TIBETANS, SUPPORTERS WORLDWIDE COMMEMORATE TIANANMEN SQUARE MASSACRE; CALL FOR END TO CHINA’S MILITARY CRACKDOWN IN TIBET

TIBETANS, SUPPORTERS WORLDWIDE COMMEMORATE TIANANMEN SQUARE MASSACRE; CALL FOR END TO CHINA’S MILITARY CRACKDOWN IN TIBET

Tibetans and their supporters around the world will take to the streets today to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre and to call for an end to the Chinese government’s military crackdown in Tibet. June 4th marks the fateful day in 1989 when the Chinese government ordered the military to open fire on unarmed students and workers in Tiananmen Square. The anniversary comes just months after the Chinese government flooded Tibet with troops in advance of the 50th anniversary of the March 10th Tibetan National Uprising, another sensitive anniversary for Beijing.

“Tibetans know the brutal nature of the Chinese government, and we stand in solidarity with the tens of thousands of Chinese students, labor organizers, and pro-democracy advocates whose struggle for an open and democratic China was violently crushed by the tanks in Tiananmen Square twenty years ago,” said Lhadon Tethong, Executive Director of Students for a Free Tibet. “The legacy of Tiananmen, like the military occupation of Tibet, is a stark reminder that the Chinese government will stop at nothing to quash any voices of dissent that are perceived as a threat to its control.”

In recent days, Chinese dissidents have been detained and harassed, and popular websites and social networking sites have been blocked in China as Beijing steps up security measures in the lead-up to the anniversary. Meanwhile, Tibet remains a militarized zone with armed police and troops on high alert while foreign media is still effectively banned from the region.

“Twenty years have passed since the Tiananmen massacre, and yet the Chinese government continues to ruthlessly crackdown against democracy activists, lawyers, Tibetans, and anyone who dares to openly advocate for human rights and freedom,” said Tenzin Choeying, Director of Students for a Free Tibet India. "The Chinese leadership must be held accountable for their heinous crimes, and we call on the international community to stand in support of the Tiananmen survivors and all those who continue to advocate for democracy in China.”

Solidarity marches and vigils will take place in India, Japan, Germany, and the United States today, Tiananmen anniversary. Tibet advocacy groups are also joining global Tiananmen commemoration events organized by Chinese democracy groups.

Den norske TIBET-komité

Den norske Tibet-komité er en partipolitisk uavhengig, landsomfattende organisasjon som er dannet for å arbeide for tibetanernes rettigheter. Tibet-komitéen ble stiftet våren 1989 og har ca 1500 medlemmer. Det finnes tilsvarende støtte-organisasjoner for Tibet over hele verden. Den norske Tibet-komité er en av de største og mest aktive. Våren 1994 arrangerte vi i Norge en konferanse for de europeiske støttegruppene.

Norge og nordmenn har fått en spesiell stilling blant tibetanere etter at deres religiøse og politiske leder, Dalai Lama, i 1989 mottok Nobels fredspris. Flere av de tibetanerne som kom til Norge på 60-tallet, bor her fortsatt, og de er aktive i komitéen. Våren 1996 begynte radiostasjonen Voice of Tibet med sendinger til Tibet, og Norge har igjen styrket sin posisjon i tibetanernes bevissthet.

Tibet ble okkupert av Kina i 1950, og tibetanernes situasjon blir stadig forverret. Fundamentale menneskerettigheter brytes, og den rike tibetanske kulturen står nå i fare for å bli utslettet.

Den norske Tibet-komité har som formål å:

• Få norske myndigheter til anerkjenne Tibet som et okkupert land
  
• Informere om brudd på menneskerettigheter, økonomisk utbytting og diskriminering av tibetanere
  
• Gjøre Tibets rike kultur kjent i Norge