August 7, 2008 · Print This Article
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 7, 2008
Contacts:
In San Francisco: Kathy NiKeefe, + 1 505-603-8840
In London: Sophia Conroy, + 44 (0)776 7086 920 and Han Shan, + 44 (0)787 6327 143
In Asia: Lhadon Tethong or Kate Woznow, + 1 917 289 0228
San Francisco and London – Four Tibet activists who were detained yesterday in Beijing after unfurling Tibetan flags and two 140-square-foot banners outside the Olympic stadium have been deported from China and are arriving home today. The activists were detained by Chinese authorities after displaying the banners for nearly an hour.
The two Americans, Phill Bartell, from Denver, Colorado and Tirian Mink, from Portland, Oregan, will arrive at San Francisco International airport at 10:35 pm PST. Iain Thom and Lucy Marion, both British citizens, were deported to Frankfurt and are en route to London.
“We took this peaceful action in Beijing yesterday to shine a spotlight on the Chinese government’s lethal military crackdown inside Tibet and its attempt to use the Beijing Olympics to cover up its human rights abuses there,” said Phill Bartell of Boulder, Colorado, one of the climbers. “As long as people of conscience actively support Tibetans in their struggle for freedom and human rights, pressure on China to resolve the issue will continue to grow.”
“Tibetans have risked everything to speak out for their human rights and freedom and have been brutally crushed by Chinese authorities,” said Iain Thom of Edinburgh who was the other climber. “We know that change only occurs when people of conscience openly confront injustice, and as the Chinese government has done everything in its power to silence Tibetan voices at this critical moment, it is imperative that global citizens speak out.”
The activists will be greeted at the airports by friends, supporters and members of the local Tibetan community. Spokespeople from Students for a Free Tibet will also be available for comment.
The dramatic action in Beijing took place hours before the Olympic Torch arrived in Tiananmen Square, and two days before the Olympics opening ceremony takes place at the stadium. The activists scaled two 120-foot tall lampposts, unfurling Tibetan flags and two 140-square-foot banners. The first banner read, “One World, One Dream: Free Tibet” in English, and the second read, “Tibet Will Be Free” in English and “Free Tibet” in Chinese.
***Photos, bios, and video footage are available at:
http://freetibet2008.org/mediacenter/updates/birdsnest/**
technomist
I think your colleagues really were a bunch of unimaginative idiots. Couldn't they have thought of a better way to make friends and influence people in China?
Justifying their adolescent behaviour on the grounds that the Chinese were using the Olympics for propaganda purposes if feeble. Two wrongs don't make a right.
They have also played their hand terribly with the Chinese public: straight into the hands of every paranoid hardliner in the Chinese Government telling their people that the Free Tibet campaign is a western conspiracy.