4000 Arrested in Tibet Protests

The last few months have been a difficult and critical time for Tibet.
As the Tibetan community here in the UK prepared to commemorate the 49th anniversary of the uprising which led to the flight into exile of the Dalai Lama, Tibet itself was thrown into turmoil as peaceful protest turned to riots and violent suppression.
 

The protests that spread throughout Tibet had a common voice. Tibetans want the Dalai Lama to return to Tibet and they want an end to the Chinese occupation. The Chinese response was swift. Military forces poured into the area, all foreign observers and journalists were expelled, phone lines and internet connections were cut and Tibet was left to suffer in isolation hidden from the world.
  

We need your help today to uncover the fates of some 4000 Tibetans arrested since the uprising - It is an enormous undertaking and we can only do this with your help.

It is estimated that as many as 200 Tibetans died in the first two months of protests, many shot by security forces as they fired indiscriminately into crowds. A further 4000 people were confirmeded detained by Chinese authorities but the number may be much higher. Nobody knows what has happened to these people – some may have been released, others have simply disappeared and their families are too terrified to speak out about it.

Although Tibet has all but disappeared from the headlines at home, the protests and arbitrary arrests still continue inside Tibet. 

With your help we can:
• Apply pressure for an independent UN enquiry into what has happened in Tibet since March 2008
• Demand that journalists be allowed back into Tibet immediately
• Make sure we have a presence in Beijing during the Olympics to keep Tibet in the news.

If you felt moved and shocked by the bravery of ordinary Tibetans who took to the streets in peaceful protest last spring, please help us today. We cannot let them disappear or leave them to be tortured to death.

yours sincerely
Anne Holmes
Campaigns Manager