Enough is enough: A call for global campaign for Tibet

Phayul[Saturday, October 08, 2011 22:16]

By Sherab Woeser 'Light a lamp for Tibetan Martyrs'. Tibetan NGOs in Dharamshala light candles remembering the fiery sacrifices of Tibetans inside Tibet on October 8, 2011. (Photo/SFT India) DHARAMSHALA, October 8: Following the tragic incidents of self immolations in Tibet and a benumbed unresponsiveness from the exile Tibetan administration, a global coalition of Tibetans and supporters are planning a mass mobilisation at Chinese embassies across the world on Wednesday November 2. Under the banner “ENOUGH! Global Intervention to Save Tibetan Lives”, the International Tibet Network (ITN) is calling on its member networks, which exceed 180 organisations worldwide, to “visibly lobby and pressure their governments to make a joint statement, collectively démarche China about the situation in Ngaba, and institute a multi-lateral mechanism that can progress future strategy on Tibet.” In an urgent appeal letter, ITN is urging Tibet Support Groups to take part in a step by step process to build political pressure on China, through lobbying respective governments and increasing grassroots support as a build up to the G20 summit in France from November 3 – 4. President Hu Jintao will be representing China at the G20 summit. Reminding its member organisations that “Tibet and Tibetans need a roar of support from the international community,” ITN warned that unless the international community intervenes, these “desperate acts may continue”. “We believe that the desperation behind these immolations warrants a large scale international response, both to put pressure on China to address Tibetans' legitimate grievances, and to show Tibetans in Tibet that we have heard them and are responding to their anguish,” ITN said. In a call for campaign, Tenzin Dorjee, executive director of Students for a Free Tibet (SFT) and one of the main organisers of the campaign said that China's “systematic repression and tyrannical rule” in Tibet was driving Tibetans to take extreme actions. “While these young men have decided to sacrifice their lives, it's not an escape from life's suffering they are seeking. It's freedom. Not only for themselves, but for their nation”, Dorjee said. Pushing for a coordinated international response to condemn China’s repressive measures in Tibet, Dorjee encouraged Tibetans and Tibet supporters to take part in the global campaign. “On November 3-4, Chinese President Hu Jintao will sit with world leaders in Cannes, France at the G20 summit. On Wednesday, November 2nd, we're calling for a mass mobilisation in Cannes, France and cities around the world to intensify the pressure on China.” Yesterday, two Tibetans, Choephel and Khayang, both in their late teens had torched their bodies, continuing the fiery episode of anti-China protests. While Choephel is feared dead, Khayang is reportedly in serioius condition. Earlier, leaflets had surface in Ngaba town and Kirti Monastery warning that “if the present situation continued, many more people were prepared to give their lives in protest.”