama - Gendun Choekyi Nyima. And the Panchen Lama is not the only young political prisoner in Tibet. Many young boys are languishing as prisoners of conscience in Chinese prisons.

It's a serious matter for the future of Tibet, for the safety of a small boy, for human rights in Tibet. Everybody who cares for Tibet and its people should demand immediate release of Gendun Choekyi Nyima. And he should be put on the right place --the seat of the 11th Panchen Lama.

----- Shobhan Saxena is a former journalist for The Times of India. He has been writing on the Tibetan issue since 1992. He is now a free-lance writer in London.

BEIJING OLYMPICS

SOUNDS OF SILENCE by Shobhan Saxena

SOUNDS OF SILENCE
by Shobhan Saxena