March 10, 2009 will mark 50 years since the Tibetan National Uprising of 1959. For the 50 days leading up to March 10, SFT is profiling 50 Tibetans who embody the enduring spirit of Tibetan resistance.

On DAY 48 in the countdown, we honor Ama Ade who spent 27 years in prison for her role in resisting China’s invasion.

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Take Action for Tibetan Filmmakers

On September 30, 2006, Chinese forces opened fire on a group of Tibetans escaping over the Nangpa Pass into Nepal. A 17-year old nun was shot dead, and many others were detained for months and later released.

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As we remember the tragic events that took place two years ago, please  join us in taking action for the release of Tibetan filmmakers Dhongdup Wangchen and Gogok Jigme. Their brave actions aimed at bringing the Tibetan people’s voice to a global audience resulted in their detention in March 2008.

At approximately 12:05 am Beijing time, Florian Norbu Gyanatshang, a Tibetan-German man and American Tibet supporters, Jeremy Wells and John Watterberg were detained by Beijing authorities for protesting near the Bird’s Nest stadium. The three had been under intense surveillance by up to 50 plainclothes police.

They called out “Free Tibet” and Florian Norbu unfurled the Tibetan flag. They raised their fists in a salute in the spirit of defiance and resistance displayed by Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. Last night’s protest took place as spectators were leaving the Bird’s Nest where the men’s 200 metre final had been held just hours before. It was on the medal podium for this same event 40 years ago that Smith and Carlos staged their courageous protest.

A fourth Tibet activist, Mandie McKeown from Britain, who observed the protest was also detained. The four were taken away in a police vehicle and their whereabouts are unknown. Two photographers from the Associated Press who were at the scene were also briefly detained.

learn more about the activists and their action…

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Beijing - Brian Conley, creator of the well-known videoblog “Alive in Baghdad” was detained with his friend, Jeffrey Rae, early Tuesday, August 19th in Beijing. Their detention appears to have taken place at the same time as that of international artist James Powderly, whose detention was reported Tuesday. Three other bloggers and activists, Jeff Goldin, Michael Liss, and Tom Grant, have also been missing since Tuesday morning. Conley, 28, Rae, 28, Goldin, 40, Liss, 35, Grant, 39 are all American citizens.

The five “citizen journalists” and activists were in Beijing to support and promote human rights, freedom of expression, and freedom for the Tibetan people. They and numerous others have acted as an independent media centre for the dozens of pro-Tibet activists in Beijing who have sought to draw attention to the Chinese government’s occupation of during the Olympics. Rae and Conley shot and released online high-resolution photographs and footage of the recent protest by Students for a Free Tibet supporters at the Chinese Ethnic Culture Park.

With the help of three support people, two pro-Tibet activists rapelled from the top of a large Olympic billboard and unfurled a 375 square foot/115 square meter banner in front of Chinese state television’s new headquarters in Beijing early this morning.

The activists dropped the banner, which read “Free Tibet” in English and Chinese, over an Olympics billboard reading “Beijing 2008″ at 5:45 am Beijing time. Chinese security officials gathered quickly outside the China Central Television (CCTV) building. After approximately 30 minutes, officials detained the five activists, whose current whereabouts are unknown.

The two climbers were Nicole Rycroft, 41, a Canadian-Australian from Vancouver, BC, Canada and Philip Kirk, 24, a British citizen from Hertfordshire, UK. They were supported by Americans Bianca Bockman, 27, from Hoboken, New Jersey, Sam Maron, 22, from Ossining, New York, and Kelly Osborne, 39, from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA. See more detailed bios below.

For more information including photos, video, and bios of activists, Click here.

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TIBETAN WOMAN DETAINED ALONG WITH SEVEN OTHERS

Five Tibet activists blockaded the front entrance of the Chinese Ethnic Culture Park, at the south end of the Olympic Park, at 12:30pm today. The five were behind locked bicycles across the entrance to the park, which prominently features an exhibit of Tibetan culture. They wore t-shirts reading “Free Tibet” and held a banner reading “Tibetans Are Dying for Freedom.” A sixth activist, a Tibetan-Japanese woman, made a statement about what they were doing and the situation on the ground in Tibet.

Nearby, two other activists unfurled a banner over a pedestrian bridge, which read “Free Tibet.”

The two activists at the bridge were immediately detained by security officials. The six outside the park were detained after approximately five minutes. The activists are: Pema Yoko, 25, a Tibetan-Japanese woman resident in the UK; Americans Tom Cohen, 41; Martin Thomas, 36; Jennifer Kirby, 30; Jene DeSpain, 31; James Brady, 41; Bani Campozano, 20; and Jonathan Fox, 29, an Israeli-American. Their present whereabouts are unknown.

Click here for more information about the action.

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Five Tibet activists, including a Tibetan woman from Germany, Padma-Dolma Fielitz, 21, staged a protest today at 3:10pm Beijing time just outside the southern entrance of Tiananmen Square.

Padma-Dolma Fielitz and another activist held the Tibetan national flag aloft. As Chinese security officials tried to wrest the flags away, Padma was seen being dragged across the ground. Shortly after, three other activists attempted to unveil a large banner before being removed by Chinese security officials. The banner read: “Tibetans are dying for freedom.” The protest lasted approximately five minutes. All five protesters were detained by the Chinese authorities and their present whereabouts and status are unknown.

Four Tibet activists from Britain and the United States were detained in Beijing today after unfurling Tibetan flags and two 140-square-foot banners outside the Olympic stadium. The first read, “One World, One Dream: Free Tibet” in English, and the second read, “Tibet Will Be Free” in English and “Free Tibet” in Chinese. The whereabouts of the activists are unknown.

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Click here for SFT’s press release

Tibetans and supporters vow to continue fight against China’s injustice

24 August 2008

Dharamshala: On the final day of the Beijing Olympics, hundreds of Tibetans and supporters in Dharamshala joined protesters across the world to voice their opposition to China’s continuous violence against the Tibetans inside Tibet. Adhe Tapontsang (Ama Adhe), a former political prisoner who spent a total of 27 years in Chinese labor camps since her arrest in 1958, was the Chief Guest at the function before the protest. Rigzin Choenyi and Lhundup Sangmo, two of the famous Drapchi 14 who’ve spent 12 and 9 years respectively in Chinese prison gave their testimony to the gathering.

“We urge the international community, and especially members of the media, not to divert their attention from China after the Beijing Olympics, as the Chinese authorities are likely to intensify their hostility towards Tibetans post-Olympics” said Tenzin Choeying, National Director of Students for a Free Tibet - India. “Tibetans and supporters all over the world are deeply concerned about the thousands of Tibetans who have been arrested and ‘disappeared’ since March this year, and we request governments around the world to pressurize China to release all political prisoners,” he continued. Read the rest of this entry »

[Dharamshala]: When China tried to show the world through its exalted opening ceremony under tight security inside as well as outside the Bird’s nest stadium at 08:08:08 pm Beijing time, Tibetans and supporters in Mcleod Ganj came together at the Main Temple for a candle light vigil wearing black masks across their mouth to protest against the lack of freedom of expression in Tibet.

Hundred butter lamps were lit and prayers were offered to the brave Tibetans souls who were killed or imprisoned for speaking out for Freedom and Justice. Read the rest of this entry »