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Contact:    Tenzin Dorjee in New York: +1 917-289-0228

New York – One month before the Beijing Olympics, Chinese authorities are engaged in a campaign of severe repression in Tibet designed to prevent protests during the Games. With the Olympics fast approaching, Tibetans and Tibet supporters worldwide are expressing outrage at China's continued clampdown in Tibet, the complete failure of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to press for human rights improvements, and the recent decisions of world leaders, including U.S. President George W. Bush, to attend the Olympics opening ceremonies. The Beijing Olympics open one month from tomorrow on August 8, 2008.

According to sources in eastern Tibet, over one thousand Tibetan monks from the three main monasteries around Lhasa have been imprisoned in jails and detention centers far from the Tibetan capital in what China calls its Qinghai Province. Hundreds of these monks have reportedly been detained in and around the city of Gormo (Ch: Golmud), in the Amdo region of historical Tibet, more than 1,000 kilometers north of Lhasa. Many more are reportedly being held in Siling (Ch: Xining) on the eastern edge of the Tibetan plateau. In The Times, Beijing-based journalist Jane Macartney reports (July 7) that the monks will be held until after the Beijing Games, whereupon they will be forced to return to their home villages. A large majority of the monks studying in Lhasa have traveled there from other parts of Tibet to study at the renowned Sera, Drepung, and Ganden monasteries around the capital.

"The Chinese government has locked up over a thousand Buddhist monks in Tibet to crush any sign of dissent during the Olympics," said Lhadon Tethong, Executive Director of Students for a Free Tibet. "This is the latest in a series of Beijing's despicable acts that use the Olympics as an excuse to crack down on Tibetan cries for human rights and freedom."

Students for a Free Tibet calls upon the government of the People's Republic of China to immediately release all those Tibetans who have been detained without charge or due process of law. Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights decrees that "no one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile."

"The Chinese authorities are planning to perpetrate a massive fraud during the Olympics, attempting to convince the world that all is well while Tibetans continue to suffer under China's brutal occupation," said Tenzin Dorjee, Deputy Director of Students for a Free Tibet.

Just over two weeks ago, Chinese authorities placed the Tibetan capital Lhasa under virtual martial law to parade the Olympic torch through streets lined with thousands of Chinese troops. Journalists who joined a government-controlled tour of Lhasa during the torch relay reported that there were virtually no monks in Lhasa or at nearby monasteries.

Along with a network of over 150 Tibet groups, Students for a Free Tibet has launched an "Athlete Wanted" campaign, appealing to Olympic athletes from every participating nation to speak out for Tibet while in Beijing. During the recent U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials in Eugene, Oregon, Tibetans and their supporters reached out to athletes, distributing thousands of informational flyers and other materials about Tibet to Olympic hopefuls and their families.

"We are extremely disappointed that President Bush and other world leaders are turning a blind eye to the suffering of the Tibetan people and attending the Olympics opening ceremonies," said Han Shan, Olympics Campaign Coordinator for Students for a Free Tibet. "We are appealing to athletes to show these leaders the true meaning of courage and character by standing up for Tibet at the Beijing Olympics."

The coalition of Tibet groups recently launched www.AthleteWanted.org, where athletes can find ideas and resources for showing support for Tibet in Beijing this summer. The website suggests nonviolent symbolic statements such as raising a Tibetan flag, wearing 'Team Tibet' clothing, and gives advice on speaking to media about Tibet.

With only one month remaining until the opening of the Beijing Olympics, Tibetans throughout the entire Tibetan plateau continue to suffer under a massive clampdown by Chinese authorities. Tibet was recently reopened to foreign tourists, though most monasteries remain off-limits. International media remain barred from Tibet, with the exception of reporters invited to join four small, tightly-controlled government tours since the uprising began on March 10th, anniversary of the 1959 uprising against China's occupation. Hundreds of Tibetans were killed in China's violent crackdown against Tibetan protests, and thousands remain detained. Buddhist monasteries and nunneries throughout Tibet have been sealed off, and Chinese officials have touted political indoctrination campaigns designed to break Tibetan resistance to Chinese rule.

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