The Olympics may have brought Tibet to the world-wide public conscience, (or attention anyway), and, sad to say, it is highly unlikely there will be dramatic changes in China’s policies.
Most people know of the recent riots and protests by monks. How many know about the forced sterilisation of Tibetan women? How many have heard about the falling birth rate amongst Tibetans? How many care about the “China-isation” of Tibet with Hang Chinese moving in, especially into the capital, Lhasa? Who cares about the nomads having their livestock taken from them, and hence their living? Know how they are forced to live in concrete jungles far from anywhere? “Improved living conditions according to the Chinese!
Anyone know or care about the torture used against Tibetan protestors? Or the claim by some that it is the Cultural Revolution all over again – complete with all the human suffering and abuse of human rights that entailed. “Re-education” is another buzz word you don’t hear much about either. None so deaf as those that will not hear.
And who can honestly claim that politics and sport should be kept apart and then sleep well at night? Who can cast aside the human suffering in pursuit of contracts and “international relationships”? Governments, sure, because their interest lies in business and profit, leaving human rights bleeding by life’s road side. NGO’s sure because they sit aloof in their ivory towers – far removed from the sordid real world as they prepare reports and battle for position, (what action did the U.N. take to prevent or halt the slaughter of 800,000 Tutsis in 2004? Back at U.N headquarters in New York, the killings were initially categorized as a breakdown in the cease-fire between the Tutsi and Hutu. Throughout the massacre, both the U.N. and the U.S. carefully refrained from labeling the killings as genocide, which would have necessitated some kind of emergency intervention.
Sports bodies like the IOC fail to take any action because to do so would mean admitting that they were morally wrong to agree to this in the first place.
Yet there are people who care – individuals, human rights organisations such as Amnesty, Human Rights watch, Everyone group, to name but a few.
And how many remember the outpouring of many individuals that finally brought about some sort of positive result with the young gay Iranian Mehdi? Where are their voices now? Silenced many of them – as though that was the only human rights problem that existed.
There is an old saying – many hands make light work”. Then, how come, those many hands, (voices too), are silent now, hoping someone else will do something.
Sarkozy is now considering his options on attending the opening, although he is holding the current EU presidency.
I know, I am just a dumb man in the street, while politicians are ….. well, more dumb “men”, only they’re not in the street – they’re in power.
Power corrupts – absolute power corrupts absolutely, (quotation by John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton, first Baron Acton,1834–1902). They don’t come much more corrupt than China’s leadership. And they don’t come much more heartless than all those political leaders, officials and U.N. personnel – personal opinion, of course.
Most people know of the recent riots and protests by monks. How many know about the forced sterilisation of Tibetan women? How many have heard about the falling birth rate amongst Tibetans? How many care about the “China-isation” of Tibet with Hang Chinese moving in, especially into the capital, Lhasa? Who cares about the nomads having their livestock taken from them, and hence their living? Know how they are forced to live in concrete jungles far from anywhere? “Improved living conditions according to the Chinese!
Anyone know or care about the torture used against Tibetan protestors? Or the claim by some that it is the Cultural Revolution all over again – complete with all the human suffering and abuse of human rights that entailed. “Re-education” is another buzz word you don’t hear much about either. None so deaf as those that will not hear.
And who can honestly claim that politics and sport should be kept apart and then sleep well at night? Who can cast aside the human suffering in pursuit of contracts and “international relationships”? Governments, sure, because their interest lies in business and profit, leaving human rights bleeding by life’s road side. NGO’s sure because they sit aloof in their ivory towers – far removed from the sordid real world as they prepare reports and battle for position, (what action did the U.N. take to prevent or halt the slaughter of 800,000 Tutsis in 2004? Back at U.N headquarters in New York, the killings were initially categorized as a breakdown in the cease-fire between the Tutsi and Hutu. Throughout the massacre, both the U.N. and the U.S. carefully refrained from labeling the killings as genocide, which would have necessitated some kind of emergency intervention.
Sports bodies like the IOC fail to take any action because to do so would mean admitting that they were morally wrong to agree to this in the first place.
Yet there are people who care – individuals, human rights organisations such as Amnesty, Human Rights watch, Everyone group, to name but a few.
And how many remember the outpouring of many individuals that finally brought about some sort of positive result with the young gay Iranian Mehdi? Where are their voices now? Silenced many of them – as though that was the only human rights problem that existed.
There is an old saying – many hands make light work”. Then, how come, those many hands, (voices too), are silent now, hoping someone else will do something.
Sarkozy is now considering his options on attending the opening, although he is holding the current EU presidency.
I know, I am just a dumb man in the street, while politicians are ….. well, more dumb “men”, only they’re not in the street – they’re in power.
Power corrupts – absolute power corrupts absolutely, (quotation by John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton, first Baron Acton,1834–1902). They don’t come much more corrupt than China’s leadership. And they don’t come much more heartless than all those political leaders, officials and U.N. personnel – personal opinion, of course.
It wouldn't be the first time countries have boycotted the games - Netherlands, Spain an Switzerland in 1956. 65 nations refused to compete in the Moscow Olympics of 1980 becase of the Russian invasion of Afghanistan.
Hope whichever god you choose to worship forgives Gordon Brown and all those like him who choose to trivialise the events in Tibet and talk about "continuing dialogue bringing about change".
Continuing dialogue? A polite term for VERBAL DIARRHOEA.
No comments:
Post a Comment