London, May 16 – Tenzin Dorjee aka Tendor, a young Tibetan born in exile, who recently protested at the Mt. Everest Base Camp in Tibet against China’s occupation of Tibet, stopped by in London to meet and share his experience with fellow Tibetans and their supporters. The invitation was extended by the Tibetan Youth UK and the Students for Free Tibet’s UK Chapter.
Accompanying him was the young and energetic Lhadon Tethong, who heads the Students for Free Tibet in New York. Lhadon is said to be the leading figure behind the recent peaceful but direct political action inside Tibet at the Everest Base Camp. The duo arrived in London after attending the Fifth International Conference of Tibet Support Groups in Brussels.
A film footage in which Tendor was speaking at the Everest Base Camp, when launching their campaign on the Tibetan soil was screened. This followed a welcome introduction by Tenzin Samphel, Chairman of the Tibetan Community in Britain and an offering of traditional scarves to the Tibet activists by Karma Chura-Tsang, Director of Tibetan Youth UK.
Tendor vividly explained what he calls “adventure” from Beijing to Chengdu and then Lhasa to the Everest Base Camp, where along with his four American colleagues, they unfurled a banner which read out “One World, One Dream, Free Tibet 2008”, “Free Tibet” in Tibetan and Chinese on April 25th. The action was aimed at protesting China?s occupation of Tibet and proposal to run the 2008 Beijing Olympics Torch to the summit of the Mt. Everest.
Before they were arrested and taken away by the Chinese authorities, the five Tibet activists found an enough time to sing the Tibetan National Anthem, which is not allowed in Tibet by the Chinese authorities. Tendor told the interested audience gathered in a central London venue that they avoided local Tibetans and their businesses on their way to the planned mission at the Everest Base Camp. This was simply to avoid any possible inconvenience to his fellow countrymen, who live there. “The Chinese were looking for people to get in trouble but NOBODY-NOT ONE TIBETAN- helped us out or had any part in this so they will not find anyone who did.”, Tendor said.
In fact, the Chinese authorities did follow it up soon after the Tibet activists were arrested at the Base Camp. Tendor continued, “During our two and half days of detention, the Chinese authorities repeatedly interrogated us on our way to Shigatse under their tight security and later in the detention units. The authorities asked us whether any local Tibetans were involved or provided cooperation with our political action.” The activists said their action was worth risk taking and that they are determined to strike random direct actions by bringing shame to the China’s illegal occupation of Tibet in the future.
Lhadon spoke on the intensive campaign that Tibet campaigners will be launching in the coming year especially focussing on the Beijing Olympics. She said, “We may not possess conventional weapons to fight against China but we have our main weapons of commitment and direct action strategy and we are determined to kick China out of Tibet. The issue of Tibet is not dead as Beijing would like the world to believe – the reality is that Tibetans are coming up with new and creative ideas and strategies on how to get them out once and for all.”
The duo’s presentation was a great source of additional encouragement and motivating factors to further the just cause of Tibet. They reaffirmed that their collective actions were geared towards the regaining of the full independence of Tibet and bringing an end to the illegal occupation of Tibet by Communist China. Tendor was acknowledged for his courage to undertake such direct action on Tibetan soil. The organisers and the UK Tibetan Women’s Association presented him a token of gift for his courage and determination.
The audience were very receptive too and thoughtful questions and comments flowed in. In the coming months and in the run up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, London will be a major focal point where a series of campaigns are planned to unravel the dirty side of China.
Tendor and Lhadon have other scheduled meetings with Tibetans in Europe including those in Switzerland and France before they return back to New York, from where they will be working on more such direct actions for a Free Tibet – the full independence of Tibet.
Tibetan Youth UK, is a network of young Tibetans living in the United Kingdom who aim to make a meaningful contribution to the Tibetan struggle, to the community welfare and to the preservation of Tibetan culture and heritage. TYUK is a voluntary organisation run by committees of young Tibetans. For more information: www.tibetanyouthuk.org
