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Ah, Dharamsala!
Western style food and a mountain village. The mist hasn't lifted the whole time we've been here, but apparently the views are amazing. - We've had a look at the postcards! The main reason for coming here was to find out more about the situation in Tibet. Many of the indiginous people from Tibet arrive as refugees to Dharamsala, and it is the home in exile of the Buddhist leader.
"On 22 Novemeber 1989 I participated in a peaceful demonstration in Lhasa with 5 other nuns. We were immediately arrested and taken to a detention centre. I was interrogated for 2 months. We were hung from the ceiling, cigarettes were stubbed on our bodies and we were severely beaten with metal wires, and sexually assaulted. I was then sentenced to 7 years imprisonment. Conditions were hard, never enough to eat and hard labour. After I was released my movements were restricted. Most of my friends and relatives were too scared to maintain contact with me. I then decided to escape."
Rinzin Choenyi
This issue is not aired at all in China. It is as if Tibet does not exist, but if the people are not told about it, how can they do anything about it? With the way the media is controlled, it would be very difficult for the average Chinese people to find out about it. - The 'freetibet' campaign are hopeing to use the Olympic Games to raise the issues of Tibet in the international community. In fact, it seems as if the Olympic Torch will be processed across Tibet, and the Olympic Committees sanctionning of this appears to sanction China's treatment of Tibet.
Tibet is such an important strategic location, and has been annexed by the Chinese government from 1949. Current count suggests 1.2 million Tibetians have so far been killed. During the climbing season this year the Summit Magazine (an independent source) reported that Chinese troops had shot dead a woman escaping over the Himalayan Pass - there were pictures and video to back up the claims. She was in a group of children, setting off for the perishing 3 week ordeal to India.
It is traditional of the Dalai Lama to chose the next spiritual leader. This occurred and the current leader chose a boy aged 6. Some days later, he and his family were arrested by the Chinese army, and have not been seen since. A rumopur suggests they are now imprisonned just out side Beijing. The leader in waiting is 18 years old now.
It is hard to know just what is going on in Tibet, but it is not disputed that places of worship have been desecrated, whole cities have been destroyed, and Tibetian women systematically raped by the troops and sterilised.
"China's efforts to control Tibet entailed mass scale physical destruction combined with policies aimed at erasing Tibetan cultural, region and ultimately its identity. The expliotation of Tibet's natural resources, massive deforestation and unchecked hunting severely damaged Tibet's fragile ecosystem. Parts of Tibet are used as a nuclear test site and dumpling ground for nuclear waste."
Hortsang Jigme
Is China really so strong that the international community dare not even condemn the actions of the sleeping tiger? One country to recognise the Dalai Lama, the Czech Republic, had all trade contracts and agreements with China cancelled within 24 hours.
Visit the freetibet website for more info. I will!
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