Tell IOC No Torch in Tibet!

As Chinese troops intensify their crackdown against Tibetans, China is celebrating a global "Journey of Harmony" - the 2008 Olympic Torch relay. Beijing plans to run the torch through Lhasa and other Tibetan territories including to the top of Mount Everest in a propaganda exercise designed to convince the world that the situation is stable across Tibet and that Tibet belongs to China.

In the past weeks, tens of thousands of Tibetans have risen up across Tibet, risking everything to demand their independence. The global community must stop China from parading the Olympic torch through Tibetan territory while hundreds, possibly thousands, of Tibetans are being tortured and brutalized in Chinese detention cells.

Please take action now and demand the International Olympic Committee (IOC) immediately withdraw the Tibet Autonomous Region and the Tibetan provinces of Amdo and Kham from the Olympic torch relay route.

Sample Letter for Campaign

Subject: No Torch in Tibet

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

I am outraged that the International Olympic Committee has yet to withdraw Tibet from the 2008 Olympic Torch Relay route. Hundreds of Tibetans across Tibet continue to be intimidated, imprisoned, and killed by Chinese forces and international media continues to be barred from entering the region to report freely about the current military crackdown. Allowing the torch to be carried through Tibet, under such circumstances, will only escalate tensions, giving Chinese forces an excuse to continue its violent siege.

Tibetans have suffered greatly for almost six decades under Chinese rule and are now risking everything to speak out. Despite the unrest in Tibet, the Beijing Olympics organizers are moving ahead with preparations to carry the Olympic Torch through Tibet and to the top of Mount Everest. China must not be allowed to bring its torch to Tibet after the Tibetan people have so strongly denounced China's occupation of their homeland. So far, the IOC has remained largely silent about the crackdown in Tibet and refused to use its influence to pressure the Chinese authorities to peacefully resolve the Tibet issue. It is unthinkable that the IOC would continue to move forward with "business as usual" given the human rights abuses happening in Tibet.

Mr. Rogge, we call on you to take action now and show the global community that you value the principles upon which the Olympic institution was founded. If the IOC allows China to carry its torch through Tibet, it will be complicit in the violent crackdown on Tibetans that will undoubtedly occur.

Unless you want the Olympic Torch to become a symbol of bloodshed and repression, you must immediately withdraw the Tibetan Autonomous Region and the Tibetan provinces of Amdo and Kham - now annexed into China's Qinghai, Sichuan, Yunnan, and Gansu - from the Beijing Olympic Torch Relay route.

People of conscience worldwide have responded with an outpouring of support for Tibetans inside Tibet and condemnation of the Chinese government's heavy-handed crackdown.

Stand on the right side of history and immediately withdraw all Tibetan provinces from the torch relay route.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
March 19, 2008


Background Information

As Chinese military forces increase their crackdown across Tibet, Tibetans and supporters worldwide are increasing pressure on the International Olympic Committee to immediately withdraw the Tibet Autonomous Region and the Tibetan provinces of Amdo and Kham (now annexed into China's Qinghai, Sichuan, Yunnan, and Gansu provinces) from the Olympic torch relay route. Despite growing reports of arbitrary arrests, house-to-house raids, killings, and even beatings of schoolchildren, the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee (BOCOG) has stated that preparations for the Mount Everest leg of the torch run were "proceeding very smoothly and according to schedule."

In a letter faxed on the same day to the International Olympic Committee and hand-delivered last week by Tibetans during a rally in Lausanne, Switzerland, 150 Tibet support organizations - under the umbrella of the International Tibet Support Network - demanded that the IOC "immediately remove Tibet from the Beijing Olympic Torch Relay route." They also called on IOC President Jacques Rogge to make a public statement of concern about the current situation in Tibet.

The Chinese government will undoubtedly escalate its repression in Tibet to ensure the smooth running of the torch through Tibet and to the top of Mount Everest. The global community must not allow China to use the Olympic torch to try and legitimize its rule in Tibet while continuing its military crackdown against innocent Tibetans. Please speak out now and demand the IOC immediately withdraw Tibet from the Beijing Olympics Torch Relay route.