Where is the World for Tibet?

Photo from WTOP/Associated Press 

The Chinese government official news service called on China to “crush” Tibetan resistance today (link from Adelaide Now);

Turning a blind eye to appeals for dialogue with Tibet’s spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, the People’s Daily, mouthpiece of the ruling communist party, said the “Dalai clique” must be shattered.

“China must resolutely crush the conspiracy of sabotage and smash ‘Tibet independence forces’,” the newspaper said in an editorial.

Earlier today, China said the death toll in rioting in Lhasa had risen to 19, including one police officer, from the previous official toll of 13 civilians, and that 623 people had been injured.

Tibet’s government in exile has put the “confirmed” death toll from a week of unrest across the Himalayan region and neighbouring provinces at 99.

CNN reports that Nancy Pelosi has discovered that the world is stunningly silent on the brutal repression China inflicts on Tibet;

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday criticized China for its crackdown on anti-government protesters in Tibet and called on “freedom-loving people” worldwide to denounce China.

“If freedom-loving people throughout the world do not speak out against China’s oppression in China and Tibet, we have lost all moral authority to speak on behalf of human rights anywhere in the world,” Pelosi told reporters.

“The situation in Tibet is a challenge to the conscience of the world.”

Too little, too late. The Chinese absolutely dismissed Pelosi’s pleas (Bloomberg link);

China’s government said it has international support for its actions in Tibet and rejected a call by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for a probe into its claim the Dalai Lama has been behind unrest in the capital Lhasa.

The governments of almost 100 nations have conveyed or shown support for China’s moves to safeguard the sovereignty and stability of Tibet, Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said in a written statement, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported. China opposes any encouragement of attempts by the Dalai Lama to seek independence for the Himalayan territory, he said.

Commenter to this blog and blogger from The Spanish Pundit, Nora, wrote this in the comments section;

In Spain here we have been labeled as “theoliberals” for blogging about Tibet and blaming China for the repression. What is more, those same people who has labeles us, have also began accusing us of wanting the return of the Lamaism, which was really a theocracy, a very hard dictatorship.

But critisizing Communist China and the decissions it has taken about the repression in Tibet has NOTHING to do with that… But of course, they support the “Chinese legality” and so the repression.

So I guess the European Left has never heard of the right of people to self determination. Uyghur American Association president Rebiya Kadeer called for the world to pay attention, to feel a measure of outrage and come to the aid of Tibetan people (Radio Free Asia link);

“His Holiness the Dalai Lama has dedicated his entire life to the peaceful promotion of legitimate aspirations of the Tibetan people for cultural autonomy and survival,” she said, referring to the exiled Tibetan leader.

“The world community cannot turn a blind eye to the obstinate refusal of the Beijing regime to fully engage in open, serious, and meaningful negotiations with leaders of Tibet and East Turkestan,” Kadeer said, using the Uyghurs’ own name for China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

Where is the world?

“Russia has repeatedly declared that it views Tibet as an inalienable part of China, and considers the resolution of relations with the Dalai Lama to be an internal matter of the People’s Republic of China,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

Mark Malloch-Brown, Britain’s minister for Asia, Africa and the U.N., said Western governments are reminding China that its handling of the unrest could damage its international standing.

“This is a China engaged with the world which is using the Olympics to demonstrate a new openness and it risks all of that collapsing in on it if it is seen as being the enforcer of a crackdown on Tibetans,” he told British Broadcasting Corp. television.

Demonstrators have rallied in support of independence-minded Tibetans in several cities in Europe, Asia and Australia.

Demonstrators? We had few hundred of them here in DC this week – instead of demonstrating at the Chinese Embassy (straight up Connecticut Avenue from where ANSWER, Act Now to Stop War and End Racism, et al. began their protests on Wednesday) they protested the liberation of brown people. Protests across the world against the communist Chinese government which is actually engaged in murdering it’s citizens, and not a peep from the United States save Nancy Pelosi and John McCain.

Bloodthirsty Liberal writes;

There’s the cold, hard truth about the rest of the world, people (which many of you profess to love more than your own country). As much as your little heart aches for Tibet, they couldn’t give a Fuquan.

Maybe if the Chinese repudiated communism and declared their love of capitalism, the Left (and Putin) would get off their collective fat ass and give a sweat for Tibet.

Category: Foreign Policy