Torch song for Tibet: Everest protesters detained


I got up this morning to find this interview in my Inbox from RFA’s Tibetan service, with Kristen Westby, a Students From a Free Tibet protester at the Everest base camp. Other news media already had the story, but we did a news release because our interview with the protester is strong, and the story is so important to our language regions, touching as it does on major issues of human rights, Chinese rule in Tibet and Xinjiang, and also China’s aspirations to bring the torch relay for the 2008 Olympics through Taiwan. I will be working on a related topic later today: the campaign by Mia Farrow and Stephen Spielberg to put pressure on China to use its diplomatic clout to help out in Darfur by calling the 2008 Games the “Genocide Olympics”:

 

“I will speak to you in English. And we are sitting here in a Chinese prison. We are sitting here and authorities are pointing at me thinking what to do about that I am on the phone. They don’t seem to be worried much about it. We are sitting here and given little bit of food and cigarettes and we are sitting down waiting to see what happens next.”

 

“We were told that actual police are coming. The people who came to us are the base camp authorities. They just walked to our room and saw me talking with phone with you and they seem not care so much. They turned around and back out. But pretty soon Chines police will be here and assume we will be arrested at that point and taken to Shigatse, the local headquarter. We don’t know what will happen at that point of time. The action went very well. We had a beautiful sign that said,”One World, One Dream, Free Tibet 2008. Then Rangzen written in both Chinese and Tibetan. We had everything on video and we wore shirt with a message to the International Olympic Committee that said,”No torch through Tibet and Tibet on the back and we had our own opening ceremony where we lit a torch, we sang Tibetan National anthem ant then we had a ball on fire. Then we sang to gather. And then we moved from their to Chinese expedition camp, Mt Everest expedition camp for about 15 minutes or so and they came and detained in this room. We are just sitting here. and waiting to see what will happen next. One member of our team we have not seen. We are hoping he has taken a tip and hoping to see him soon.”

 

“Its five of us involved in the action and four of us at this point of time detained. We are sitting at Everest base camp in small building with bars on windows and then detained by the authorities here at the base camp. One of our member of team who is detained is a journalist, video grapher. We did this because we want to send a message that China cannot legitimize their occupation of Tibet by Olympic campaign. Their strategy to bring torch down through Tibet is a campaign to legitimize their occupation of their land. This action is announcement to the world and Tibetans out there, we don’t believe that China should have the honor of hosting the Olympics. It should be given to a country who has clean human rights record and we have taken step of sending that message to the world.” 

 

“Yes, there are Tibetan in action. At this point they are not able to speak. One Tibetan American. and four other American citizens. No there are no local Tibetans in action. We made decision to keep local Tibetan out. Tibetans here are suffering from culture of fear. They are tortured and their families are killed and intimidated for practicing their religion and culture and teaching their language for children. We thought this is an appropriate for the people of conscience of take action.” 

 

“Yes local Tibetans saw our demonstration and action. We are hoping that our message will get to the Tibetans inside Tibet who don’t have access to free Tibet. We hope word spread out in Tibet that million of people are there who care for their liberation.” 

 

‘They haven’t checked our passport yet. But police are on the way. The police will detain us and check our passport and take our to a prison.”

 

At this point of time, we don’t know what will happen next. We hope the media and you tell the world we have done here.” 

 

You can read RFA’s full English news coverage here. Transcribed by Karma Dorjee.

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