Free Tibet on College Green

bristol | protests | news report

Saturday August 16, 2008 17:55

by nickleberry

A Mock Olympics was held today on College Green. The aim of the event was to remind people, amidst the hype of the Beijing olympics, of the Chinese government's sordid record when it comes to relations with Tibet, and with its own population.

The Olympics has displaced thousands!

A sizeable group of Bristolians assembled on College Green today to stage a Mock Olympics. Amidst all the flag-waving and jingoism of the Beijing Olympics, daily tragedies are unfolding in China and Tibet; and the Mock Olympics were staged to remind us of this fact.

Bristol's Tibetan community was well-represented on College Green. I talked to one man who has family back in Tibet, and also in India where they have fled from Chinese repression. He told me a little about the Chinese authorities' lack of respect for human rights, and the struggle of his people to be free.

It was noticeable that he showed no antipathy to the Chinese people as a whole: I asked him about the new railway from Beijing to Lhasa which the Chinese have built to allow more Chinese settlers into Tibet. He expressed his opposition to the railway in the current political climate but he went on to say that, if his people are allowed their full human rights and freedoms, then Chinese people are welcome to come and live in his country.

I also asked him about the Dalai Lama for whom he expressed a great respect and admiration. The Dalai Lama's stated goal of world peace was something that he whole-heartedly stood behind; on the other hand, in the world of real-politik and considering the Chinese disregard for the Dalai Lama's peaceful approach, perhaps a more hard-headed position needs to be taken?

And the Olympics have only made this situation worse: in the lead-up to the Beijing games, 216 Tibetans have been killed and more than 5000 detained. Don't forget what is really going on in Tibet!

In addition to the issue of Tibet, China's attitude to the human rights of its own population also warrants careful examination. Bristol activists from Amnesty International were in attendance on College Green today to call people's attention to China's awful record on the death penalty (the worst in the world). Estimates of the number of executions in China vary, but the figure could be as high as 8000.

As part of its bid for the 2008 Olympic Games, China pledged to improve its human rights record but there is scant evidence of any significant change...

[ Amnesty International in Bristol | China's human rights (Amnesty UK) | China's Olympic Legacy (Amnesty USA) | China & the death penalty (.pdf)]

Hurdles to human rights: evictions, censorship, torture...