Although China is known around the world for violating human rights in Tibet, the International Olympic Committee chose Beijing as the site for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games.
Tens of thousands of Tibetans have been forced to leave their homeland due to the brutal Chinese occupation.
China's current policy toward Tibet includes:
- Imprisoning and torturing Tibetans who speak out against the Chinese occupation of Tibet;
- Violating religious freedoms, including abducting one of Tibet's most important religious figures when he was only six years old. The boy has not been seen since 1995;
- Failing to provide adequate education and health care to Tibetan children, and to eradicate child malnutrition and preventable illnesses; and
- Enforcing laws that discriminate against Tibetan identity, culture, and religion.
China has a historic opportunity to change its treatment of Tibetans and show the world that it's worthy to host the 2008 Olympics by negotiating a peace agreement with Tibet's exiled leader, His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Let China know that its successful Olympic bid does NOT mean the world sanctions its mistreatment of Tibetans! CALL ON CHINA TO END HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES IN TIBET.Dear Mr. Rogge,
I am writing as someone who has been inspired both by the International Olympic Committee's dedication to the Olympic Truce and the Dalai Lama's peaceful efforts to find a negotiated solution for Tibet.
In light of the IOC's Olympic Truce commitment "to create a window of opportunities for dialogue, reconciliation and the resolution of conflicts...and to encourage political leaders to act in favour of peace" (www.olympic.org), it is clear that the IOC ideals and values are very applicable for Tibet as we approach the 2008 Games. The IOC has long contended that awarding Beijing the 2008 Games will improve human rights in China, but as time passes, these assurances have not turned into concrete results.
The IOC should not let the Olympics be used by China to blatantly or insidiously try to legitimize their rule in Tibet or to promote a distorted view of the conditions there. Yet with China's selection of the Tibetan antelope (or chiru) as an Olympic mascot, we are already seeing the first results of a Chinese strategy to misuse Tibet in relation to the 2008 Olympics.
[Your comment]
I ask that you use your good office to make real the lofty ideals of the Olympic Truce and hold Beijing to the same high standard. There is a real opportunity to promote the Olympics Truce with regards to Tibet and to improve the human rights situation there. Thank you for your help.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Your address]
