Sting, Dave Matthews, John Mayer and other's aid Tibet's struggle

Kevin Mazur/WireImage.com, AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, AP Photo/Dan Steinberg


07/22/08 by Natalie Finn

Just in time for China's moment in the spotlight, some of the biggest voices in showbiz are taking another stand on behalf of Tibet.
Sting, John Mayer and Dave Matthews are among the rockers lending their musicianship to Songs for Tibet, an all-star album intended to draw more attention to the Asian province's ongoing struggle for national sovereignty.
The album, which will also feature tunes by Alanis Morissette, Moby and Garbage, will have a global release on iTunes Aug. 5, three days before the 2008 Summer Olympics get underway in Beijing. Hard copies will hit stores Aug. 12.
"We wanted to express our support for the Tibetan people and their message of peace through music, a fundamental means of expression, at a time when the eyes of the world are on China," said the Art of Peace Foundation's Michael Wohl, whose Dalai Lama-supporting nonprofit is behind the CD project.
Also on the track list are songs from Rush, Suzanne Vega, Imogen Heap, Damien Rice, Underworld and Duncan Sheik.
"The commitment and enthusiasm from such a wide group of artists has been astonishing and truly heartfelt. It's been exciting orchestrating such an historic project," album producer Rupert Hine said.
Wohl added: "This album will focus people's attention on the importance of Tibet, the gifts of its culture, and the crisis the Tibetan people are facing today."
And yes, the timing of Songs for Tibet's release was deliberate, he said.
In addition to being the culmination of four years—or lifetimes—of training for thousands of athletes from all over the world, this year's Olympics has been the most controversial since the Cold War-era Moscow Games, which the U.S. and others chose to boycott in 1980.
China has been questioned from all sides about a range of issues, from its air pollution to its human-rights record to its ties to the Sudanese government.
Steven Spielberg stepped down from his role as artistic adviser of the Beijing Olympics earlier this year in opposition to China's relationship with Sudan despite the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Darfur.
In March, both Björk and the seemingly less controversial Harry Connick Jr. were both told to keep a lid on it—Björk after she shouted pro-Tibet sentiments during a concert in Shanghai, and Connick before he'd even sung a word.
Shortly after Björk was denounced for "turning a commercial show into a political performance," censors forced the New Orleans-bred crooner to revise his set list after certain songs on the original list were deemed off limits.
China has ruled Tibet since 1951, an arrangement that, according to critics, has resulted in widespread political, religious and cultural oppression.
As many as 250 people were reported killed during a government crackdown in March that resulted in widespread rioting. Chinese officials have said that its forces killed no more than one person, and that TIbetan rioters were responsible for at least 21 deaths.

PRESIDENTS OF FIVE TIBETAN NGOs TRANSFERRED TO JAIL IN HARDWAR

Nainital - Five Presidents of the leading Tibetan non-governmental organizations in India, Tsewang Rigzin, B Tsering, Ngawang Woebar, Chime Youngdrung, and Tenzin Choeying, and one coordinator of the March to Tibet, Lobsang Yeshi, were transferred from Haldwani Police Station to Roshanabad Jail in Hardwar. They are being held under Indian Penal Code Section 151 and CRPC sections 106 and 107, according to which the Presidents, as organizers of the March to Tibet, are being accused of jeopardizing the lives of the 300 marchers.

“We are outraged that the peaceful leaders of a nonviolent march would be arrested and jailed,” said Choekyi, a Tibetan resident of Hardwar who broke into tears as she witnessed the six leaders being escorted through the jail gates. “They are not criminals; they are simply fighting China’s occupation of Tibet by using nonviolent means.”

The police have been meeting with the local village heads of Banspatan, encouraging them to create a list of complaints against the marchers. “They will use it as an excuse to remove us from here,” said Karma Sichoe, a member of the Organizing Committee. “The local Indians have been extremely welcoming and friendly, but the police are forcing them to help build a case against the Tibetan marchers.”

“Our fight is with the Chinese government, not the Indian government,” said Sherab Woeser, a main coordinator of the march. “We neither want to turn back nor do we want to stay here. We just want to walk peacefully to our ancestral homeland. Why would Tibetans need permission to return to our own home?”

Tibetans around the world have been alarmed by reports of continued repression in Tibet. Peaceful demonstrations for human rights and freedom have been consistently suppressed and monks and nuns have borne the brunt of the Chinese government’s crackdown in recent days.

According to the Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy, in Kardze, Tibet (Ch: Sichuan Province), three nuns of Dragkar Nunnery and a female student were arrested by Kardze County Public Security Bureau (PSB) officials for staging a protest on May 28. After the first demonstration of the three nuns was broken up and the nuns taken away, 21-year-old female student Rigden Lhamo unfurled the Tibetan national flag and shouted slogans calling for freedom for Tibet, the release of political prisoners, and the return of the Dalai Lama to Tibet.

According to an eyewitness, security forces fired gunshots during the brief protest by the student Lhamo. It was unclear whether Rigden Lhamo was shot or injured but another eyewitness reported bloodstains on the body of Rigden Lhamo as she was taken away. Rigden Lhamo is from Lhakey Village, Thingkha Township, in Kardze County. Her current whereabouts are unknown.

The March to Tibet started on March 10th from Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, and reached Banspatan after traversing through many states over the course of 74 days. On the fourth day of the March, the first group of 100 marchers were arrested and put under judicial custody for 14 days. However, a second group of 48 Tibetan exiles resumed the March two days after the arrest and were joined by the first group soon after their release.

Tibetans living in exile in India launched the March to Tibet as part of the Tibetan People’s Uprising Movement. On the same day that the march was launched, monks from monasteries in Lhasa, as well as in eastern Tibet, led nonviolent demonstrations, shouting slogans supporting the Dalai Lama and independence for Tibet. Chinese authorities brutally suppressed peaceful protests that continued for days, leading to rioting in the capital and a wave of large public demonstrations that have rippled across the country.

The March to Tibet and the Tibetan People’s Uprising Movement aim to revive the spirit of the Tibetan National Uprising of 1959, and engage in nonviolent direct action to bring about an end to China’s illegal occupation of Tibet.