Rally Planned at White House as President Bush meets Hu Jintao
New York – Tibetans and their supports will demand an end to China’s occupation of Tibet as Chinese President Hu Jintao meets President Bush at the White House on Thursday. The demonstrators will join Taiwanese, Uighur and Falun Gong practitioners for a colorful rally and protest outside the meeting in Lafayette Park from 10am-2pm, followed by a march through the city to the Chinese embassy. Protests are also planned in New Haven on Friday when Hu speaks at Yale University.
“Hu Jintao wants the international community to believe that the human rights situation in China and Tibet is satisfactory,” said Tenzin Kalden, President of the Tibetan Youth Congress of New York and New Jersey. “We need citizens and governments of free countries like the United States to steadfastly reject the myth of China as an open and democratic country and hold the Chinese government accountable for its systematic repression of the Tibetan people.”
Hu Jintao’s visit to the U.S. comes as international pressure is mounting on the Chinese Government to improve the situation inside Tibet. With the 2008 Olympic Games fast approaching, China’s human rights record is under increasing scrutiny. Just last month, the first demonstration by a Tibetan was staged in China’s Tiananmen Square.
“Tibetans continue to face arbitrary arrest, detention and torture for nothing more than peaceful expression of their religious and political beliefs,” said Lhadon Tethong, Executive Director of Students for a Free Tibet. “We will intensify our efforts in the lead up to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and continue our struggle until Tibet is free.”
Tibetan rights groups point to last week’s World Buddhist Forum in Hangzhou as the latest example of efforts by the Chinese government to outwardly portray itself as tolerant of religious expression, while actually increasing their control over religion in Tibet and China. Both the Dalai Lama and Gendun Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Panchen Lama, were excluded from the gathering. China used the event to promote the status of Gyaltsen Norbu, a young boy they claim to be the Panchen Lama. The whereabouts of the real Panchen Lama, disappeared by the Chinese government at age 6, remain unknown.
“If the Chinese government wants to make a sincere gesture towards improving religious freedom in Tibet, it would release the Panchen Lama and other religious leaders, like revered Buddhist teacher, Tenzin Delek Rinpoche,” said Tenzin Wangyal, President of the Tibetan Youth Congress’ Seattle branch. “We urge President Bush to raise their cases during his discussions with Hu Jintao.”
Hu Jintao was Secretary of the Tibet Autonomous Regional Committee when he imposed martial law to crack down on demonstrations for Tibetan independence in October 1989. Hundreds of Tibetans were killed or injured as a result and many more were imprisoned.
The Regional Tibetan Youth Congress of New York and New Jersey, the US Tibet Committee and Students for a Free Tibet are organizing the protests in Washington, DC and New Haven, CT.
Kate Woznow
National Coordinator
Students for a Free Tibet Canada
808 East 28th Ave
Vancouver BC
V5V 2N8
www.studentsforafreetibet.org/canada
Check out the new SFT Canada blog: www.sftcanada.blogspot.com
Contact: Lhadon Tethong, Students for a Free Tibet (917) 418-4181
Tenzin Kalden, Tibetan Youth Congress of NY/NJ (917) 696-8662
