STAND WITH TIBET
Dear friends,
After decades of repression under Chinese rule, the
Tibetan people's frustrations have burst onto the
streets in protests and riots. With the spotlight of
the upcoming Olympic Games now on China, Tibetans are
crying out to the world for change.
The Chinese government has said that the protesters
who have not yet surrendered "will be punished". Its
leaders are right now considering a crucial choice
between escalating brutality or dialogue that could
determine the future of Tibet and China.
We can affect this historic choice--China does care
about its international reputation. China's President
Hu Jintao needs to hear that the 'Made in China' brand
and the upcoming Olympics in Beijing can succeed only
if he makes the right choice. But it will take an
avalanche of global people power to get his
attention--and we need it in the next 48 hours.
The Tibetan Nobel peace prize winner and spiritual
leader, the Dalai Lama has called for restraint and
dialogue: he needs the world's people to support him.
Click below [ you may need to type in the web-site]
now to sign the petition--and tell absolutely everyone
you can right away--our goal is 1 million voices
united for Tibet:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/tibet_end_the_violence/97.php/?cl_tf_sign=1
China's economy is totally dependent on "Made in
China" exports that we all buy, and the government is
keen to make the Olympics in Beijing this summer a
celebration of a new China, respected as a leading
world power. China is also a very diverse country with
a brutal past and has reason to be concerned about its
stability -- some of Tibet's rioters killed innocent
people. But President Hu must recognize that the
greatest danger to Chinese stability and development
comes from hardliners who advocate escalating
repression, not from Tibetans who seek dialogue and
reform.
We will deliver our petition directly to Chinese
officials in London, New York, and Beijing, but it
must be a massive number before we deliver the
petition. Please forward this email to your address
book with a note explaining to your friends why this
is important, or use our tell-a-friend tool to email
your address book--it will come up after you sign the
petition.
The Tibetan people have suffered quietly for decades.
It is finally their moment to speak--we must help them
be heard.
With hope and respect,
Ricken, Iain, Graziela, Paul, Galit, Pascal, Milena,
Ben and the whole Avaaz team
PS - It has been suggested that the Chinese government
may block the Avaaz website as a result of this email,
and thousands of Avaaz members in China will no longer
be able to participate in our community. A poll of
Avaaz members over the weekend showed that over 80% of
us believed it was still important to act on Tibet
despite this terrible potential loss to our community,
if we thought we could make a difference. If we are
blocked, Avaaz will help maintain the campaign for
internet freedom for all Chinese people, so that our
members in China can one day rejoin our community.
Here are some links with more information on the
Tibetan protests and the Chinese response:
BBC News: UN Calls for Restraint in Tibet -
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7301912.stm
Human Right Watch: China Restrain from Violently
Attacking Protesters -
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2008/03/15/china18291.htm
Associated Press: Tibet Unrest Sparks Global Reaction
-
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gSSpPcDOPMoAiRLhPUyezuCRiXBQD8VFDD680
New York Times: China Takes Steps to Thwart Reporting
on Tibet Protests -
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/18/world/asia/18access.html?ref=world
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ABOUT AVAAZ
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campaigning organization that works to ensure that the
views and values of the world's people inform global
decision-making. (Avaaz means "voice" in many
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