Action required before 31 August 2005

URGENT LETTER-WRITING CAMPAIGN: THE GORMO-LHASA RAILWAY PROJECT

We need your immediate action to help us stop the involvement of the Canadian company Bombardier in the controversial Gormo-Lhasa railway project.

Background
In 2001, the Chinese Government launched an ambitious project - the Gormo-Lhasa Railway. The project, as the Chinese Government had envisioned and Tibetans had feared since the invasion of Tibet, involves the construction of a massive railway that would inextricably tie Tibet to China. This controversial rail line will reach from central China straight into the heart of Tibet and is the cornerstone of China's efforts to tighten its control over Tibet. Planned to begin test runs in 2006, the railway threatens to increase environmental pressure on the high-altitude ecosystem, bolster China's military strength in the region and facilitate the entry of large numbers of Chinese settlers onto Tibetan lands, further marginalizing Tibetans socially and economically. Many Tibetans see the railway as the final phase in China's strategy to wipe out Tibetan identity and culture altogether.

The Canadian company Bombardier has announced that it is going to build the cars for the railway. The timeline is short - Bombardier says it plans to have the cars completed by December of this year. Tibet Support Groups' representatives have communicated with Bombardier through numerous letters and two meetings, the first at their headquarters and the second after distributing information at a railway industry meeting in Prague. The issue has also been raised with the Canadian Government.

WE NOW NEED YOUR HELP IN THIS CAMPAIGN!

Action
Bombardier to date has mostly heard from Canadians about this issue. We now want to escalate the pressure on the company by having communications sent from around the world.

Please send a fax, email, or make a phone call to Bombardier's European headquarters in Berlin, Germany. You may use the sample letter below or write your own letter.

Sample Letter:

Mr Laurent Beaudoin
Chairman and CEO
Bombardier Inc.

Dear Mr Beaudoin,

I am deeply disturbed to learn that Bombardier is supplying cars to the Chinese Government for the China-Tibet Railway. The railway is a politically driven project, which forms the cornerstone of the Chinese Government's 'Western Development Plan' to intensify its control over Tibet through infrastructure and resource extraction projects. As your management and shareholders meet on June 7th, I trust that you will reconsider your involvement in this flawed project. 

The Tibet railway is the single project most feared by Tibetans, who have lived under Chinese occupation since 1950. The rail line will greatly facilitate China's efforts to move millions of Chinese settlers into Tibet, enable increased militarization of the Tibetan plateau and allow China to easily transport Tibet's natural resources to China's east coast, with little benefit to Tibetans. 

By agreeing to supply rail cars to the Chinese Government for this project, Bombardier has made itself complicit in China's occupation and colonization of Tibet. Bombardier is not currently known as a company that invests in socially or environmentally controversial projects, yet it is one of very few western companies that have dared to assist the Chinese Government with this devastating project. Please consider carefully whether you wish Bombardier to develop a reputation as a funder of military occupation, cultural decimation, and environmental disaster. 

I urge you to withdraw from this project immediately. 

Sincerely, 

[NAME]
[YOUR ADDRESS]

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Bombardier Transportation
Headquarters
Saatwinkler Damm 43
13627 Berlin
Germany
Phone: +49 30 3832 0000
Fax: +49 30 3832 2000
Email: carole.bergeron@bombardier.com

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