SFT activists protest on Everest

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SFT activists protest on Everest

by conall @ 25/04/07 – 23:20:11

Four Free Tibet activists, including Tenzin Dorjee, SFT's Deputy Director, protested this morning on Mount Everest, unfurling a large banner which read "One World One Dream Free Tibet 2008" in English and "Free Tibet" in Tibetan and Mandarin.

The action team - which consisted of Tendor, a Tibetan-American and Kirsten Westby and Laurel Sutherlin, both Americans - displayed the banner for almost thirty minutes. After chanting Free Tibet slogans, Tendor sang the Tibetan national anthem and lit a "Tibetan freedom torch", carrying it into the center of the camp amidst scores of climbing tents. They were detained along with Shannon Service who was filming the action.

The high altitude protest was held on the eve of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announcement of the Beijing Olympic torch relay route. It is the first known occasion where an exiled Tibetan has commited an act of nonviolent civil disobedience inside Tibet. It is also the highest altitude banner action in the history of nonviolent direct action.

Watch the video footage on YouTube.

More on the SFT International homepage and blog.
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6 Comments on SFT activists protest on Everest

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- Alex
- 27/04/07 @ 22:29:43
Save Tibet!
Great team, there!
- - araba arabalar oyun oyunlari oyunu
  - 02/06/08 @ 01:20:37
  They were detained along with Shannon Service who was filming the action.
  Giydirme Oyunlari
  Araba Oyunlari
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- Tea
- 29/04/07 @ 18:52:35
Hey. Guys? How do you know about Tibet? Is it your problem, world police?
- - conall
  - 29/04/07 @ 21:16:31
  Hi Tea
  
  Thanks for your comment - it's always nice to know that Chinese students in the UK take an interest in Tibet and the work of SFT.
  
  We know about Tibet from the many testimonies that come from Tibet, from research conducted in Tibet by academics, the free press, NGOs and even the Chinese government's own reports. Many of us have been to Tibet ourselves, and plenty more have been to India to meet and work with exile Tibetans. In Dharamsala, India, I saw first-hand the consequences of torture at the hands of the Chinese, mapped out on the battered spine of an elderly monk and shattered mind of a teenage nun.
  
  This afternoon I heard former political prisoner Ama Adhe talk about mass executions and death by starvation of Tibetan prisoners in camps set up by the occupying "People's Liberation Army" which killed 10,000 people in three years (though in her book, she points out that there were guards who saw the injustice of the situation and were keen to practice some humanity).
  
  Tibet is a global issue. Rivers supplying water to half of Asia start in Tibet. It has potential to be a zone of peace between the world's two most populous nations, and the peaceful Buddhist tradition could provide a powerful counter-balance to the clashes of culture and war-mongering that exists around the world today.
  
  We in the UK have the opportunity to speak out for those who are oppressed, and we at SFT UK work in solidarity with the Tibetan people. I'm half-Chinese and we have nothing against the people of China, so will you join us?
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- conall
- 03/05/07 @ 19:31:15
Just as a bit of an update, the protesters and camerawoman behind this amazing action were released on Friday (27th April) after a pretty unpleasant sounding detention.

They've had massive coverage in the USA and it seems to have rattled the Chinese Government too. More on http://blog.studentsforafreetibet.org

And according to the Guardian newspaper / news agencies, "the possibility of protests caused 'reflection' among members of the International Olympic Committee executive board", which expects protests when the torch relay passes through Tibet.

Perhaps they should have spent a little more time reflecting before awarding the Games to the world's most populous one-party dictatorship.
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- umabaran
- http://rockinsince86.com/
- 02/04/08 @ 09:38:02
Long Live Dalai Lama !
I really hope there will be an ending for all this soon...
I still believe that the human rights is not dead yet. I will be organising a 1 day hunger strike in front of China Embassy in Malaysia ( date is still closed for public ) as a sign for Free Tibet. thnx.
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SFT activists protest on Everest

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