New York, June 30 – As the 1,100 American athletes converged Saturday in Hayward Field, Eugene, to compete for spots on the U.S. Olympic Track and Field team and a trip to Beijing the Tibetans and supporters in Portland carried out a campaign to create awareness about Tibet among the athletes and to seek their support for Tibet.
About 150 Tibetans, mostly residents of Portland, took part in a march from the University of Oregon campus to the open-air Saturday Market and Wayne Morse Free Speech Plaza in downtown Eugene.
Regional Tibetan Youth Congress of Portland organized the event in conjunction with the Tibetan Community of Portland, Regional Tibetan Youth Congress of New York and New Jersey, Regional Tibetan Youth Congress of San Francisco, CA, and Students for a Free Tibet.
The Tibetans waited at the athletes’ entrance point outside the Stadium and presented a souvenir package to the athletes participating in the selection trials. The package contained a good luck card, a T-shirt imprinted with two hands, representing the nine letters that form ‘Free Tibet’, and an appeal letter addressed to the athletes.
The letter says, “…In Tibet today, exercising the fundamental rights we take for granted in the United States has become a crime. …We believe that winning medals at the games is not the only aspiration of an athlete. We hope that you will highlight the ideals and the true spirit of the games by speaking out for freedom, justice and truth. … We appeal to you to stand up for Tibet, in whatever way you feel comfortable. ….”
Tsering Palden, president of the RTYC, NY & NJ, and Han Shan of Students for a Free Tibet were present in Eugene for the event.
report filed by RTYC, NY & NJ
