On 16 May we were very lucky to be joined by Lhadon and Tendor from Students for a Free Tibet HQ in New York, who were on a flying visit to the UK. Those of you who keep up to date with SFT/Tibet news will know that both Lhadon and Tendor were involved in the recent protest on Mount Everest, Tendor at the action itself and Lhadon working behind the scenes in Kathmandu, so we were thrilled when they agreed to talk about what happened and what’s next for the Olympic campaign.
They started with a short video of the protest (which you can see below) before Tendor went on to talk about his time in Tibet. He vividly described his journey from Beijing to Lhasa, which was an emotional roller coaster from the low of seeing Chinese police in Tiananmen Square to the high of seeing the Potala Palace for the first time. But one of the hardest things was not being able to speak to other Tibetans, a decision the team had made in order to prevent the Chinese authorities from arresting any innocent people. “It was very hard”, explains Tendor. “Tibetans would come up to me in the street and start talking to me, but I’d have to say ‘sorry I don’t speak Tibetan’ in English and pretend I didn’t understand”. It would later turn out to be the right move.
From Lhasa, the action team travelled to Everest Base camp, where they arrived a few days early. “There was so little oxygen in the air. It was fine when we were still, but every time we took a step we were out of breath” said Tendor. But despite this, on 25 April, the team unfurled a banner that said “One World. One Dream. Free Tibet 2008.” in English and “Free Tibet” in Tibetan and Chinese on a small hill over looking a camp where Chinese climbers were assessing whether it would be possible to take the 2008 Olympic torch up Mount Everest. They then lit a symbolic Freedom Torch and sang the Tibetan National Anthem, which is banned in Tibet. The protest lasted about 15 minutes before they were arrested.
"During our two and half days of detention, the Chinese authorities repeatedly interrogated us on our way to Shigatse under their tight security, and later in the detention units”, said Tendor. “The authorities asked us whether any local Tibetans were involved or provided cooperation with our political action", but of course no one had. The activists were deprived of food and sleep during their detention and at least one of them was threatened by the Chinese police. But eventually they were released and expelled across the Nepalese border.
Since then news of the protest has gone around the world, being reported in the USA, Australia, India, France, South Africa, Japan and here in the UK. The action has given a great boost to the Olympics campaign, which as Lhadon explained, will be critical to the Tibetan freedom movement over the coming year. “The issue of Tibet is not dead as Beijing would like the world to believe”, she said. “The reality is that Tibetans are coming up with new and creative ideas and strategies on how to get them out once and for all."
Lhadon went on to outline the strategic outlook for the Olympic campaign, which will be particularly important here in the UK with London hosting the 2012 games. There will be continued subvertising of the Beijing Olympic brand, a push to link China's abuses in China with the Olympics and more strategic actions. “During the games there will be protests around the world, so if you can, book those two weeks off now”, Lhadon explained.
If you would like to get involved in the Beijing Olympic campaign, get in touch with us at info@sftuk.org.