The Bloody ****trait of a Brutal "Olympic Host" -- Free Tibet campaign
is Tiananmen revisited
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2008/03/15/dl1502.xml
The Telegraph
UK
Free Tibet campaign is Tiananmen revisited
Last Updated: 12:01am GMT 15/03/2008
On Thursday, the Free Tibet campaign wrote to the Prime Minister asking
him to condemn Beijing's use of tear gas and violence to quash Tibetan
protests marking the anniversary of the failed 1959 uprising against
Chinese occupation. Yesterday, the campaign's request became infinitely
more urgent. Deaths, injuries and looting were re****ted as hundreds of
rioters burnt down shops and set fire to police cars in the capital,
Lhasa. Some of the victims appear to have been ethnic Chinese
shopkeepers. But the protests that sparked the riots were a response to
the brutal hunting down of Tibetan monks, which was in itself typical of
Beijing's scandalous suppression of an ancient culture.
# News: China unleashes guns and tear gas as Tibet protests turn violent
The crackdown on the democracy protests is on a smaller scale than that
of the Beijing demonstrations of 1989, but the comparison with Tiananmen
Square is inescapable. This is the same Chinese regime. What has changed
out of all pro****tion, however, is the economic power of China and the
West's reliance on its ex****ts. As we said yesterday, the coming Olympic
Games are proving something of a mixed blessing for Beijing, since they
focus attention on its abysmal human rights record. The Tibetan
protesters are taking advantage of this situation. Yet is the West,
which has invested so deeply in Chinese prosperity, as ready as it was
in 1989 to castigate the Chinese?
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The Free Tibet movement has reminded Gordon Brown that he would not
tolerate the suppression of peaceful protests in Burma last year. "We
will continue to ensure that the gaze of the world is on this repressive
regime," he said. The Tibetans deserve nothing less. Mr Brown's options
may be limited, but there is one thing he can do: meet the Dalai Lama
when he visits Britain in May. China will notice.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2008/03/15/dl1502.xml
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