No Olympic Torch in Tibet!

Ten Important Facts About Tibet

1. Since China invaded Tibet in 1950, more than 1.2 million Tibetans have died as a direct result of the occupation, more than 6,000 monasteries have been destroyed, and thousands of Tibetans have been imprisoned and tortured for their political or religious beliefs.

2. The Dalai Lama, Tibet's political and spiritual leader, was forced to flee Tibet in 1959. He escaped to India along with more than 120,000 other Tibetans, and established the Tibetan Government in Exile in Dharamsala, India. Recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize and Congressional Gold Medal for his commitment to nonviolence and human rights, the Dalai Lama continues to be vilified by the Chinese government. Last November, Tibetan nomad Runggye Adak was sentenced to 8 years in prison for simply calling for the return of the Dalai Lama to Tibet. Click here for more facts about Tibet.

3. Tibet was an independent nation with a sovereign government, its own currency, postal system, language, laws, and customs. Prior to 1950, the Tibetan government signed treaties with foreign nations. The Chinese government is guilty of the same imperialist aggression that it accuses other powers of exhibiting.

4. What the Chinese government has labeled the "Tibet Autonomous Region" (TAR) encompasses only the central area of historical Tibet, while the Tibetan provinces of Kham and Amdo have been absorbed into Chinese provinces of Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu and Yunnan. The recent protests in Tibet have predominantly occured in these traditionally Tibetan provinces, illustrating that Tibetans there long for a unified Tibetan homeland according to boundaries of historical Tibet, not just TAR.

5. Tibet is the source of 5 of Asia's largest rivers, providing the lifeblood for 2 billion people. China is endangering Tibet's fragile ecosystems by strip-mining, nuclear waste dumping and extensive deforestation, all of which is also negatively impacting the people who live downstream.

6. Freedom of speech, religion, and assembly are strictly limited. Arbitrary arrests and torture continue. According to human rights groups, there are currently hundreds of political prisoners in Tibet, including the 18-year old Panchen Lama, imprisoned at age six. In 2007, China created Order No. 5, giving the Chinese Community Party the right to approve and disapprove Tibetan Buddhist reincarnations, asserting unprecedented control over Tibetan culture and tradition.

7. The Chinese government's policies of cultural assimilation and population transfer of ethnic Chinese into Tibet have made Tibetans a minority in much of their own nation, threatening the survival of Tibetan culture and identity. Each year, thousands of Tibetans continue to make the treacherous escape over the Himalayas and into exile. In 2006, Chinese border guards at Nangpa La pass shot at a group of unarmed Tibetan refugees, mostly small children, killing 17-year-old nun Kelsang Namtso.

8. Though the Chinese government claims to have developed Tibet, most jobs have gone to Chinese colonists. Tibetans have little or no say in how their country is developed. China has spent millions of dollars on infrastructure in Tibet, but has neglected education and healthcare. The recently completed Gormo-Lhasa Railway, as admitted by the Chinese government, was built to consolidate control in Tibet and is opposed by Tibetans inside and outside Tibet for its devastating ecological and social repercussions.

9. China is aggressively seeking foreign investment for its "Go West" campaign in Tibet, East Turkestan, and other occupied areas, including projects such as the Gormo-Lhasa Railway. Foreign investment in Chinese companies contributes to the exploitation of the ecosystem, the marginalization of the Tibetan people and culture, and legitimizes China's colonization of Tibet.

10. The world community has done very little to address the core issue of China's illegal occupation of Tibet. Politicians are reluctant to take substantive measures against the Chinese government due to China's huge market, cheap labor force and the strong lobby of its associated businesses. Since western countries adopted so-called "constructive engagement" with China in the 1990s, the human rights situation in Tibet has drastically deteriorated. World governments must take decisive action to pressure China into respecting human rights and ending its occupation of Tibet.

Additional Information

In the current atmosphere, including Tibet in the Olympic Torch relay could dangerously exacerbate tensions and lead to more violence. Allowing the torch to go through Tibet would make the IOC complicit in China's repression of Tibetans, as the Chinese government attempts to ensure a successful propaganda exercise.

As Tibetans in Tibet face an increased crackdown by Chinese military forces Tibetans and supporters worldwide demand that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) immediately withdraw the Tibet Autonomous Region and the Tibetan provinces of Amdo and Kham now annexed into China's Qinghai, Sichuan, Yunnan, and Gansu provinces from the Olympic torch relay route.

China must not be allowed to parade the Olympic torch through Tibet while Tibetans inside Tibet continue to be rounded up and detained by Chinese Government authorities. Tibetans inside Tibet have sent a clear message to the world-they will not be silenced. Allowing the torch to travel through Tibet makes the IOC complicit in China's efforts to whitewhash the brutal reality of life in Tibet.

As we continue to hear reports of Tibetan school children being beaten and arrested for peacefully calling for the return of the Dalai Lama to Tibet, it is unthinkable that the IOC would continue to move forward with 'business as usual,'" said Tenzin Dorjee, Deputy Director of Students for a Free Tibet. "The IOC is under the illusion that it can ignore China's brutality in Tibet, but when China has made Tibet a central part of its Olympics propaganda – including running the torch up Mount Everest – silence now makes the IOC complicit in China's ruthless policies.

Talking Points

Why should the IOC cancel the Tibet leg of the Torch Relay?
Running the Torch Relay through Tibet will only dangerously exacerbate tensions. It will certainly escalate the current violent repression of Tibetans, in order to guarantee a successful propaganda exercise for the Chinese government. The torch relay must not include planned stops in Lhasa, Mt. Everest, or other regions of Tibet. Running the Torch through Tibet would only underscore the IOC’s complicity in China’s violent crackdown in Tibet. The Olympic Torch is a symbol of peace and freedom. If the IOC hopes to salvage the reputation of the Torch, it must immediately withdraw Tibet from the Relay route.

If the torch is a symbol of hope and freedom, isn’t that what people want for Tibet?
Yes, but unfortunately the Chinese government is using the Olympic torch to legitimize its illegal occupation of Tibet. Chinese soldiers continue to brutally suppress protesters inside Tibet who are demanding their freedom, reportedly shooting 20 more people just today. If the torch is taken into Tibet, the IOC will be complicit in what will only be an increased military crackdown by the Chinese government. Unless the IOC wants the Olympic Torch to become a symbol of oppression and bloodshed, it must immediately withdraw all Tibetan provinces from the Olympic Torch Relay route.

Once the torch relay is set, doesn’t it have to go forward as planned?
The International Olympic Committee approved the torch relay route in April 2007 and has the power to withdraw Tibet and Mt. Everest from the route. Tibetans and supporters worldwide are united in this call. In a letter sent on Saturday to the International Olympic Committee, the International Tibet Support Network (ITSN) – a global network of Tibet Support Groups - demanded that the IOC "immediately remove Tibet from the Beijing Olympic Torch Relay route."

Aren’t the Torch Relay and the Olympics about celebrating sport?
How can people celebrate sport and the Torch Relay while Tibetans are being imprisoned, tortured and killed? It would be an abomination given the unrest in Tibet to have the Chinese government parade the Olympic torch through Lhasa and to the top of Mount Everest. This is clearly a move by the Chinese government to legitimize its illegal and brutal occupation of Tibet. This must be stopped. The IOC has tremendous power and influence that it must use at this critical time.

But why make the Olympics political?
The Chinese government’s illegal occupation of Tibet and brutal treatment of its own people have automatically made the Olympic Games political. The IOC promised that the human rights abuses and freedom of press inside China and Tibet would improve if they were awarded the honor of hosting the 2008 Olympic Games. It has been confirmed by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Freedom House that the Chinese government’s human rights record has steadily worsened over the last 7 years. When the host country is beating, shooting and arbitrarily arresting protesters inside a country it is illegally occupying, the Olympics are automatically political. As the governing body, the IOC must intervene.

Isn’t this a local issue for China to deal with? Can’t they run the torch wherever they want?
The Chinese government considers Tibet to be part of its “domestic” Torch Relay route. Yet, Tibet is an illegally occupied country. As long as Tibetans do not have a say in what happens in their own country, the IOC has no business propping up Chinese propaganda by allowing the torch to run through Tibet. The Tibetan people have spoken clearly this past week letting the world know that they reject the Chinese government’s reign of terror.

Are you calling for a boycott?
The unrest is clearly growing inside Tibet and we are monitoring the situation and the Chinese government’s response. We are leaving the option open for a full athlete boycott to the Beijing Games. At this time, however, we are officially asking government representatives, political leaders and high profile celebrities not to attend the Games and demanding the IOC remove Tibet from the torch relay route. We are also asking corporate sponsors to pull out in light of the brutal repression happening inside Tibet. The Chinese government will profit greatly from hosting the Olympic games, with reports that Beijing has already secured 4.4 billion dollars in sponsorship contracts and broadcasting rights. That is more than the last two summer Olympics combined. Such profits will fund the cultural genocide happening inside Tibet and the propaganda machine of the CCP. Olympic sponsors should recognize that by sponsoring the torch relay and the approved route through Tibet, they are sponsoring a bloody crackdown against Tibetans who are bravely raising their voices and their flags against 50 years of tyranny.