http://starzshowz.blogspot.com/2008/05/free-tibet-now.html
Free Tibet Now ! UNITE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Why should anyone, especially you, care about Tibet?
Until 1949, Tibet was an independent Buddhist nation in the Himalayas
which had little contact with the rest of the world. It existed as a
rich cultural storehouse of the Mahayana and Vajrayana teachings of
Buddhism. Religion was a unifying theme among the Tibetans -- as was
their own language, literature, art, and world view developed by
living at high altitudes, under harsh conditions, in a balance with
their environment.
The Dalai Lama, an individual said to be an incarnation of the Buddha
of Compassion, had been both the political and spiritual leader of the
country. The current Dalai Lama (the 14th) was only 24 years old when
this all came to an end in 1959. The Communist Chinese invasion in
1950 led to years of turmoil, that culminated in the complete
overthrow of the Tibetan Government and the self-imposed exile of the
Dalai Lama and 100,000 Tibetans in 1959.
Since that time over a million Tibetans have been killed. With the
Chinese policy of resettlement of Chinese to Tibet, Tibetans have
become a minority in their own country. Chinese is the official
language. Compared to pre-1959 levels, only 1/20 monks are still
allowed to practice, under the government's watch. Up to 6,000
monasteries and shrines have been destroyed. Famines have appeared for
the first time in recorded history, natural resources are devastated,
and wildlife depleted to extinction. Tibetan culture comes close to
being eradicated there.
Peaceful demonstrations/protests/speech/writings by nuns, monks, and
Tibetan laypeople have resulted in deaths and thousands of arrests.
These political prisoners are tortured and held in sub-standard
conditions, with little hope of justice. Unless we can all take part
and recognize Tibet's loss as our own, the future looks grim.
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