Don't Mess with a Monk

Written by: DFA Staff on Apr 9, 2008 4:30 PM EDT

The Buddhist monks in Tibet have been brilliantly using the run-up to the Beijing Olympics to shine a light on the human rights situation in this formerly free and independent country.  The New York Times reports:

China suffered another unexpected public relations setback on Wednesday when Buddhist monks interrupted a government-managed news media tour in western China by waving a Tibetan flag and protesting that the authorities were depriving them of their human rights.

The disruption, in Xiahe, a city in Gansu Province, was the second in which monks had upstaged government efforts to control foreign media tours of Tibetan areas.

Last month, several monks in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, risked official punishment when they made an emotional appeal to foreign journalists inside the Jokhang Monastery, one of the city’s holiest shrines.

Free Tibet!

Danny
Communications Director

Tags: