Panchen Lama Action Alert & Tibet Update

Tomorrow, Gendhun Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Panchen Lama and Tibet's second most important religious leader will turn 19 years old. He has not been seen or heard from since he was abducted by Chinese authorities in 1995 when he was only six years old.

The same government that stole this young child from his people is now engaged in a bloody crackdown inside Tibet. As we write this, thousands of people are being detained, imprisoned and killed simply for crying out for their freedom and basic human rights. Read more below about the current crackdown inside Tibet.

Despite decades of violent oppression by China, the past six weeks have shown the determination of the Tibetan people to fight for justice and regain their freedom. It is in this spirit that we must continue our efforts to secure the release of the Panchen Lama and every Tibetan currently suffering in Chinese prisons and detention camps across Tibet.

TAKE ACTION:

• Sign a petition demanding the Panchen Lama's immediate release.
  
• Call the Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yang Jiechi, and register your protest: +86-10-65963100 or +86-10-65961114
  
• Change your profile picture to this image of the Panchen Lama. Make your Facebook/MySpace/hi5 profile page an educational tool that speaks out for his freedom.
  
• Download a petition and get people on campus and in your community to take action.
  
• Join a protest. For details on events already planned in your community, please contact kala@studentsforafreetibet.org.
  
• Visit www.studentsforafreetibet.org/panchenlama for more action ideas.

UPDATE ON THE SITUATION INSIDE TIBET:

Inside Tibet the situation remains critical as Chinese forces continue to seal off all Tibetan areas from the outside world. With foreign journalists barred from the region, the full extent of China's brutal crackdown has been difficult to ascertain, however, across Tibet eyewitness reports describe a situation that recalls the darkest days of the Cultural Revolution.

Reports of house-to-house searches, late-night raids on monasteries and nunneries, mass imprisonments, and torture are widespread. People everywhere are afraid to leave their homes for fear of being arbitrarily beaten or detained. Food and supplies to the monasteries in and around Lhasa have been cut off and many people fear starvation. Click here to read more.

Fresh protests broke out in Rebkong last week, just an hour drive from Xining where the International Olympic Committee is allowing the Chinese government to take the torch. Read SFT's press release on the incident.