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| NEW YORK AREA RELIGIOUS LEADERS HOLD AN INTERFAITH “PRAYERS FOR PEACE IN TIBET” Religious leaders from Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh faiths will offer prayers for those who have died and those who suffer as tensions escalate inside of Tibet. The evening will include a peaceful call to action against the Chinese Government's severe response to recent demonstrations in Tibet and throughout the world. WHERE: The Church of St. Paul & St. Andrew, at West End Avenue and West 86th Street in Manhattan. (Subway directions: Take the Broadway - 7th Avenue Local (1) train to 86th Street and walk one block to West End Avenue. The Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew will be to the right.) WHEN: Sunday, April 6th from 6:00 - 8:00pm After decades of harsh repression, the Tibetan people are now an ill-treated minority in their own land. Human rights abuses against Tibetan and other ethnic minorities in China have escalated as the Chinese Government seeks to eliminate the risk of protests for human rights, both before and during, this summer’s Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Following decades of oppressive policies, which include patriotic education campaigns and required denouncements of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan people’s longsimmering resentment and frustration has spontaneously erupted into protests in Lhasa and other ethnically Tibetan areas. Since March 10, it is estimated that Chinese Security forces have killed at least 140 Tibetans. House-to-house searches are now being conducted and over 1200 Tibetans have been arrested. The situation in Tibet remains tense with the presence of thousands of Chinese armed forces. “PRAYERS FOR PEACE IN TIBET” is free and open to all. Donations will be accepted at the door. Co-sponsors include the Church of St. Paul & St. Andrew, Congregation of B'nai Jeshurun, Jewel Heart, The Interfaith Center of New York, The Temple of Understanding, Buddhist Council of New York, The Gere Foundation, New York Open Center and the Tibet Fund. For further information please contact Rinchen Dharlo, President of The Tibet Fund, at 212-213-5011 or dharlo@tibetfund.org. Thank you. |
| Apr 8 - In an interview with Reuters, actor Richard Gere said national leaders must acknowledge there are "deep problems" in China. Gere, a close follower of the Dalai Lama and chairman of the International Campaign for Tibet, said the conflict could be resolved with mutual dialogue and opposed the idea of boycotting the Olympic games. |
| New York City April 6, 2008 Prayers for Peace VIDEOS |
| (04-08) 23:50 PDT San Francisco -- On the night before the Olympic torch was to be carried along San Francisco's waterfront, thousands of people gathered at United Nations Plaza to hear Archbishop Desmond Tutu and actor Richard Gere rally support for freedom in Tibet and decry the People's Republic of China's rule there. Tutu, dressed in his familiar deep pink robes, said that now that the globe's eyes are on China, it is time for world leaders to take a stand. "We want to say to China, 'We thought that the Olympic Games would help you improve your human rights record,' " Tutu said. "We still hope ... but what we are saying to the heads of state, to President George Bush, is, 'For goodness sake, don't go to the Beijing Games ... for the sake of our children, for the beautiful people of Tibet. Don't go!' " Tutu told the crowd that South Africa stands as an example of a people who, with the help of worldwide demonstrations, boycotts and vigils, overcame their oppression. "We have come to say this is a moral universe ... that right and goodness and compassion and freedom are going to remain," Tutu said to the cheering crowd. Earlier in the day, hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets to object to China's human rights record, moving from the United Nations Plaza to City Hall and then the Chinese Consulate, which was protected by dozens of San Francisco police officers. The protesters remained peaceful, waving the colorful Tibetan flag, singing the Tibetan national anthem and chanting slogans denouncing China. They watched the lighting of the Tibetan Freedom Torch and cheered as caged white doves were released into the sky. The demonstration was timed to coincide with the appearance of the Olympic torch, which is scheduled to make its only North American appearance in San Francisco today as part of a five-continent relay leading up to the Summer Games in Beijing. "This is not about disrupting the torchbearers. This is about China using the torch for political purposes and we using it right back," Lhadon Tethong, executive director of Students for a Free Tibet, said through a bullhorn in front of the Chinese Consulate at Geary Boulevard and Laguna Street in the Western Addition. Protesters, upset with China's policies toward Tibet, Sudan and the Falun Gong spiritual movement, have disrupted the relay in Athens, London and Paris. San Francisco officials also are bracing for demonstrations by China critics and counterdemonstrations by pro-China supporters. As demonstrators walked from City Hall to the Chinese Consulate about a half-hour away, the march stretched four blocks along the east side of Van Ness Avenue, blocking traffic. Phuntsok Wangden, the son of Tibetan exiles whose face was painted with the words "Free Tibet," said the demonstrations surrounding the Olympic torch relay "are creating an awareness about Tibet," where, he said, those fighting for freedom face repression by China's central Communist Party government in Beijing. Several of the evening's speakers at U.N. Plaza criticized China's refusal to meet with the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of the Tibetan culture who has been exiled in Dharamsala, India, since 1959. Financier Richard Blum, Sen. Dianne Feinstein's husband, told the crowd that when Feinstein was San Francisco's mayor in 1979, the city hosted the Dalai Lama's first U.S. visit, and that over the years, he and Feinstein tried to organize a meeting between the Dalai Lama and the Chinese government. "When you ask the Chinese directly, as I have, why they won't sit down with his holiness, they don't have a good answer," Blum said. "In fact, they don't have an answer at all." Actor Richard Gere, who has long been a supporter of Tibet and a follower of the Dalai Lama, said this is an "epic" moment in the history of Tibet-China relations. He called China's veneer of a harmonious society a fraud, and urged an open discussion between the two. "There is no harmony, no genuine harmony, without truth," Gere said. "Without freedom of religion, freedom of movement, freedom of culture." Protests over China's policies turned violent in Tibet last month when rioters, seeking Tibetan autonomy, clashed with Chinese nationalists who are intent on keeping the country of 1.3 billion people unified. The dispute has spilled beyond China's borders and onto the world stage, highlighted by the Olympic Games in August. Charles Altekruse, a former Olympian with the U.S. rowing team, joined Tuesday's pro-Tibet demonstration. "Today, my voice is the voice for thousands of people whose voices cannot be heard," said Altekruse, a Berkeley resident who was forced by the U.S. government to sit out the 1980 Olympics in Moscow in protest of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. He did compete, however, eight years later. Gere used the opportunity at U.N. Plaza to emphasize the Dalai Lama's ideals. After a deep sing-song prayer led by a group of monks in scarlet robes, Gere quoted from a three-page letter written by the Dalai Lama to Tibetans across the world. In part, it read, Tibetans "should not engage in any action that could remotely be interpreted as violent. ... We will achieve success through our nonviolent path." E-mail the writers at rgordon@sfchronicle.com and kzito@sfchronicle.com |
| Actress Daryl Hannah greets actor Richard Gere at a pro-Tibet rally in San Francisco, California April 8, 2008. The Olympic Torch will be run through the streets of San Francisco on Wednesday. |
| Actor Richard Gere speaks at a pro-Tibet rally in San Francisco, California April 8, 2008. The Olympic Torch will be run through the streets of San Francisco on Wednesday. |
| Actor Richard Gere (C) speaks at a pro-Tibet rally in San Francisco, California April 8, 2008. The Olympic Torch will be run through the streets of San Francisco on Wednesday |
| Actor Richard Gere speaks at a pro-Tibet rally in San Francisco, California April 8, 2008. The Olympic Torch will be run through the streets of San Francisco on Wednesday. |
| SAN FRANCISCO - APRIL 08: Actor Richard Gere (R) looks on as Tibetan monks pray during a pro-Tibetan rally April 8, 2008 in San Francisco, California. Protestors are staging demonstrations against China as San Francisco prepares to host the Olympic Torch relay on Wednesday |
| Richard Gere addresses Pro-Tibet supporters during a candlelight vigil on April 8, 2008 in San Francisco, California. San Francisco is bracing for anti-China protests as it prepares to host the Olympic Torch relay on May 9. |
| Actor Richard Gere addresses a pro-Tibet rally and candlelight vigil on April 8, 2008 in San Francisco, California. San Francisco is bracing for anti-China protests as it prepares to host the Olympic Torch relay on May 9. |
| SAN FRANCISCO - APRIL 08: Actor Richard Gere (C) looks on as Tibetan monks pray during a pro-Tibetan rally April 8, 2008 in San Francisco, California. Protestors are staging demonstrations against China as San Francisco prepares to host the Olympic Torch relay on Wednesday. |
| SAN FRANCISCO - APRIL 08: Actor Richard Gere (R) looks on as Tibetan monks pray during a pro-Tibetan rally April 8, 2008 in San Francisco, California. Protestors are staging demonstrations against China as San Francisco prepares to host the Olympic Torch relay on Wednesday |
| SAN FRANCISCO - APRIL 08: Actor Richard Gere (R) speaks during a pro-Tibetan rally April 8, 2008 in San Francisco, California. Protestors are staging demonstrations against China as San Francisco prepares to host the Olympic Torch relay on Wednesday. |
| SAN FRANCISCO - APRIL 08: Actor Richard Gere speaks during a pro-Tibetan rally April 8, 2008 in San Francisco, California. Protestors are staging demonstrations against China as San Francisco prepares to host the Olympic Torch relay on Wednesday. |
| Actor Richard Gere addresses a pro-Tibet rally and candlelight vigil on April 8, 2008 in San Francisco, California. San Francisco is bracing for anti-China protests as it prepares to host the Olympic Torch relay on May 9. |
| Close up of part of a crowds of hundreds of protesters who gathered in the United Nations Plaze in San Francisco late 8 April 2008 on the eve of the controversial relay of the Beijing Olympic torch in the city |
| Olympic torch protest draws international icons to San Francisco SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - Internationally renowned figures including Hollywood icon Richard Gere and Archbishop Desmond Tutu gathered in San Francisco Tuesday as the city geared up for its leg of the Beijing Olympic torch relay. ADVERTISEMENT A myriad of rights groups and activists have descended on this famously liberal California city for Wednesday's event, after anti-China protests marred previous legs of the flame's global odyssey earlier this week. "This really is an epic moment," Gere, chairman of the International Campaign for Tibet, told a candlelight vigil attended by some 2,000 people in downtown San Francisco late Tuesday. "The harmonious society (Chinese president) Hu Jintao talks about is a fraud. There can be no harmony without freedom of religion and culture." Gere shared with demonstrators a letter from the Dalai Lama urging nonviolence. In it, the Tibetan spiritual leader said it was "futile and not helpful to create hate in the hearts of Chinese people." "I have a dream that Chinese leaders wake up one day, blink their eyes as if coming out of a daze and say 'Oh my god, what have we done?', then look at each other at the same time and say, 'let's go talk to the Dalai Lama,'" Gere said. Tutu lauded the protestors for outpourings of support for human rights and called on US President George W. Bush and the leaders of other nations not to go to Beijing for the Games. "For God's sake, for the sake of our children, for the sake of their children, for the sake of the beautiful people of Tibet -- don't go," Tutu said in his message to heads of states. "Tell your counterparts in Beijing you wanted to come but looked at your schedule and realized you have something else to do." The vigil concluded a day of largely peaceful demonstrations that started with a rally at the city's United Nations Plaza and later saw some 800 protestors marching to the Chinese consulate. An earlier report that Irish rock star Bono attended one of the protests and spoke to AFP was wrong, as the singer was not in the city, a spokesman said. Around 7,000 protesters are expected to turn out as the torch makes its way through the city Wednesday under an unprecedented security blanket designed to prevent a repeat of the chaotic scenes in Paris on Monday, when the torch flames were snuffed out several times before the event was cut short. |
| As the Beijing Olympic torch arrived in the Golden Gate city for relay on Wednesday, hundreds of Tibetan supporters thronged the UN Plaza for the “Rally and candle light vigil for Tibet” with Richard Gere joining them in shouting slogans. “Free Tibet now”, “Tibet for Tibetans”, “China lies, Tibetans die”, “China is guilty”, were the slogans that Gere raised along with other Tibetan supporters at the candle light even as the authorities stepped up the security arrangements for the Wednesday afternoon’s torch relay. Soon after its arrival at the San Francisco International Airport the torch was taken away under tight security to a downtown hotel. A large turn out at the rally and vigil encouraged the organisers who gave a call to the Tibetan supporters to assemble early in morning on Wednesday as the authorities may resort to last minute changes in the route and time of the relay. “Control your emotions and do not be violent,” they asked the people at the packed UN Plaza even as they gave a call to the world leaders including the US President George W. Bush not to attend the Games’ inaugural ceremony. Gere, who is also the chairman of the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) even read out excerpts from a message from Dalai Lama to the Tibetan people asking them to adhere to ideals of non-violence and “not cause any ‘hindrance” to the games. Earlier speaking at the rally and vigil an epic moment Gere said the “universe was opening up” to the Tibetan cause. It had all started spontaneously on March 10, 2008 after the “simple demonstrations” in Tibet, he said. Chinese authorities would some day wake up and realise what they had done in Tibet, he said hoping they would only turn to Dalai Lama for his guidance on the issue. Other prominent dignitaries who joined the protests included Archbishop Desmond Tutu who asked Tibetan supporters not to give up hope and continue their struggle. “People like you supported us in our fight,” said Tutu, reminding them of the fight against apartheid in South Africa. He called upon world leaders not to go to Beijing for the Games. Significantly the ICT rally also turned out to be forum for others demanding democracy in Burma and Eastern Turkistan. A large banner demanding “Free Burma” was put up prominently on the left side of the dais while a woman speaker raised the demand for free East Turkistan. |
| China: We'll take Olympic torch through Tibet - and punish protesters severely China vowed today to carry the Olympic torch through Tibet and promised "severe" punishment for any protesters there. Speaking as Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Richard Gere joined pro-Tibet protesters in San Francisco, the Himalayan region's Chinese-appointed governor said he was prepared for activists to cause "trouble" for the torch relay on its way to Mount Everest next month. "For these separatist forces, the Olympics in Beijing will be a rare opportunity," Champa Phuntsok said in Beijing. "Therefore they wish to create major troubles or incidents. I don't doubt they will create trouble during the torch relay in Tibet." But he said special security preparations had been made for the Tibet relay leg to ensure it would be "completely successful and safe." "During the torch relay in Tibet and in climbing Mount Everest, if anyone should attempt to disrupt or undermine the torch relay, then they will be dealt with severely according to the law," he said. Thousands of raucous protesters angry about China's policies in Tibet and its human rights record have already disrupted the torch relay's round-the-world tour at stops in London and Paris. Heavy security has been deployed in San Francisco, the next stop, after protesters there climbed the Golden Gate Bridge to hang the Tibetan flag earlier this week. The threat to protesters in Tibet came today as Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd, visiting Beijing, told the Chinese there must be dialogue with Tibet. He said he was against any boycott of the Games but insisted there were significant human rights problems in Tibet. "Some have called for a boycott of the Beijing Olympics Games ... I do not agree," said Mr Rudd, a former Australian diplomat based in Beijing, in a speech in fluent Mandarin at Peking University. "I believe the Olympics are important for China's continuing engagement with the world. "But we also believe it is necessary to recognise that there are significant human rights problems in Tibet.” Describing himself as “a long-standing friend of China”, he said he would be having a “straightforward discussion” with China's leaders on the subject. Pro-Tibet groups had pushed for the Australian premier to speak out on Tibet during his China visit. "We recognise the need for all parties to avoid violence and find a solution through dialogue," said Mr Rudd, who is due to meet Chinese premier Wen Jiabao tomorrow and to attend an international economic forum on Friday along with Chinese president Hu Jintao. Mr Rudd is the second visiting world leader to comment this week in China on the taboo Tibetan issue. On Monday New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark urged China to show restraint in its response to the protests and engage in dialogue with its critics. Beijing claims it is handling Tibetan issues appropriately and has rejected calls for dialogue with Tibet's exiled Buddhist leader, the Dalai Lama, accusing his supporters of orchestrating the violence. Chinese police have detained a total of 953 suspects over the rioting in Tibet last month. The 72-year-old Nobel laureate has denied involvement in the violence and condemned it, insisting he wants Tibetan autonomy under Chinese rule, not independence. Pro-Tibet protests continued last night in San Francisco after the arrival of the Olympic torch there. They culminated in a candlelit vigil for Tibet, with speeches by actor Richard Gere and Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who called on George Bush and other heads of state to boycott the opening ceremonies in Beijing. "We must tell the leaders of the world, 'For goodness sake, for God's sake, for the sake of your children, our children, for the sake of the beautiful people of Tibet, don't go,'” Mr Tutu told the crowd. Today a massive security operation was under way in the city as the Olympic torch made its only US stop on its journey to Beijing. Warning: Protesters string up giant banners on the Golden Gate Bridge ahead of today's torch relay in San Fransisco Police swamped the Golden Gate Bridge as officials prepared for protests against China's crackdown in Tibet. Pro-Tibet banners were unfurled on the bridge on Monday. The Olympic flame was whisked to a secret location in San Francisco shortly after its arrival before dawn yesterday, following chaotic demonstrations during the torch relay in London and Paris. The torch was due to be paraded today on a six-mile route around San Francisco Bay. One runner who planned to carry the torch has already dropped out over safety concerns, officials said. Mayor Gavin Newsom said the relay's route could well be changed by the city's police chief. He added the relay's opening and closing ceremonies had been shortened. The International Olympic Committee today said it had no plans to cut short the global torch relay. Olympics chief Jacques Rogge said: "There is no discussion of cancelling any legs. What we will do is study the torch relay so far. We will do this in the executive board meeting on Friday.” Hours after the torch arrived in San Francisco, protesters marched to the Chinese consulate, calling on China to cease its heavy-handed rule of Tibet. "This is not about us battling the torchbearers,” Lhadom Tethong, executive director of Students for a Free Tibet, told the crowd outside the consulate. "This is about the Chinese government using the torch for political purposes. And we're going to use it right back.” San Francisco was chosen to host the relay in part because of its large Chinese population – a fifth of the city's totla. Pro-Tibet activists and other human rights groups said they have encouraged their supporters to protest peacefully and not disrupt the relay or the torch runners. After San Francisco, the torch is due to travel to Buenos Aires, Argentina, and then to 12 other countries. The relay also is expected to face demonstrations in New Delhi and possibly elsewhere on its 21-stop, six-continent tour before arriving in mainland China on 4 May. |
| Dalai Lama Set to Begin US Visit April 10, 2008 By MANUEL VALDES Associated Press Writer SEATTLE (AP) — The Dalai Lama will mark his first visit to the United States since the recent turmoil in Tibet by anchoring an ambitious conference on compassion. Tibet's exiled spiritual leader was expected to arrive here Thursday, a day after pro-Tibetan demonstrators disrupted the Olympic torch run in San Francisco. The Dalai Lama's visit to Seattle, a city historically friendly to the Tibetan cause, was not expected to spark demonstrations as heated as those following the Olympic torch. But some Tibetan community leaders said they expected activity from pro-China demonstrators. In Tibet, the recent protests against five decades of Chinese rule have been the largest and most sustained in almost two decades. China has accused the Dalai Lama of being involved in the uprising. The Tibetan leader has said that he wants greater autonomy for the remote mountain region but is not seeking independence. On Thursday, the Dalai Lama said he is willing to support China's hosting of the Olympic Games this summer, but said Beijing cannot suppress protests in Tibet with violence or tell those calling for more freedom in his homeland "to shut up." During a stopover in Japan on his way to the United States, the Tibetan spiritual leader strongly denied Chinese allegations he and his followers have used the run-up to the Olympics to foment unrest. He said he has supported China's hosting the Olympics from the start. "Right from the beginning, we supported the Olympic Games," he told reporters near the airport outside Tokyo. "I really feel very sad the government demonizes me. I am just a human; I am not a demon." President Bush on Wednesday again exhorted Beijing to reach out to the Dalai Lama to find a solution. And the U.S. House passed a resolution criticizing China for its "disproportionate and extreme" response to protests in Tibet. It urged Beijing to hold direct, unconditional talks with the Dalai Lama. Organizers of the five-day Seeds of Compassion conference in Seattle say the Dalai Lama's visit is expected to draw more than 150,000 people. Despite political pressure from China, the Dalai Lama was determined to attend the conference because of his commitment to global peace, organizers said. "He wants compassion for both sides, for the Tibetans, for the Chinese brothers," said Lama Tenzin Dhonden, a Tibetan monk who spearheaded the development of the conference. Seattle was picked as the conference site because of its leadership in philanthropy, business and technology, Dhonden said. Seeds of Compassion will feature dozens of workshops on various subjects, beginning with a panel discussion Friday with the Dalai Lama on "The Scientific Basis for Compassion: What We Know Now." Early childhood development is one of the main focuses of the conference. Tickets for events involving the Dalai Lama have already sold out, according to the conference Web site. Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels will present the key to the city to the Tibetan leader and the University of Washington will present him an honorary degree. The Dalai Lama fled to India after a failed uprising in 1959 in Tibet, but remains the religious and cultural leader of many Tibetans. He was awarded the Nobel Peace prize in 1989. No large demonstrations are expected from the Tibetan community out of respect to the Dalai Lama, Tibetan community leaders said. "He is a living spirit of the people in Tibet, so we don't see anything to do at this time," said Tashi Namgyal, president of the Tibet Association of Washington. The Chinese community in Seattle has been split by the Tibetan situation, said Assunta Ng, publisher of the Northwest Asian Weekly, a local Asian-American community newspaper. Ng said she wouldn't be surprised if pro-China demonstrators show up at some of the events, and added that some Chinese students plan to protest the politicization of the Olympics. After Seattle, the Dalai Lama is scheduled to speak at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor on April 19 and 20, then at Colgate University in Hamilton, N.Y., on April 22. ——— On the Net: www.seedsofcompassion.org Dalai Lama: dalailama.com/ |
| The Dalia Lama greets supporters along a receiving line in the lobby of the Grand Hyatt in Seattle Thursday, April 10, 2008. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear) |
| USA - Free Tibet Demonstrators Golden Gate Bridge Local law enforcement officers look through binoculars as three Demonstrators scale the Golden Gate Bridge unfurling two banners in San Francisco, California. The three climbers are members of Students for a Free Tibet and their action comes just two days before the Olympic torch is to make its San Francisco stop, the only stop in North America, en route to Beijing, where the Summer Olympics will be held in August. The banner reads: "One World, One Dream, Free Tibet 08." |
| USA - Tibet - San Francisco Olympic Torch Protest Kalsang Gyaltsen, of Boulder, Colorado and originally from Lhasa, Tibet, listens emotionally during a protest gathering in the United Nations Plaze in San Francisco as part of a demonstration on the eve of the controversial relay of the Beijing Olympic torch in the city |
| USA - Tibet - San Francisco Olympic Torch Protest - Archbishop Desmond Tutu South African cleric and activist Archbishop Desmond Tutu speaks in support of Tibetan freedom at a rally protesting against the relay of the Beijing Olympic torch at the United Nations Plaza in San Francisco, California. |
| USA - Tibet - San Francisco Olympic Torch Protest A Tibet activist protests against China ahead of the Olympic torch relay in San Francisco, California. |
| USA - Tibet - San Francisco Olympic Torch Protest Demonstrators shout slogans in protest against China's treatment of Tibet, prior to the unveiling of the Olympic torch along the wharf in San Francisco.Demonstrations, which followed the torch in France and the UK, disrupted the torch's progress and San Francisco officials increased security to prevent violence. |
