Take Action for Tibet

Longtime Bex-friends know that I used to be really passionate about things before I sold-out and became apathetic. It's hard to tell, but I actually do care about things (beyond making you watch shows on the VH1) and I still really care about the Chinese government's systematic cultural genocide of Tibet. And, so, friends, unless you've been living under a rock, (and if you've been living under a rock, we should talk about other things like if you're eating worms like Gollum), you're well aware that there is crazypants violence going on Tibet and His Holiness the Dalai Lama is all sorts of concerned and basically, the shit totally hit the fan. And so.

We're all involved in a Day of Action we're calling "No Torch Through Tibet."

Here's the deal:

Today, March 24th, China lit its 2008 Olympic Torch at Ancient Olympia in Greece, marking the first day of Beijing's "Journey of Harmony." (ed: PSHAW). Meanwhile, for Tibetans inside Tibet, the situation is far from harmonious as they continue to resist the Chinese government's brutal military crackdown.

Chinese authorities are hoping that the torch relay kickoff will divert the world's attention from its repression in Tibet. But they're wrong. The chorus calling for an end to the repression is growing.

And people everywhere are demanding immediate removal of Tibet from the Olympic torch relay.

If the IOC allows the Olympic torch to be carried through Tibet, the Chinese government will inevitably continue - and likely escalate - its repression of Tibetans, using brutal force and mass arrests in order to ensure a successful propaganda exercise. But we can do something about it!

Please contact your National Olympic Committee (NOC) today and ask them to urge the IOC to immediately remove Tibet from the Torch Relay Route. Please call the US Olympic Committee at 1 949 975 2900 to simply say "Please don't let the Olympic torch go through Tibet". You can press 3 for International Relations and then 0 for operator.

(You can also fax them at 949 975 2916 and email them at international@usoc.org)

Tell them that under current conditions, allowing the torch to go through Tibet would make the IOC complicit in China's assault on Tibetans.

We're doing everything we can to make sure we're being heard. Almost exactly 11 months after a high-profile action on Mt. Everest to protest the torch coming to Tibet, and two weeks after lighting the Tibetan Freedom Torch in Olympia, SFT's Deputy Director Tenzin Dorjee was back in Olympia to keep up the pressure. SFT held a jam-packed press conference last night, and today at China's official Olympic torch lighting ceremony, Tendor and other Tibet activists were arrested by Greek police in an attempt to silence our protests. Watch the dramatic video of Tendor's arrest!

It was bad enough that China had hoped to use the Olympic torch, a symbol of freedom, to attempt to legitimize its rule in Tibet. Now, with the people across Tibet rising up and demanding their freedom, the stakes are even higher as the Chinese government looks to seize any excuse to continue its military crackdown against Tibetans.

Please, contact your National Olympic Committee today and urge them to voice their concerns to the IOC about this urgent issue. Your National Olympic Committee (NOC) not only represents your country's Olympic athletes, they represent your nation as well.

Call them. Email them. Send them a letter. It's simple. Just tell them "no torch through Tibet."