TIBET ACTIVISTS IN BEIJING STAGE SYMBOLIC PROTEST NEAR BIRD’S NEST STADIUM ONE HOUR BEFORE OPENING CEREMONY BEGINS
August 8, 2008 · Print This Article
STUDENTS FOR A FREE TIBET
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – August 8, 2008
Contacts: In Asia, Lhadon Tethong, Executive Director, and Kate Woznow, Campaigns Director,
+1 917-289-0228 | +44 2070-846-359 | +852-3050-9088
***Photos and video footage of the action and the activists’ bios will be available shortly at: http://freetibet2008.org/mediacenter/updates/teamtibetflags/
Beijing – Three Tibet supporters staged a symbolic protest near the entrance to the Olympic park and the Bird’s Nest stadium in Beijing today, one hour before the Olympic opening ceremony began. The three displayed Tibetan national flags. Chinese security tackled them 40 seconds after the protest began. Jonathan Stribling-Uss, 27, and Kalaya’an Mendoza, 29, Americans, and Cesar Pablo Maxit, 32, an Argentine-American, were immediately and forcibly detained.
“These activists have delivered a message of solidarity with the Tibetan people, highlighting the grave situation in Tibet just moments before the Beijing Olympics began,” said Lhadon Tethong, Executive Director of Students for a Free Tibet. “The Chinese government wants the world to be dazzled and distracted by the grandeur of the opening ceremony, but its true face can be seen in its ruthless and intensifying repression of the Tibetan people.”
Tibetan imagery is expected to be a feature of the Chinese government’s Olympic propaganda message at tonight’s opening ceremony. Tibet support organizations around the globe have planned demonstrations at Chinese embassies and consulates today to highlight the Chinese government’s attempt to use the Olympics to legitimize its rule in Tibet and call on the Chinese leadership to meaningfully address the issue of Tibet. Tibet groups are planning ongoing protests and events for the duration of the Beijing Games, from Santiago to Montevideo, New York to Toronto, London to Warsaw, Delhi to Brisbane, and many more.
Earlier this week, four members of Students for a Free Tibet hung two banners from lampposts outside the Bird’s Nest Olympic Stadium. The two Americans and two Britons were detained after unfurling a banner reading “One World, One Dream: Free Tibet” and another reading “Tibet Will Be Free” in English and “Free Tibet” in Chinese. They were swiftly deported and arrived in their home countries on August 7th (press releases available at http://freetibet2008.org/mediacenter/).
Students for a Free Tibet (SFT) is a network of young people and activists campaigning for Tibetan independence, with 700 chapters in more than thirty countries worldwide. SFT’s international headquarters are in New York, with offices in Toronto, London, and Dharamsala, India.
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[...] Read full press release from Students for a Free Tibet. [...]
dear all s.f.t and the supporters .
wow !!! wow !!! i swear there is no such enough words to express how wonderful job you guys are doing. it is absolutely stunning and great. your movement not only shake the bloody chinese government but entire world.i am so proud of you all and may god bless u for the coming activities.
frd
tendorj {toronto)
No offense intended to you guys, but in my opinion, Tibet activists are really annoying. I don’t understand why you all would go into another country and protest for a region you probably have never even been to. As a country, China welcomed these visitors with open arms, but only to have these people hang idiotic banners and protest before its first ever Olympics games in front of national symbols like the the Bird’s Nest and the Great Wall. Maybe Chinese people in the US should hang a banner on the Capitol Hill or Lincoln Memorial that reads “Free Texas”. This is ridiculous. Protest all you want in your country, I understand it is your freedom to speak. However, if you visit another country, at least respect its territorial sovereignty and its people. As a Chinese person, I am really offended by the things these activists did to disturb the Olympics games. The times for Olympics is a time for unity, not separation.