International Campaign for Tibet

Tibetan-Americans Urge US Boycott of Olympics Opening Ceremony

Tibetan-Americans Urge US Boycott of Olympics Opening Ceremony

By Josiah Ryan, CNSNews.com Staff Writer

April 01, 2008

(CNSNews.com) - Hundreds of protesters and members of the Tibetan-American diaspora gathered Monday in rain-soaked Lafayette Park in front of the White House to appeal to President Bush to speak out on behalf of Tibet and to boycott the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games in August. Leaders of Tibetan advocacy groups and a congressman also joined the rally.

"No freedom, no Olympics. No human rights, no Olympics," the crowd chanted in the direction of the White House. "China lies. Tibetans die. President Bush, save Tibet!"

An estimated 1.2 million Tibetans have been killed by communist Chinese forces since 1950, according to the Free Tibet Campaign. In recent weeks, China's clampdown on Tibetan protests has generated much media coverage and outrage, as was evident in Monday's demonstration.

The majority of demonstrators in Lafayette Park were either Tibetan or of Tibetan ancestry. Several dozen monks in traditional burgundy robes carried Tibetan flags and lit incense.

"President Bush, go to China as a sports fan, and see the games, go and honor the athletes, but do not go and stand next to the dictators at the opening ceremony," said John Ackerly, president of International Campaign for Tibet, which sponsored the rally. "Use your leverage to tell the world what you really think. Show your respect for the athletes, not for those who arrest and kill peaceful demonstrators."

On March 18, the Dalai Lama -- viewed by most Tibetans as the traditional political and spiritual leader of all Tibetan people -- accused the Chinese government of "a form of cultural genocide" and urgently sought the support of the international community. He did not call for a boycott of the Beijing Olympics, although since then a campaign pressing for a boycott targeting the opening ceremony specifically has picked up steam, especially in Europe.

Last Thursday, Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk became the first European Union leader to announce a boycott of the opening ceremony. His announcement was followed by similar decisions by Czech President Vaclav Klaus and by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who announced Friday she would not attend the Olympics at all.

"China wanted the Olympics, but not the scrutiny," said Ackerly. "Some years ago China would have been able to get away with this. But not this year. The spotlight is on China now more than ever. Every Tibetan killed, every Tibetan arrested is accounted for. And we are calling on our president to account for them."

The Dalai Lama's appeal for help was prompted by unrest in Chinese-controlled Tibet beginning March 10. Though China's government has restricted media access to the region, it has been reported from various sources that police used lethal force and mass arrests to quell protests marking the anniversary of a failed 1959 uprising against Chinese rule.

Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii) attended the rally and told the crowd that he has begun to work with House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to press for an American boycott of the Olympics opening ceremony. Abercrombie told Cybercast News Service that he hopes to create a subcommittee, possibly under the Human Rights Caucus, to explore the idea.

Abercrombie compared the Chinese-Tibetan conflict to the American civil rights movement. "It's not the West telling Asians what to do," he said. "We have been through this ourselves."

D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D), who visited the Tibetan exile government in India along with Pelosi and a bipartisan congressional delegation last month, said in a statement released at the rally that she was deeply affected by her visit and by remarks from Tibetans exiles. They described "monstrous torture" during imprisonment, she said.

"The nations of the world who will go to the games in August must make the road to Beijing a signpost of protest to free Tibet," Norton said.

But Abercrombie said he was unsure at this point how much support for a boycott there was in Congress. "I have talked to some of my colleagues," he said. "Some are reluctant, and some are in favor. The boycott is emblematic of what has to be. Its not going to resolve anything but it gives us a template to bring the issue to the forefront."

Asked whether there was time between now and August for China to make significant improvements in their relationship with Tibet, Abercrombie said, "There is always time to do the right thing. "

When the rally in front of the White House was over, many of the demonstrators marched down Connecticut Avenue to the Chinese Embassy to continue their protest.

Officials at the Chinese Embassy declined comment despite requests from Cybercast News Service.

Tibetans Rally at White House

Chinese Crackdown on Tibet Protested

Activists in D.C. Urge Bush to Boycott Opening of Olympics

By Pamela Constable

Washington Post Staff Writer

Tuesday, April 1, 2008; Page A12

Wrapped in multihued Tibetan national flags, more than 1,500 Tibetan refugees from as far as Georgia and Massachusetts rallied yesterday in front of the White House to protest China's recent crackdown on dissent in their homeland and demand that President Bush boycott opening ceremonies at the Summer Olympics in Beijing.

The demonstrators, who included a group of Buddhist monks and a handful of American supporters, said the combination of widening protests over Tibet and China's upcoming debut as an Olympic host in August have created a unique opportunity to press for greater Tibetan rights and autonomy after a half-century under Chinese control.

"The United States says it has been fighting for human rights and democracy in Iraq and Afghanistan," said Phurbu Dorjee, a Tibetan activist from Brooklyn, N.Y. "Tibetans are suffering. If the U.S. doesn't speak out this time, the issue of Tibet will die, and history will judge America as a hypocrite."

Protest leaders at the orderly White House rally warned against violence. But a brief disturbance broke out later when demonstrators marched to the Chinese Embassy. A thrown object struck a uniformed Secret Service officer and windows at the embassy were broken, a Secret Service spokesman said. Two protesters were arrested, he said.

Demonstration leaders said a few marchers spotted embassy employees photographing them, became upset and threw water bottles.

"This was very unfortunate, and we very much regret it," said a spokesman for the demonstrators. "We underestimated how emotional Tibetans are feeling."

At the gathering in Lafayette Square, Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich (D-Ohio) compared the Tibetan struggle to the U.S. civil rights movement, calling it a "moral force that can change the world."

A senior aide to the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan Buddhist leader and Nobel Peace laureate, cautioned the crowd in the square, "We must never allow our movement to become violent."

he aide, Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari stressed that sympathy for Tibetans, growing worldwide after three weeks of protests in Tibet and nearby parts of China, could be lost by rejection of the Dalai Lama's philosophy of peaceful resistance and dialogue with Beijing. "Please do not depart from that path," he said.

In an interview later, Gyari said he wanted to give the Bush administration's policy of quiet diplomacy a chance. "But I am skeptical, because I know that silent diplomacy does not work with the Chinese," he said.

At the White House, the Tibetans were fervent but orderly, shouting, "China is a killer, shame on killers. . . . China is a monster, shame on monsters." They chanted against the Olympics and plans to carry the Olympic torch across Tibet.

The demonstrators sang a Tibetan resistance anthem from 1959, the year of a failed uprising against Chinese control. They stamped their feet when it urged defiance.

The crowd included many women and children, some in traditional Tibetan dress. Many said they had come by bus from East Coast cities.

"Tibet is my country, and they are killing our brothers and sisters," said Tsering Chodon, 34, a hair stylist from Charlottesville.

After the rally, protesters followed monks up Connecticut Avenue toward the Chinese Embassy.

Staff writers Elissa Silverman and Martin Weil contributed to this report.