Flashermac Posted March 15, 2008 Report Share Posted March 15, 2008 WASHINGTON: China should suffer a boycott of its cherished Beijing Olympics if it mishandles protests in restive Tibet, Hollywood actor and Tibetan activist Richard Gere said on Friday. Gere, a close follower of the Dalai Lama and chairman of the International Campaign for Tibet, stressed that neither the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader nor the ICT advocates a boycott of the Summer Olympics. But he said it was his personal opinion that it would be "unconscionable" to attend the Beijing Games if China failed to deal peacefully with unrest in the Himalayan region -- protests that have turned to riots and already claimed several lives. "I've not been pro-boycott, but I think if this is not handled correctly, yes we should boycott. Everyone should boycott," Gere told Reuters in a telephone interview. Gere, a Buddhist for some 25 years, said he was grieving for "my bothers and sisters" in Tibet but "sad for both sides" in a dispute has that simmered and occasionally exploded since China annexed Tibet in 1950. "As educated, as sensitive as the Chinese are, why they've misread the Tibetan situation from the very beginning is beyond me," he said. "It's just so foolish and short-sighted. Everything that they want is destroyed in moments like this," said Gere, referring to the Chinese quest for international respect and recognition they seek in hosting the Olympics. Link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torrenova Posted March 15, 2008 Report Share Posted March 15, 2008 If anyone gave a shit they would have done something 50 years ago when you could kick China around. Now China is too powerful to kick around so people can do nothing even if they actaully wanted to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torneyboy Posted March 15, 2008 Report Share Posted March 15, 2008 You may well be correct... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julian2 Posted March 15, 2008 Report Share Posted March 15, 2008 Hmm, I remember a few people taking a kick or two at China back in the 50's and 60's including the USSR. Sanctions might do some good but unfortunately a lot of countries have come to rely on the stuff they export. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckwoww Posted March 15, 2008 Report Share Posted March 15, 2008 I saw Gere talking on CNN last night. Not defending China but there's something a bit shifty about him IMO. He said Tibetans aren't looking for independence. Bullshit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AF16 Posted March 15, 2008 Report Share Posted March 15, 2008 I'll boycott the olympics no matter where it is. It's just freaking boring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buffalo_bill Posted March 15, 2008 Report Share Posted March 15, 2008 "As educated, as sensitive as the Chinese are,... " They are in fact about as educated and sensitive as a polar bear chasing a squirrel . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julian2 Posted March 16, 2008 Report Share Posted March 16, 2008 China has always claimed that Tibet is geographically and historically part of China. There could be strong arguments made against this but what would be gained by independence? East Timor would be in great danger of losing it's "World's poorest Nation" status. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted March 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2008 Chinese Security Forces Swarm Tibet BEIJING (AP) - Soldiers on foot and in armored carriers swarmed Tibet's capital Saturday, enforcing a strict curfew a day after protesters burned shops and cars to vent their anger against Chinese rule. In another western city, police clashed with hundreds of Buddhist monks leading a sympathy demonstration. The violence erupted just two weeks before China's Summer Olympic celebrations kick off with the start of the torch relay, which passes through Tibet. [color:red]China is gambling that its crackdown will not draw an international outcry over human rights violations that could lead to boycotts of the Olympics.[/color] The latest unrest began Monday on the anniversary of a 1959 uprising against Chinese rule. Tibet was effectively independent for decades before communist troops entered in 1950. Initially, the protests were led by Buddhist monks demanding the release of other detained monks. Their demands spiraled to include cries for Tibet's independence and turned violent Friday when police tried to stop a group of protesting monks. Pent-up grievances against Chinese rule came to the fore, as Tibetans directed their anger against Chinese and their shops, hotels and other businesses. It was the fiercest challenge to Beijing's authority in nearly two decades. China's official Xinhua News Agency reported at least 10 civilians were burned to death on Friday. The Dalai Lama's exiled Tibetan government in India said Chinese authorities killed at least 30 Tibetans and possibly as many as 100. The figures could not be independently verified. In the Tibetan capital Lhasa on Saturday, police manned checkpoints and armored personnel carriers rattled on mostly empty streets as people stayed indoors under a curfew, witnesses said. The show of force imposed a tense quiet. Several witnesses reported hearing occasional bursts of gunfire. One Westerner who went to a rooftop in Lhasa's old city said he saw troops with automatic rifles moving through the streets firing, though did not see anyone shot. Foreign tourists in Lhasa were told to leave, a hotel manager and travel guide said, with the guide adding that some were turned back at the airport. "There are military blockades blocking off whole portions of the city, and the entire city is basically closed down," said a 23-year-old Canadian student who arrived in Lhasa on Saturday and who was making plans to leave. "All the restaurants are closed, all the hotels are closed." Even as Chinese forces appeared to reassert control in Lhasa, a second day of sympathy protests erupted in an important Tibetan town 750 miles away. Police fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of Buddhist monks and other Tibetans after they marched from the historic Labrang monastery and smashed windows in the county police headquarters in Xiahe, witnesses said. Also Saturday, fresh demonstrations by Tibetan exiles and their supporters sprouted up in New York, neighboring Nepal, Switzerland and Australia. The Chinese government is hoping a successful Olympics will boost its popularity at home as well as its image abroad. But Beijing's hosting of the Olympics has already attracted scrutiny of China's human rights record and its pollution problems. Coming home to roost Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckwoww Posted March 16, 2008 Report Share Posted March 16, 2008 Seems they've given the protesters til Monday to surrender. After that who knows? The Burmese model most likely...crack down on foreign media, shoot a few, arrest the ringleaders and make them disappear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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