Free Tibet

After nearly 50 years of Chinese rule, the Tibetans are sending out a global cry for change. But violence is spreading across Tibet and neighbouring regions, and the Chinese regime is right now considering a choice between increasing 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. Its economy is totally dependent on "Made in China" exports that we all buy, and it is keen to make the Olympics in Beijing this summer a celebration of a new China that is a respected world power.

President Hu needs to hear that 'Brand China' and the Olympics can succeed only if he makes the right choice. But it will take an avalanche of global people power to get his attention.

Tibet's Communist Party secretary, Zhang Qingli, lashed out at the Dalai Lama on Wednesday, warning

"we are engaged in a fierce battle of blood & fire with the Dalai clique, a life-and-death struggle between the foe & us. The Dalai is a jackal in Buddhist monk's robes, an evil spirit with a human face and the heart of a beast."

...is not this statement very similar to those in Rwanda before the genocide in 1993??? The parallels are eerie.

Is not the Chinese leadership legitimizing the ideology of exclusion? Where are the initiatives that promote respect, inclusion & common humanity, mere months before the 2008 summer Olympics?

Should not the UN's Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide