Save Tibet!

[Guest guest]

Stand With Tibet

 

Dear friends,

 

After decades of repression under Chinese rule, the Tibetan people's

frustrations have burst onto the streets in protests and riots. With

the spotlight of the upcoming Olympic Games now on China, Tibetans

are crying out to the world for change.

 

The Chinese government has said that the protesters who have not yet

surrendered " will be punished " . Its leaders are right now considering

a crucial choice between escalating brutality or dialogue that could

determine the future of Tibet, and China.

 

We can affect this historic choice--China does care about its

international reputation. China's President Hu Jintao needs to hear

that the 'Made in China' brand and the upcoming Olympics in Beijing

can succeed only if he makes the right choice. But it will take an

avalanche of global people power to get his attention--and we need it

in the next 48 hours.

 

The Tibetan Nobel peace prize winner and spiritual leader, the Dalai

Lama has called for restraint and dialogue: he needs the world's

people to support him. Click below now to sign the petition--and tell

absolutely everyone you can right away--our goal is 1 million voices

united for Tibet:

 

http://www.avaaz.org/en/tibet_end_the_violence/97.php/?cl_tf_sign=1

 

China's economy is totally dependent on " Made in China " exports that

we all buy, and the government is keen to make the Olympics in

Beijing this summer a celebration of a new China, respected as a

leading world power. China is also a very diverse country with a

brutal past and has reason to be concerned about its stability --

some of Tibet's rioters killed innocent people. But President Hu must

recognize that the greatest danger to Chinese stability and

development comes from hardliners who advocate escalating repression,

not from Tibetans who seek dialogue and reform.

 

We will deliver our petition directly to Chinese officials in London,

New York, and Beijing, but it must be a massive number before we

deliver the petition. Please forward this email to your address book

with a note explaining to your friends why this is important, or use

our tell-a-friend tool to email your address book--it will come up

after you sign the petition.

 

The Tibetan people have suffered quietly for decades. It is finally

their moment to speak--we must help them be heard.

 

With hope and respect,

 

Ricken, Iain, Graziela, Paul, Galit, Pascal, Milena, Ben and the

whole Avaaz team

 

PS - It has been suggested that the Chinese government may block the

Avaaz website as a result of this email, and thousands of Avaaz

members in China will no longer be able to participate in our

community. A poll of Avaaz members over the weekend showed that over

80% of us believed it was still important to act on Tibet despite

this terrible potential loss to our community, if we thought we could

make a difference. If we are blocked, Avaaz will help maintain the

campaign for internet freedom for all Chinese people, so that our

members in China can one day rejoin our community.

 

Here are some links with more information on the Tibetan protests and

the Chinese response:

BBC News: UN Calls for Restraint in Tibet -

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7301912.stm

Human Right Watch: China Restrain from Violently Attacking

Protesters - http://hrw.org/english/docs/2008/03/15/china18291.htm

Associated Press: Tibet Unrest Sparks Global Reaction -

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gSSpPcDOPMoAiRLhPUyezuCRiXBQD8VFDD6

80

New York Times: China Takes Steps to Thwart Reporting on Tibet

Protests - http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/18/world/asia/18access.html?

ref=world