Countdown to Beijing Olympics

Source: Students for a Free Tibet Update

Today marks the one-month countdown to the opening of the Beijing Olympics.

And with only one month to go, the Chinese government is intensifying its campaign of repression in Tibet, aimed at preventing protests during the Games. Just over two weeks ago, journalists who joined a government-controlled tour of Lhasa during the Olympic torch relay reported that the maroon-robed Buddhist monks they had seen on previous visits had seemingly disappeared from Lhasa and nearby monasteries.

Through our own sources and from a shocking article in The Times (UK), we have learned more about the lengths the Chinese government is willing to go for a protest-free Olympics.

Chinese authorities have reportedly rounded up more than 1,000 monks from the main three monasteries in Lhasa, shipped them more than 1,000 kilometers away, and are holding them in prisons and detention centers until the end of the Olympics. Read the article in The Times and read SFT's press release in response to this shocking travesty.

We can only imagine the level of security – and repression – Chinese authorities will implement during the Games themselves. At this moment when the stakes are highest, Beijing is doing everything it can to suppress the voice of the Tibetan people by imprisoning thousands of Tibetans, deploying tens of thousands of additional Chinese troops in Tibet, intimidating families and implementing a campaign of political indoctrination on all Tibetans. The situation inside Tibet is dire and it is more urgent than ever for the world to speak up on behalf of the Tibetan people.

As history has so often illustrated, it is usually ordinary people who do extraordinary things that demonstrate the true meaning of courage and character.

Join us in appealing to athletes going to the Beijing Olympics to show the true meaning of courage and character by standing up for Tibet at this critical time. For more information on reaching out to athletes in your community, please click here.

At every Olympics, there is one athlete who ends up inspiring the world with their courage and character. At the Beijing Games, we believe this athlete may be the one who is an example not only of determination and athletic skill, but also of standing up for what is right by speaking out for human rights and freedom in Tibet. Together, Tibetans and their supporters and people of conscience worldwide can ensure the Beijing Olympics shine a glaring spotlight on the Chinese government's ongoing violent crackdown inside Tibet. With your help, we will be a force for change in Tibet and in China.

Please visit www.FreeTibet2008.org to stay up to date on everything related to SFT's Olympics campaign.

One World, One Dream: Free Tibet!
The SFT HQ Crew