Tibeten violence draws local reaction in Northampton
Pamela Lawn, Collegian Staff
Issue date: 3/31/08 Section: News
Protesters are uniting today for a global day of action in support of improving human rights in Tibet, which falls on the same day as the Olympic flame's arrival in Bejing, a symbolic day on the Olympic calendar.
Tension in Tibet has been ongoing since the outbreak of violence on March 10. This day has been described by many as the worst violence seen in Tibet since 1989. It fell on the forty-ninth anniversary of the failed uprising against communist rule. Beijing said 22 people have died in the clashes.
The Tibetan tensions have also hit close to home.
Following four days of protests in over 20 major cities around the world, local Tibetans and supporters gathered at Pulaski Park in Northampton to hold a protest in solidarity on March 18, beginning in morning and ending with an evening vigil in support of the continued uprising in Tibet. The protests continued into Sunday, March 23.
"Every day, we hear more disturbing news from the revolts inside Tibet," said Tenzin Dolkar, New England regional coordinator for Students for a Free Tibet in a statement. "We demand that the United Nations send a fact-finding delegation to Tibet to investigate the status of detained protestors and confirm the number of deaths caused by Chinese forces. We heard of school children being arrested and beaten in the revolts in Eastern Tibet as well as house-to-house searches, arbitrary arrests and killings."
Students in Tibet are also speaking up. On March 17, Tibetan students staged a sit-in at the National Minorities University.This is the biggest kind of event staged by students since the 1989 protests.
The students sat in a circle on the campus and made their presence clear in a peaceful manner: sitting with their heads bowed, surrounded by candles.
In a similar public display on March 24, protestors tried to block the torch runner carrying the Olympic flame into the Athens stadium as a sign of protest to China's involvement with Tibet.
Tension in Tibet has been ongoing since the outbreak of violence on March 10. This day has been described by many as the worst violence seen in Tibet since 1989. It fell on the forty-ninth anniversary of the failed uprising against communist rule. Beijing said 22 people have died in the clashes.
The Tibetan tensions have also hit close to home.
Following four days of protests in over 20 major cities around the world, local Tibetans and supporters gathered at Pulaski Park in Northampton to hold a protest in solidarity on March 18, beginning in morning and ending with an evening vigil in support of the continued uprising in Tibet. The protests continued into Sunday, March 23.
"Every day, we hear more disturbing news from the revolts inside Tibet," said Tenzin Dolkar, New England regional coordinator for Students for a Free Tibet in a statement. "We demand that the United Nations send a fact-finding delegation to Tibet to investigate the status of detained protestors and confirm the number of deaths caused by Chinese forces. We heard of school children being arrested and beaten in the revolts in Eastern Tibet as well as house-to-house searches, arbitrary arrests and killings."
Students in Tibet are also speaking up. On March 17, Tibetan students staged a sit-in at the National Minorities University.This is the biggest kind of event staged by students since the 1989 protests.
The students sat in a circle on the campus and made their presence clear in a peaceful manner: sitting with their heads bowed, surrounded by candles.
In a similar public display on March 24, protestors tried to block the torch runner carrying the Olympic flame into the Athens stadium as a sign of protest to China's involvement with Tibet.
Viewing Comments 1 - 10 of 21
Tom
posted 3/31/08 @ 3:34 AM EST
Wake up, people! Protests and demonstrations cannot solve any problem in the real world.
Let's do something real, people.
The U.S. should stand up for Tibetans and show the world that we are the true leader of freedom and democracy. (Continued…)
Bin
posted 4/01/08 @ 9:56 AM EST
What was missing in this report is the voice of the other side:
http://www.ourvoice.de/Our%20Voice/Facts.html
Umass Alum
posted 4/02/08 @ 11:41 AM EST
Having spent my Ph.D period at Amherst, I know what a liberal place Amherst is and I have also talked/debated with many of tibetan fellows. But this matter is everything but being liberal!!!
A simple fact an one year (maybe not one but five I suppose) old kid could see China has brought Tibet from slavery to modernization, the majority of the people are better off now. (Continued…)
Andrew F
posted 4/03/08 @ 12:06 PM EST
The majority of these comments can be summed up in a single sentence: "I am a Chinese nationalist who does not believe in self-determination or freedom: I wholeheartedly endorse the armed occupation of Tibet. (Continued…)
isa
posted 4/03/08 @ 9:35 PM EST
v luv y'all but v dun luv ur govt's insane policy
Arthur Thomas
arthur Thomas
posted 4/03/08 @ 10:35 PM EST
Lhasa - an Exercise in Smoke and Mirrors
Tourists and others caught up in the Lhasa March 10 "uprising" captured graphic images of rampaging Tibetan mobs and armed monks burning and looting Chinese homes and businesses and attacking ethnic Chinese. (Continued…)
Andrew F
posted 4/04/08 @ 12:50 PM EST
Bin,
I looked at the website you linked above, which I assume you contribute to. It isn't clear to me exactly what your opinion is from your comments, so I apologize if I misrepresented it above. (Continued…)
Kai
posted 4/06/08 @ 9:51 PM EST
"Students in Tibet are also speaking up. On March 17, Tibetan students staged a sit-in at the National Minorities University.This is the biggest kind of event staged by students since the 1989 protests. (Continued…)
Kai
posted 4/06/08 @ 10:03 PM EST
Hey, people, I am really dissapointed with the way you treat Tom. Tom is hilarious. Tom is my hero. I like Tom! Just be nice to Tom! If you don't get it, do some research. (Continued…)
george liu
posted 4/06/08 @ 11:50 PM EST
Someoen mentioned Chinese withdrawal from the occupied Tibetan area. There are two things that i don't understand.
The first one is, why do people act as if Tibet was a dreamland before the so called "Chinese invasion"? Beofore 1950, under Dalai Lama's leadership, it was a semi slavery system, where 5% of the population controlled 100% of the resources, and the other 95% lived in poverty with no access to education and health care. (Continued…)
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