Statement of Solidarity from The Society for Threatened Peoples as a cooperating organizer to the demonstration at the Brandenburg Tor

A Public Address from the General-Secretary of The Society for Threatened Peoples (GfbV) Tilman Zülch

"We expect a large demonstration with a peaceful atmosphere", says the appeal from the Tibet Initiative in Germany meeting today at the Brandenburg Tor. Several well-known music groups and art exhibits will be present to honour Tibet, and 3000 balloons will be released in an expression of solidarity.

The purpose of the demonstration and reasons why so many people are meeting today at the Brandenburg Tor are very serious and tragic: in the past weeks the Chinese military has hunted, beaten and arrested Tibetan monks, and people of all ages. The Tibetans have lifted themselves out of persecution and oppression, and do not possess the capacity to bear it any longer. More than 200 people have been murdered, 5, 700 imprisoned, and many have disappeared without a trace.

The enragement of the Tibetan people causing this national uprising has a history that can not be forgotten. The genocide of 1.2 million Tibetans began in 1959 and lasted to the time of Mao's Cultural Revolution. However, at the time of the revolution 80% of monasteries and national monuments in Tibet were already destroyed.

German politicians rightfully and constantly keep in mind the crimes which were committed during the National Socialist period in Germany, but as a responsibility to those who voted them into power, they should not be allowed to conceal or ignore the genocide and ongoing persecution in Tibet.

Human rights dialogues carried out behind closed doors or that are carried on today by Kurt Beck, Gerhard Schroeder, or Frank Walter Steinmeier with their Chinese counterparts are illogical if the horrible fate of the Tibetans is kept hidden from the German people. Furthermore no mention would then be made in regards to the Chinese work camps where up to two million detainees are imprisoned, or the thousands of peaceful Falun-Gong devotees who have had their organs forcefully removed, or the thousands of Uyghur people who have disappeared and have been executed for political reasons.

On the other hand the responsible and involved negotiations of Heidemarie Wieczorek Zeul successfully tied together development politics and human rights. We would also like to thank the Chancellor for her reception and discussions with the Dalai Lama.

The Society for Threatened Peoples has supported the Tibetans for 14 years, as well as those in need in Darfur, Rwanda, Bosnia, and in Iraqi -Kurdistan. Thanks to our status with the United Nations we are able to make the human rights violations these countries as well as in Tibet a topic among various international bodies within the UN.

The Chinese Government's political engagement on behalf of the victims who have been devastatingly affected by the recent earthquake is equally significant as when it previously granted Hong Kong its right to self-government. These actions may point to the first hopeful sign of a possible shift in the structure of Chinese deliberation.

The Society for Threatened Peoples would like it to be remembered that the Tibetan people have a right to the protection to their identity, their language, their culture, and their tradition, as well as a right to autonomy. This is a realistic course of action in the future. Current model autonomies world wide have found solutions for the problems of minorities and smaller ethnic communities or have made improvements in the areas of North Ireland, Catalonia, South Tyrol, Aceh in Indonesia, and the province of Quebec in Canada.

It is imperative for all us to support such groups.

Instead of fuelling anxiety, Foreign Minister Steinmeier and the head of the SPD party Mr. Kurt Beck have a responsibility to inform the German and international public that granting Tibet's autonomy is a realistic way toward a solution in the area of Chinese Tibet, and furthermore a solution to the international Tibetan crisis.

Tilman Zülch