By Juliana Barbassa
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Article Launched: 03/11/2008 03:04:23 AM PDT
SAN FRANCISCO -- Tibetan immigrants protesting Chinese control of the
Himalayan region vowed Monday to make San Francisco, the only U.S.
city to host the Olympic torch relay, the focal point of American
demonstrations against the Beijing Games.
Demonstrators unfurled a Tibetan flag over a flight of white stone
steps leading into San Francisco City Hall and held a ****trait of the
Dalai Lama, the Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader, above the crowd
next to banners saying "Olympics in China, Torture in Tibet," and
"Truth is our only weapon."
The protesters, some wiping away tears while singing the Tibet
national anthem, also called on Mayor Gavin Newsom to reject the April
9 torch run and urged city officials to pass a resolution calling on
China to improve conditions for Tibetans in their homeland.
"San Francisco has always stood for freedom and human rights," said
Yangchen Lhamo, one of protesters, who like many of the women present
wore a slim wrap dress that is part of the traditional Tibetan
costume. "But Gavin Newsom has clearly sided with China on this."
Newsom's spokesman had no comment.
Monday was the anniversary of the 1959 uprising that forced the Dalai
Lama into exile, and Tibetan exiles around the world used the day to
protest against China's hosting of the summer Olympics.
Exiles demonstrated in New Delhi, India, and Katmandu, Nepal. In
Dharmsala, India, hundreds of Tibetans started a six-month march to
their homeland.
In Olympia, Greece,
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birthplace of the ancient Olympic games, Tibetans lit a Freedom Torch
to start a relay intended to course through 50 cities and finish
inside Tibet on the same day Beijing will hold the opening ceremonies,
Aug. 8.
Tibetan activists plan to congregate in San Francisco in the days
preceding the Olympic torch's arrival and line the parade route to
remind Americans of China's human rights abuses in their home country,
organizers said.
"The torch carries this message that China is a great, benevolent
country," Tonzin Wangchuk said. "That's false, and it is im****tant
that we show the true colors of China."
Chinese Communist troops occupied Tibet in 1951, and Beijing continues
to rule the region with a heavy hand. Beijing enforces strict controls
on religious institutions and routinely vilifies the Dalai Lama, who
won the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize.
China says it has ruled Tibet for centuries, although many Tibetans
say they were essentially an independent state for most of that time.
China's official torch-lighting will be held March 24 in Olympia. The
flame's route will include Mount Everest, in Tibet, in what protesters
said was an attempt to legitimize China's hold on the region.
The International Olympic Committee has responded to pressure from
activists by saying that although the games can be a catalyst for
positive change, they are not a political tool and the organization
will not comment on China's human rights record.
"We're not a political organization," IOC president Jacques Rogge said
earlier this month. "There are organizations that are far more
knowledgeable and powerful than we are to move on the political
front."
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