Suggested chants / slogans for a Free Tibet protest:

Suggested chants / slogans for a Free Tibet protest:

• 1234, occupation no more, 5678, Tibet is-an apartheid state!
• New Zealand (or whether you are) please choose a side, human rights or apartheid!
• From Tibet, to Palestine, occupation is a crime!
• Hey, hey, ho, ho! Occupation has got to go!
• One solution, revolution!
• The people, united, will never be defeated!
• Tibetans are under attack. Stand up, fight back!
• (front calls) FREE TIBET, (back calls) FREE TI-BET!
• When I say peace, you say now! Peace! Now! Peace! Now!
• Free Tibet, not free trade!

Free Tibet Protest in Dunedin, New Zealand

100 people participated in a protest organized by Students for a Free Tibet (SFT), the Organisation for Global Nonviolent Action (OGNA) and the Coalition for Tibet Aotearoa on Friday the 4^th of August in the city centre of Dunedin, New Zealand. 

The protest was called in light of the current situation in Tibet, which is at its worst since the Chinese invasion in the 1950's.

“In the last year alone there have been 47 self-immolations in Tibet in protest to the Chinese government's rule and oppression”, says Joe Llewellyn, co-leader of SFT and OGNA. 

Starting from the Peace Pole in front of the Otago Museum, the crowd marched, with a banner saying "Tibet is burning - end the oppression of: Tibetans, Uyghers, Mongolians and Chinese", to the front of the Meridian Shopping Centre, blocking off George Street traffic to perform a ‘die-in’ – a symbolic lying down to symbolize the lives lost in the conflict that is ongoing in Tibet.  The group then progressed to the Octagon lawns where speeches were made, and the printed faces of the 51 self-immolators were lined up to emphasize the tragedy of the situation. 

The march and die-in were well received by the public, the die-in deliberately held only for a few minutes to minimize disturbances to traffic.  People from the sidewalks began joining the march as the crowd progressed and many cars showed their support by honking. 

 “Since the Beijing Olympics the situation has become increasingly worse, with an increased military presence and regular media blackouts”, says Joe Llewellyn. 

The Chinese Government has a track record of silencing political dissidents, Liu Xiaobo, Ai Wei Wei and Chen Guangcheng are recent examples, though many more remain unreported. Mr. Llewellyn says “There are now hundreds, if not thousands, of political prisoners- reports indicate the latest self-immolations have lead to 600 more Tibetans being incarcerated”.

Speaking about a recent report from the Washington-based Human Rights Watchdog, Freedom House, he said: “Freedom House have just upgraded Tibet in their 'Worst of Worst list' together with countries such as Somalia, Saudi Arabia and North Korea. It's a list of the top nine countries in terms of human rights violations”.

He says, “We are protesting to raise this under-reported issue. It also gives people a chance to have their say on it”.

“We are planning future action including a nation-wide petition and protests before the Dalai Lama's visit to New Zealand next year”.

Mr. Llewellyn says “The Free Trade Agreement New Zealand has with China should not be to the detriment of Chinese minorities”.

Tibet's Brutal Occupation and How We Can Change It

Tibet is a large plateaux region in Asia, situated north of the Himalayas. With an elevation of 14,000 ft it is literally the highest nation in the world! Until 1950 it was a sovereign state inhabited by six million people. By the end of 1950 it had fallen victim to a Chinese occupation which has resulted in the death of over one million Tibetans; the destruction of over 6,000 monasteries, nunneries and temples; countless cases of blatant human rights abuse; severe and irreversible environmental damage; and genocide. In short the Chinese government has enforced a non-democratic and authoritarian rule over Tibet which has lead to the mass exploitation of the Tibetan people. They have no say in any of this and lack all basic freedoms. All this has    happened with limited criticism from the majority of the international community, who have ignored Tibet’s cries for assistance,  despite the obvious injustices that have been prevailing for almost 60 years. Most governments – including New Zealand’s – do not recognize Tibet as an occupied state.

 

A Very Brief History

Over past centuries, some countries, including Britain and Mongolia have sought to exert control over Tibet, with periodic and partial success. International legal scholars agree that from 1911 until the Chinese   invasion in 1950, Tibet was a fully independent state by modern standards. Since then the people of Tibet have struggled to regain their freedom and keep their culture intact.

In March 1959, Tibetans rose up against their  Chinese occupiers. The uprising was brutally crushed and the Tibetan leader, His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama, escaped to India after the governments’ of other countries, including neighboring Nepal (and the USA), offered little or no assistance. The Tibetan leader was followed by more than 80,000 Tibetans. Tens of thousands of Tibetans who remained were killed or imprisoned.

Tibet has been continually oppressed over the  decades- always from the top down. During the 1960s and 1970s, repression took place under a state that was trying to exert total control over the economy. Today, private capital is a partner of the state, but the need for repressive methods remain. Tibet was never ruled under communism- the nation was first  oppressed under state capitalism, now it is market capitalism. During the era of state capitalism, workers and peasants were ruled by Chairman Mao’s         nationalist ideology, which forcefully bound China’s masses to its rulers. This is the reason for the       continuous Tibetan oppression still now.

The UN general assembly has passed multiple   resolutions condemning the Chinese government for violations of fundamental human rights of the Tibetan people and called on China to respect the Tibetan peoples’ rights – including their right to self-determination.  This has been to no avail.

The situation in Tibet is now getting worse rather than better. Close to 180,000 Tibetan people are now in exile. To prevent any more the Chinese government is now paying the Neplese police to arrest Tibetan exiles as they try to cross the border and send them back to the Chinese authorities. Cultural restrictions are more severe and many Tibetans cannot get employment due to their ethnicity.

On Tibetan New Year's, which happens on the 22nd February, we would normally see images of the Dalai Lama, government officials and reincarnated monks praying and reciting invocations. Tibetans would be giving out offerings for good luck. The next fifteen days are celebrated with singing and dancing to celebrate Tibetan culture. However this hasn't been the norm for over 6 decades. The restrictions on the celebrations this year were more restrictive than ever with a total ban on foreign tourists and millions of Chinese troops surrounding the city of Lhasa.

This year the Tibetan Parliament in exile and Tibetan communities across the globe observed a day-long hunger strike, in solidaity with the 30 monks that have self-immolated since 2011. Their sacrifice proves the severity of the situation in Tibet, and the fact that we haven't heard it – its censorship.

The Dalai Lama and many Tibetans have had to flee over the Himalayas to Dharamsala in northern India. Dharamsala, meaning “resting place for travellers” in Hindi is only a temporary refuge where Tibetans can live in relative freedom, waiting for the world to act.

Shide Monastery, one of the Tibets most venerable Buddhist monasteries, 

was destroyed during the Chinese invasion of Tibet in the 50s.  Evidence of the wreckage like this 

statue of the Jigshe in now being cleared by authorities

The Effect of the Occupation On...

1) The Tibetan People

The effect of the occupation on the Tibetan has been devastating. Fundamental human rights have been abused with the imprisonment, torture and exploitation of thousands of Tibetan people.

They have no freedom of speech - There is no free media and 4000 Tibetan political prisoners are currently being held by the Chinese government. Arbitrary arrests continue. Many Tibetans that are and have been imprisoned have been subject to torture.

They do not have the right to assembly, movement and expression.

Genocide has been committed in Tibet. In 1959, the International Commission of Jurists found that genocide has been committed in Tibet. With the help of new railways the Chinese government has got high numbers of other people from China to migrate to Tibet, offering them higher wages and other inducements. This policy is threatening the survival of Tibetan people. Tibetans are becoming a minority.

Discrimination and Racism. The Tibetans that remain in Tibet suffer from discrimination from the new settlers. These results in them not being able to get employment and support their families as well as they should be able to.

Force Abortions, often late in pregnancy, and sterilization of Tibetan women is common.

Their religion and culture is monitored, limited and controlled - Over 6,000 monasteries, nunneries and temples to date have been destroyed. New Chinese houses are being built to replace the Tibetan ones - Tibetans are forced out of their homes into non-Tibetan houses and are then required to take up loans to pay for it.

Exploitation of the Tibetan people through mining, deforestation and tourism. Mining, logging, and tourism companies destroy take huge profits – none of which get back to the Tibetan people, who, are in most cases unable to work for these companies in the first place.

Tibet has been heavily militarized. There is one Chinese armed troop for every ten Tibetans. One  quarter of China’s nuclear missiles are situated in Tibet. This is a huge intimidation tactic by the     Chinese government and devastating for a peace-loving people like the Tibetans.

 2) The Environment

Mining and Deforestation has lead to irreversible environmental damage. Almost half the tree that were in Tibet fifty years ago have been chopped down leading to soil erosion and the extinction/endangerment of many species. Mining leaves damaging by-products that are not cleaned up and are bad for the health of the people living near them. It also contributes to destroying the habitats that may species depend on to survive – species that are found nowhere else in the world.

Tibet is being used as a dumping ground for nuclear waste.

From Top to Bottom: An SFT protest in
San Fransisco; A poster from an SFT
campaign; Protests in New York; the
Tibetan Flag

The 'Free Tibet' Movement 

The Free Tibet Movement is set up for anyone who wants to  support the Tibetan people. It raises funds for various different charities, organises and leads local and international campaigns and fights for human rights. It has done lots of every important work over the last two years in building awareness of the Tibetan cause, especially in 2008 over the Beijing Olympics.

Students for a Free Tibet (SFT) is one of the largest and  argueable more successful groups with active chapters working around the world. They work in solidarity with the Tibetan people in their struggle for freedom and independence. Through  education, grassroots organizing, and non-violent direct action, they campaign for Tibetans’ fundamental right to political freedom. Their role is to empower and train youth as leaders in the worldwide movement for social justice. In Their work for Tibetan independence they also aim to inspire and enable people, especially youth, to create a just and equitable world, free of    oppression, in which there is respect for the earth and all living things.

This is exactly what groups outside of Tibet need to do in order to successfully support the Tibetan people. Through their work,   especially through protests, they show solidarity with Tibetans; demonstrate the power that people have to change society;   increase visibility of the cause; build active relationships with   others who what to make a positive change; and energize participants to carry on organizing and fighting for the cause. This is the same as what OGNA tries to do in its work.

Problems Within the Movement

Unfortunately a small minority in the Free Tibet movement have run campaigns with anti-Chinese feelings. Many of these look at imperialist powers, such as the US, to intervene. As has been shown in Afghanistan, Iraq and countless cases in the past,  imperial powers only intervene when it is in their interests- and even then, living conditions and human rights abuses only get worse. In the case of Tibet, the US’s support for the Tibetan   people is superficial; offering nothing to them of any substance- it serves as a platform for the USA to stick its middle finger up to China.  The only good it can do is to raise awareness of the Tibetan situation. This generally encourages people to help in none productive, reformist rather than revolutionary ways.   Relying on the United Nations is an example, multiple reports on the plight of Tibet have been released, but in the last 60 years things have yet to change.

In the U.S., people need to continue to expose the hypocrisy of politicians who decry the abuse of human rights overseas as they pursue their own violent course to exploit the world’s people and resources, from New York to Baghdad. These worldwide purveyors of oppression are up to no good in their support for the Dalai Lama. The experience of other oppressed nationalities has shown that U.S. support represents a     hazard in the struggle for self-determination, not an advantage.

His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama and how a Positive Change for Tibet can Come About

From Top to Bottom: A Free Tibet
protest in Delhi; His Holiness the Dalai
Lama receiving the Nobel Peace Prize
in 1989; A monk protesting in
Kathmandu Nepal

 The Dalai Lama has been the leader of the Free Tibet movement since the Chinese invasion. In recent years he has made many steps towards further democracy within the Tibetan Government in Exile. He is striving to achieve equality in Tibet and freedom for   everyone. He has gained mass world wide support and respect as he advocates for a peaceful solution that benefits both the Tibetans and the Chinese. This draws similarities to the approach of Mahatma Gandhi.

The movement in Tibet has always been non-violent. This strategy has huge popular support. It is unlikely to change as the whole  essence of Tibetan culture is based on Buddhism – a philosophy focused on ending the suffering of all living things. The Tibetan non-violent approach is principled rather than pragmatic.

With popular support and a mass movement behind them, backed especially by the working class of China, there is no need for violent resistance. This idea is especially ridiculous when you take into   account that the Chinese army is 3 million strong, with highly sophisticated weaponry well out of the grasp of poor Tibetans.

The Tibetan movement is not just about Tibetans. It is linked to the millions of poor, oppressed and exploited people who live under the rule of the Chinese government including those in East-Turkistan, Inner Mongolia and many of the Chinese themselves! The Chinese working class, some of the worst treated workers in the world, are capable of delivering real liberty as they can strike the biggest     possible blow to the government’s control. They can do this by   striking, and shutting down production and vital services, and through non-cooperation with the government, taking away its power. In recent times Chinese workers have started to fight back against the Chinese authorities, organising in unions, and partaking in effective strikes. This, if it continues, offers hope to the Tibetan people who can then assist through their own action in Tibet.

The control over the future course of resistance in China is up for grabs. The political views that develop in China among workers, peasants, and the oppressed will make the crucial difference. A   Chinese movement for genuine socialism and liberation is possible on the basis of antiracist unity against all oppressors—unity that   equires an adamant defense of the right to self-determination for   oppressed nationalities. The efforts of solidarity activists in the West would also benefit from adopting the same sort of politics.

The occupation of Tibet has lead to a state of control – an authoritarian, non-democratic system that exploits and harms the Tibetan people. They get no profits from the companies that destroy their land. They get no say and no freedom.

At least one million Tibetans have died as a direct result of the Chinese government’s policies since 1950 - through starvation, torture and execution. Thousands more have died in East Turkistan and Inner       Mongolia. Millions of people in China live in abrupt poverty. The Tibetan struggle has been non-violent for almost 60 years and their courage in the face of sustained persecution and world-wide apathy deserves the support of those with the freedom to do so but ultimately – for them to be liberated and truly freed from oppression – they need support from the lower class of Chinese society and solidarity with others around the world. They, ultimately, are the only people who can help Free Tibet. Not the               undemocratic, exploiting governments of the West.

 Help. Free Tibet. Join OGNA and Students for a Free Tibet and make a difference.

Western Media Bias and Hypocrisy: Support for the People of Tibet and Neglect for so Many Others.

The Western mainstream media is often shouting for Tibet’s cause and so it should. Countless cases of exploitation have taken place in Tibet over the last 50 years where Tibetans have had their rights removed and now only a small minority of them can even get jobs and have control over their own lives.But while doing this it fails to support other national liberation movements such as in Chechnya, Kurdistan, Western Sahara, Xinjiang, Palestine and many more.

This is a huge hypocrisy and shows that American support for the Tibetans struggle is purely tokenistic. They are clearly supporting the struggle for their own purposes and not because they actually care that people are suffering and have no democratic rights.

It is all part of the power struggle between the US super-power, and China - the rising super-power. By saying that they are pro-Tibet and by small acts such as president Obama meeting with the Dalai Lama, the USA is sticking its middle finger up to China while not actually doing anything for the Tibetan cause. It is a reminder from the USA that it is still “top power” and a large amount of the money that comes into China comes from American pockets.

During the Cold War the USA did genuinely support the Tibetan struggle for independence — the CIA gave support in the form of supplies and military training to Tibetan independence groups as part of its attempt to undermine Mao’s Revolution. However, with China now being a major player in the global capitalist economy it obviously receives a large amount of Western investment – the majority being from the USA – and its economy relies on this.

Imperialism “supports” Tibet to remind China of where it stands in the global capitalist hierarchy, but it would be against its interests to dismember China — which has become the industrial estate of global capitalism. Western economic interests have increasingly penetrated into Tibet itself, which is facilitated by Chinese control of the region — maintained by repression.

The western media openly talks about Tibet as it openly criticises China. It would seem by watching it as if the Tibetans are the only people on earth whose right to independence is being denied by brutal force and violence.

There is no doubt that the Tibetan people deserve the right to self-determination because it is a democratic right. The desire of many Tibetans for independence reflects the fact that, after 50 years of Chinese rule, Tibetans are marginalized second-class citizens in their own country.

This rule should also apply to the Chechnyan’s; the Kurds in Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria; the people of the Western Sahara who’s territory is occupied by Morocco. Also in Xinjiang, the land north of Tibet, where the Uighurs reside, whose struggle for self-determination against China parallels that of the Tibetans. Notably the Uighurs are Muslim and in the Western world, Islamophobia now occupies the place that had for centuries been reserved for anti-Semitism. This is a major reason why the Tibetans are talked about and not the Uighars even though both were invaded by Mao’s red army at around about the same time and both face Chinese oppression. And of cause the struggle in Palestine, which is always ignored due to the USA’s special relationship with Israel.

The Tibetans have a culture that is appealing to a lot of onlookers from the west and is headed by the Dalai Lama who a lot of Buddhists and non-Buddhist alike look up to. This combined with the lack of “Buddhaphobia” exerted by the American government, and media as a whole, makes the Tibetan struggle a lot more likeable in the media’s eyes. Unlike Islam, Tibetan Buddhism arouses curiosity and sympathy. The picture painted by the media of a beautiful paradise hidden behind the beautiful snow capped peaks of the Himalayas is far different and more appealing than the harsh and baron deserts of the Middle East. The Policy of non-violence is also very attractive and is much easier for imperialist powers to support as opposed to militant Islamist groups who are leading struggles elsewhere. When looked at like this it is easy to see why the western media happily supports the Tibetan struggle but does not support that of the Uighurs. It would not be in line with other things that they support and criticise.

The Chinese regime is also easier to pick on than others. It is hated by many - by capitalists because it is a Communist dictatorship, by Communists because it has become capitalist and distinctly different from real socialism. It promotes a crass and ugly materialism, the very opposite of the spiritual Buddhist monks, who spend their time in prayer and meditation.
Immanuel Kant said that we should "Act as if the principle by which you act were about to be turned into a universal law of nature." The West’s general attitude towards the Tibetan problem does not conform to this rule. It does not reflect the attitude towards the struggle for independence of all other oppressed peoples.

The Chechnyans should have been in a better position. They, too, are a separate people, who have for a long time been oppressed by the Tzars of the Russian Empire, including Stalin and Putin. But alas, they are Muslims. Islam has turned into a synonym for terrorism, it is seen as a religion of blood and murder. In reality it is, of course, the religion of dozens of vastly different peoples, from Indonesia to Morocco and from Kosova to Zanzibar. The vast majority of which do not share the same ideas as the likes of Osama Bin Laden.

The US does not fear Moscow as it fears Beijing. Unlike China, Russia does not look like a country that could dominate the 21st century. The poor Chechnyans, who have no charismatic leader or outstanding spokespersons, have been banished from the headlines, unless a Chechnyan commits an “act of terror” within Russia. For all the world cares, the Russian government can hit them as much as they want, kill thousands and obliterate whole towns.

In the competition for the sympathy of the world media, the Palestinians are unlucky. They have a right to liberation, exactly like the Tibetans. They inhabit a defined territory; they are a specific nation; a clear border exists between them and Israel; and they are unrightfully being oppressed.

But the Palestinians are not favorable in the eyes of Israel and therefore the USA, who almost never fault the Zionists, whatever they do. The whole world sympathizes with the Israelis because the Jews were the victims of the most horrific crime of the Western world. That creates a strange situation: the oppressor is more popular than the victim. Anyone who supports the Palestinians is automatically suspected of anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial even though the Palestinians are clearly an oppressed people and the two are not linked.

Also, the great majority of the Palestinians are Muslims (even though there are a significant number of Palestinian Christians but you rarely hear of them). Since Islam arouses fear and abhorrence in the West, the Palestinian struggle has become a part of that shapeless, sinister threat, "international terrorism". And since the deaths of Yasser Arafat and Sheik Ahmed Yassin, the Palestinians have no particularly impressive leader - neither in Fatah nor in Hamas.

The world media are shedding tears for the Tibetan people who are oppressed by the Chinese government. Who cares about the Palestinians who are being oppressed by the Israeli’s?                              
The Western media paints Tibetans more favorably than other oppressed groups but this does not make either people undeserving of democratic rights. In fact, the simple, spiritual Tibetan Buddhist monk and the deranged Arab terrorist are equally racist stereotypes. Everyone who supports the principles of social justice should support the growing global movement in solidarity with Tibet's struggle for self determination and that off all oppressed groups of people around the world.
It is never going to be the actions of the elite that will give power and democratic rights to the oppressed and make them equals as the elite have vested interests, such as the American’s in their stance towards the Tibetans. Democracy and equality can only be won through a international, organized, grass-roots movement of workers, students and all oppressed people who demand and take what they, as the majority of people on the planet, rightfully deserve. In the words of Karl Marx: “the self-conscious, independent movement of the immense majority, in the interest of the immense majority”. The only way for all oppressed people around the world to be made equals is through a new system of democratic socialism.

J.Llewellyn
With acknowledgements to U.Avnery and Counterpunch