Anti-China protests in Tibet have brought a harsh crackdown.
It was hoped that the prospect of hosting the 2008 Olympics would force China to clean up its human rights act.
In two weeks, China's Olympic celebrations begin with the start of the torch relay. In what can only be described as macabre political theater, the flame — representing the Olympic spirit — is scheduled to be carried through Tibet. I hope all the corporate sponsors of the Beijing Olympics are feeling good about how they decided to spend their advertising dollars.
Civilized countries should boycott the Beijing Olympics. If it is politically impossible to do so at this stage, participating nations, individual athletes and media representatives have a responsibility to publicly and frequently express their concerns about China's human rights record.
If the IOC doesn't move to put pressure on Beijing consistent with its obligations, it risks this Olympics being remembered like the 1936 Games in Berlin. Already, the spirit of the Olympics in Beijing has become associated with the word "genocide," thanks to Stephen Spielberg and the Dalai Lama. Indeed, if the IOC and the rest of the world do not pressure Beijing to stop the crackdown and improve human rights now, a boycott of the Games will widely be seen as justified.
Will his people prevail?
Violence spilled over from Tibet into neighbouring provinces as Tibetan protesters defied a Chinese government crackdown while the Dalai Lama warned that the area faced "cultural genocide" and appealed to the world for help.
1989, the military arrested peaceful protesters and Hu Jintao declared martial law for 14 months. This time around, China's one-party leadership has another incentive to muffle protests: the Olympics. China won the Games after assuring the International Olympic Committee that it would respect human rights. The Tibetan uprising is thus a major embarrassment, all the more so because Beijing has been increasing its heavy-handed control of the province. The Olympics were supposed to be a showcase for Chinese progress. Instead, the government's fear of political dissent and its authoritarian overreaction are showing the world that far too little has changed since Tiananme
ina must hope, and friends of Tibet must fear, that when the Dalai Lama dies, much of the momentum towards Tibet's eventual freedom will die with him. Don't count on it. Tibet will still be a country that is ethnically and culturally very different from China. It's not a question of preserving Tibet's ancient culture; that hangs on in remote villages, but it's mostly gone in Lhasa. It would have changed anyway. Mobile phones and the internet would have undermined Tibet's oppressively religious polity, already being reformed by the current Dalai Lama, just as they are doing to China's version of communism. It's a question of identity. The fact remains that Tibetans feel Tibetan. No amount of economic development will change that. It's also true that China is implacable in its determination to stay put. Only a settlement that allows Tibetans genuine freedoms and economic equality will bring lasting peace. And that means meaningful agreements with the Dalai Lama. Only then will Tibetans begin to trust the Chines
