On February 25 Tibetans should be beginning their traditional new year Losar celebrations, welcoming in the Year of the Earth Ox. But this year, in a powerful display of their continuing peaceful resistance to Chinese rule, Tibetans inside and outside Tibet will not be celebrating Losar. Instead they will be mourning all those Tibetans killed last year in China’s violent crackdown and praying for the safety of the more than the one thousand Tibetans who are still missing and unaccounted for.

To demonstrate your solidarity with Tibetans who have suffered so greatly in the last year please fly a Tibetan flag in your window during Losar, 25-27 February 2009. If you don’t have a flag you can download a picture of the flag from our website, print it and place it in your window.

Tibetan flags for download are available here

Please also join us for a candle-lit vigil opposite the Chinese Embassy in London on Wednesday 25 February:

Venue: Opposite the Chinese Embassy

49-51 Portland Place,  W1B 1JL London

Nearest tube: Oxford Circus, Great Portland St

Time: 6-8pm

Poem from  a Tibetan blogger

Website: High Peaks Pure Earth

This year, No Losar

Last year was washed by blood,
In Lhasa, countless compatriots
Were fallen under a piercing arrow,
This year, no Losar for us,
In Sichuan, countless people
Buried under the earth,
This year, no Losar for us,

There is only the word “no” on your lips.
We are speechless,
You are filled with anger
We have no bitterness

For the sake of the deceased valiant heroes
Let us offer our regrets.
For the deceased people,
Let us make offerings

Therefore, This year
How can Losar be celebrated?
Unequivocally! No.
To celebrate is like a mindless beast,

Furthermore,
An aeroplane crashed against a cliff,
This year, no Losar for us,
A train crashed,
This year, no Losar for us,

Even more, it’s endless,
Snowstorms covered the high lands,
This year, no Losar for us,
Drought in the low lands,
This year, no Losar for us,

Smile covered countenance,
A deceitful expression,
A sign of a defeat
It is a smile of fear
Adorned with a smile of happiness,
Actually, this is a false smile
Covering dishonesty,

You are thoughtless of the people,
You pay no heed to the world,
Have you looked at the world?
You have not tread the modern path,

Mind is filled with sadness
And suffering,
Therefore, because of our anguish,
Let's not partake in Losar this year.