Letter To Un(2)

Honorable Ban Ki-moon Secretary General United Nations 760 UN Plaza New York NY 10017

March 1, 2009 Re: Seeking Your Urgent Support for Tibet

Honorable Ban Ki-moon:

Today, on the eve of the Tibetan New Earth-Ox Year (Losar), I am writing on behalf of the Tibetan community in Northern California, to seek your urgent support for Tibet. Tibetans and supporters worldwide have in solidarity with Tibetans in Tibet, cancelled traditional celebrations of Losar and are marking the occasion with prayers and candle light vigils instead. Large numbers of Tibetans in Tibet have decided not to hold the traditional celebrations of this auspicious holiday, both as an act of passive resistance and a mark of respect to those who lost their lives during China’s crackdown on the wave of peaceful protest that swept the Tibetan plateau following 10 March 2008. March 10, 2009 marks the 50th anniversary of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s flight from Tibet and the massive Tibetan upraising in Lhasa against China’s colonization of Tibet, when thousands of Tibetans rose up against Chinese rule and His Holiness the Dalai Lama was forced to escape into exile. During those days, and in the decades that followed, more than one million Tibetans lost their lives. Since then China’s repression and denial of our people’s right to selfdetermination has continued. As you are well aware, last spring, China brutally cracked down on widespread protests throughout Tibet as our people attempted desperately to call world attention

to their plight during the Olympic year. More than a hundred Tibetans were killed, over 6000 were arbitrarily detained and many were imprisoned and tortured, while China intimidated the entire population through a military lock down of the Tibetan plateau, which continues to date. We appreciate the United Nations’ call for an independent inquiry into China’s excessive use of force in cracking down on Tibetan protests last year and urge you to ensure that the inquiry is conducted without granting China immunity for violations of human rights.

For the last 30 years, His Holiness has attempted to achieve a peaceful political solution, in line with Den Xio Ping’s statement that everything is negotiable, except for independence. Yet, in the fall of 2008, China rejected the Tibetans’ specific proposal for an autonomous arrangement within the framework of the Chinese constitution, a highly compromised proposal from our perspective. China made it clear that it would not negotiate anything with the Tibetan delegation, except His Holiness’s future. Negotiations have thus come to a halt. In the meantime, on January 18, 2009, China launched a 42-day long “Strike Hard” campaign in Lhasa. Within the first three days of this latest move to tighten its grip on the Tibetan people, Chinese authorities detained 5766 Tibetans. On February 15 and 16 of 2009, more than 100 Tibetan monks, laypeople and nomads staged the largest protests to have taken place in Tibet since the early months of 2008. The first protests took place in Lithang County in eastern Tibet and were prompted by the arrest of Lobsang Lhundup, a 39-year old Tibetan monk who had publicly called for Tibetans not to celebrate Losar. At least 24 Tibetans have reportedly been detained at present as a result of the protests. We urge world leaders and your honorable office to press the Chinese authorities to call off their provocative "Strike Hard" campaign and put an end to their hard-line policies in Tibet immediately.

We ask you, how much longer does the international community expect our people to suffer and to adhere to our non-violent path while it ignores our right to self-determination? Is it not the purpose of the United Nations (Charter, Article 1 (2)) to “develop friendly relations among

nations” based on the “respect for the principles of equal right and self-determination of peoples”? As we mark 2009 as the 50th year of our non-violent resistance, we respectfully and urgently request you to make every effort to use your good offices to help us implement our right to self-determination, as specifically recognized by the General Assembly in 1961 and 1965. We fully realize how difficult our request is, given China’s economic and political might. Yet, if the United Nations effectively ignores our rights and our non-violent path proves to be unsuccessful, it will inadvertently support the path of violence for peoples around the world.

The loss of innocent Tibetan lives continues under the ongoing repressive government of China while the world watches. Our families in Tibet live in constant fear of losing more than what has already been pillaged by China. We urge your leadership to stand up for the ordinary Tibetan people and our right to self-determination and basic human freedom.

Most respectfully yours,