Rev. Danny Fisher

In the masthead/blogroll/links to the right, there’s a section called “Dedication of Merit.” At present, the National League for Democracy and Tibetan flags are currently flying there. With this area of the blog I’m saying that I hope whatever positive energy is generated from my posting and your reading benefits especially the people or causes listed.

In the past, the Dedication of Merit section featured the blogs of two men my age struggling with leukemia: my friend and former Naropa M.Div. colleague J.J. and his friend Matt (pictured above and to the left with his girlfriend Ellen in a snapshot taken for his blog). I was very sorry to hear recently that Matt died last month after his cancer returned for the third time.

Though I didn’t know Matt, we were connected through both J.J. and (in a “small world” twist) my old college chum Sarah. I followed his blog and would receive occasional updates about him and Ellen from Sarah. I’m very sad to know that he’s gone and I’m thinking a lot about him and Ellen and their families.

Matt’s sister recently participated in a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I intend to donate in Matt’s memory, and I hope you’ll consider supporting this organization as well.

Matt also volunteered his services as a photographer (right on through his illness) with Street Sense, a D.C.-area newspaper run by the homeless in support of homeless causes. He would probably have appreciated support for their work as well. You can donate to the paper here.

Reuters offers some sad updates on the situation in Tibet today:

China on Saturday gave Tibetan independence protesters an ultimatum to surrender after riots in Lhasa which killed at least 10 people in the worst unrest in the region for two decades.

The tough response by the Chinese authorities came after fierce protests on Friday which contradicted China’s claims of stability and tarnished a carefully-nurtured image of national harmony as it readies to stage the Olympic Games in August.

The official Tibetan judicial authorities gave protesters until Monday night to turn themselves in and benefit from leniency.

“Criminals who do not surrender themselves by the deadline will be sternly punished according to the law,” said a notice on the Tibetan government Web site (www.tibet.gov.cn).

International pressure mounted on Beijing to show restraint. Australia, the United States and Europe urged the Chinese authorities to find a peaceful outcome, while Taiwan, which China claims as its own, predictably condemned Beijing for launching a crackdown.

Xinhua news agency said 10 “innocent civilians” had been shot or burnt to death in the street clashes in the remote, mountain capital which has been sealed off. The dead included two people killed by shotguns.

A source close to the Tibetan government-in-exile, however, questioned the official death toll of 10. He said at least five Tibetan protesters had been shot dead by troops.

Some Tibet monitoring organizations outside the country put the death toll at up to 32.

A Western tourist said that Lhasa itself was like a ghost town on Saturday, though it was packed with Chinese soldiers. Many Tibetans had tied white prayer scarves to their doors in a gesture of protest.

Actor Richard Gere, who also serves as chair of the board of directors for the International Campaign for Tibet and is the director of the Gere Foundation, spoke yesterday to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer about the current situation in Tibet. You can watch that footage below.

Speaking about the violence that has erupted in Lhasa this week between Tibetan protestors and Chinese police, His Holiness the Dalai Lama said today:

[I am] deeply concerned over the situation that has been developing in Tibet following peaceful protests…[And I call on China to] stop using force and address the long-simmering resentment of the Tibetan people through dialogue with the Tibetan people. I also urge my fellow Tibetans not to resort to violence.

The U.S.-based Buddhist Peace Fellowship also spoke out today about the situation. They issued a statement, which I found courtesy of Peter Renner’s terrific blog Waking Up:

As hundreds of Buddhist monks and ordinary citizens take to the streets of Lhasa protesting Chinese occupation of Tibet, like their brothers and sisters in Burma last September, they have been met with beatings and bullets.

In solidarity with the people of Tibet…we condemn the Chinese government’s suppression of peaceful demonstrations, the closing of monasteries, and the broad imposition of martial law. The violent response Chinese security forces only adds fuel to fires that they set many years ago.

The Chinese occupation, in place since 1951, continues throughout Tibet, amounting to de facto ethnic cleansing, destroying indigenous Tibetan culture by a massive Chinese population transfer and economic infiltration, backed up by the barrel of a gun. According to the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT), “In Tibet’s cities and fertile valleys, particularly in eastern Tibet, Chinese outnumber Tibetans by two and sometimes three to one.” A statement from His Holiness the Dalai Lama appeals “to the Chinese leadership to stop using force and address the long-simmering resentment of the Tibetan people through dialogue with the Tibetan people…I also urge my fellow Tibetans not to resort to violence.”

We second the Dalai Lama’s appeal, and condemn the violent repression of natural and proper protest of China’s longstanding repression of Tibet. We ask all friends of Tibet—people and governments—to do the same. We call on the government of the People’s Republic of China to release all Tibetans held on political charges. Finally we encourage the brave and patient people of Tibet to stay strong, and to uphold the Buddha’s teachings of nonviolence.

Finally, Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) offers a statement as well. (I found this one at The Interdependent.) He says:

I am deeply disturbed by reports of a crackdown and arrests ordered by Chinese authorities in the wake of peaceful protests by Tibetan Buddhist monks. I condemn the use of violence to put down peaceful protests, and call on the Chinese government to respect the basic human rights of the people of Tibet, and to account for the whereabouts of detained Buddhist monks.

These events come on the 49th anniversary of the exile of the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists, the Dalai Lama. They demonstrate the continuing frustration of the Tibetan people at the way in which Beijing has ruled Tibet. There has been an informal dialogue between Chinese leaders and the Dalai Lama’s representatives over the past six years. It is good that they have been talking, but China has thus far shown no flexibility on the substance of those discussions. Indeed, it has delayed in scheduling the latest round, despite the willingness of the Tibetans to continue dialogue.

If Tibetans are to live in harmony with the rest of China’s people, their religion and culture must be respected and protected. Tibet should enjoy genuine and meaningful autonomy. The Dalai Lama should be invited to visit China, as part of a process leading to his return.

This is the year of the Beijing Olympics. It represents an opportunity for China to show the world what it has accomplished in the last several decades. Those accomplishments have been extraordinary and China’s people have a right to be proud of them, but the events in Tibet these last few days unfortunately show a different face of China. Now is the time for Beijing to take steps that would change the image people have of China later this year by changing the reality of how they treat Tibet and Tibetans. Now is the time to respect the human rights and religious freedom of the people of Tibet.