The Tibetan Freedom Crisis
What is the problem in Tibet?
These are some notes I have from Students for a Free Tibet--read on:
Until 1949, Tibet was an independent Buddhist nation in the Himalayas which had little contact with the rest of the world. It existed as a rich cultural storehouse for their own language, literature, art, and world view developed by living at high altitudes, under harsh conditions, in a balance with their environment.
Since that time over a million Tibetans have been killed. With the Chinese policy of resettlement of Chinese to Tibet, Tibetans have become a minority in their own country. Chinese is the official language. Compared to pre-1959 levels, only 1/20 monks are still allowed to practice, under the government's watch. Famines have appeared for the first time in recorded history, natural resources are devastated, and wildlife depleted to extinction. Tibetan culture comes close to being eradicated there.
Peaceful demonstrations/protests/speech/writings by nuns, monks,
and Tibetan laypeople have resulted in deaths and thousands of
arrests. These prisoners are tortured and held in sub-standard conditions, with little hope of justice.
Some Startling Facts
1. The peaceful country of Tibet was invaded by Communists China in 1949. Since that time, over 1.2 million out of 6 Tibetans have been killed, over 6000 monastaries have been destroyed, and thousands of Tibetans have been imprisoned.
2. In Tibet today, there is no freedom of speech, religion, or press and arbitrary dissidents continue.
3. Forced abortion, sterilization of Tibetan women and the transfer of low income Chinese citizens threaten the survival of Tibet's unique culture. In some Tibetan provinces, Chinese settlers outnumber Tibetans 7 to 1.
4. Within China itself, massive human rights abuses continue. It is estimated that there up to twenty million Chinese citizens working in prison camps.
5. Most of the Tibetan plataeu lies above 14,000 feet. Tibet is the source of five of Asia's greatest rivers, which over 2 billion people depend upon. Since 1959, the Chinese government estimates that they have removed over $54 billion worth of timber. Over 80% of their forests have been destroyed, and large amoutns nuclear and toxic waste have been disposed of in Tibet.
6. Despite these facts and figures, the US government and US corporations continue to support China economically. This shows their blatant lack of respect for these critical issues of political and religious freedom and human rights.
Yes, things are bad, but you may still ask, why Tibet? There are hundreds of other countries in which equal or worse environmental and human rights devistation has occured. There is only a limited time left until there will longer be a Tibet to save.
Meanwhile, in Tibet religious persecution, and consistent violations of human rights by the occupying authorities have not succeeded in destroying the spirit of the Tibetan people to resist the destruction of the national identity. 1.2 million Tibetans have lost their lives, (over one-sixth of the population) as a result of the Chinese occupation. But the new generation of Tibetans seems just as determined to regain the country's independence as the older generation was.
See pics from the Tibetan Freedom Concert here