Press Release    
     
23rd April 2008

Today about 700-800 Lopa people of Chentsa district are protesting peacefully as we write this press release. This is in continuation to the peaceful demonstration by about 1000 people belonging to seven townships in Amdo Chentsa against the Chinese with photos of His Holiness the Dalai Lama praying for His long life and demanded immediate release of Panchen Rinpoche Gedun Choekyi Nyima. China is using district administrators and Local Lamas to calm down the protesters. Amdo Wedhoe middle school students also staged peaceful protests according to reliable sources.

Similarly, around 500 people from Golog Chigdril Dzong positioned themselves on a mountain top yesterday willing to fight if Communist leaders tried to arrest or harm their local Lama in anyway. They also requested to send international fact finding delegations to visit Tibet.

Reliable sources also report movement of about 4000 troops from Yunnan province to Gyalthang. The Chinese police provoked Sakya monks with political education, which enraged the locals to raise slogans against China.

The situation continues to be very tense. There are heavy military cordon in all major monasteries and distressed areas. News flowing from Tibet has trickled down to a minimum. Door to door search and arbitrary arrests continues.
 
Since 10th March 2008, China’s brutal crackdown on the peaceful Tibetan protesters has resulted in 135 deaths, more than 500 injured and more than a thousand arrested in the whole of Tibet.

The crisis in Tibet needs immediate international intervention. Therefore we appeal to you the following:

1. To send UN, governmental, Human Rights Groups or other independent fact-finding delegations to assess the situation in Tibet and let the world know the truth.
2. To put concrete pressure on China to immediately stop further killings and brutal suppression on Tibetans for exercising their fundamental right of expression through peaceful means.
3. To appeal to the international medical community to provide immediate medical help to the injured Tibetans in Tibet.
4. To urge the international community to help release all the innocent detainees immediately, who could face severe jail terms and inhuman torture and call on China to respect Human Rights in Tibet.

 
The Tibetan community and all peace loving people of the world are very much concerned about the safety of the Tibetans in Tibet. Tibetans and Tibet supporters all over the world are organizing prayers, gatherings and protests to express their solidarity with the Tibetans in Tibet.

In view of the critical situation in Tibet, we appeal the UN and international community of the urgent consideration of our following demands:

1. Immediately dispatch independent fact finding delegations to Tibet
2. Immediately allow free press to cover the whole of Tibet
3. Immediately end the brutal killings in the whole of Tibet
4. Immediately release all arrested and imprisoned Tibetans
5. Extend immediate medical assistance to the injured Tibetans
6. Allow free movement of people and provide access to daily needs

 - Tibetan Solidarity Committee