Campaign Strategies for Regional TWA
Raise the Tibetan Flag Campaign
Introduction
International Tibet Support Network (ITSN) has forwarded a strategic campaign on raising the Tibetan National Flag during the days (March 10 - March 17). March 10 marks the Tibetan National Uprising Day; March 12 marks the National Tibetan Women's Uprising Day, March 14 marks the 1st anniversary of the 2008 March Uprising in Tibet and March 17 marks the 50th year of His Holiness the Dalai Lama leaving Lhasa, Tibet. Please pay close attention to the guidelines provided in attachment (one). Please fill in the addressee (councilor) and reprint the petition on the RTWA official paper and petition it to the concerned official along with a National Tibetan Flag.
The Tibetan national flag is a potent symbol for all Tibetans and to see the flag flying high across the regions of the world shows support and solidarity both with Tibetans inside Tibet and in exile.
Part of the 50th Anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising is to raise public awareness about the strength of Tibetan identity and the determination and resistance of Tibetans inside Tibet. The images in March 2008 of Tibetans in Tibet bravely displaying Tibetan flags is an image that none of us will forget and in the process theTibetan flag became enhanced as a symbol of the movement. Some member groups have been doing this kind of action very successfully for many years and on 10 March 2008 the Tibetan flag flew high all around the world. In Charlottesville, Virginia, USA, Mayor Dave Norris resisted attempts from the Chinese Embassy to call a halt to a planned flag raising and the flag flew proudly from Charlottesville City Hall. In the Czech Republic Environment Minister Martin Bursik and Green Party Deputy Chair Katerina Jacques flew the Tibetan flag from the Czech Parliament declaring their solidarity with Tibetans alongside 348 flag raisings at town halls across the country. Tibetan flags are flown annually across Poland and Germany. In 2008 over 900 towns and cities raised the flag in Germany alone. Indeed, the flag was bravely flown in Tibet itself, amidst the historic protests that spread across the region in March 2008.
In 2009, upon the 50th anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising, a year on from those courageous demonstrations, join Tibetans and their supporters across the globe and raise the Tibetan Flag. There are many places where a Tibetan flag can be raised or displayed. Here are just a few of the suggested places that could fly a flag:
-
Schools
-
Shops
-
Libraries
-
Pubs/bars
-
Sports grounds
-
Village/Public Halls
-
Offices
-
Local landmarks
-
Your home
-
On cars
How to start a flag raising campaign
Your group and supporters can contact local councils and request that they fly the Tibetan flag on council buildings and town halls during the month of March 2009 as an act of remembrance for those Tibetans who lost their lives 50 years ago.The first point of contact should be the local councillor who serves your ward. You will most likely be able to do this by using the internet. Most countries will have a specific site to enable you to find out your area representative at local, national and international level. Alternatively you can call your local council directly or ask at your local library for a copy of a Municipal Year Book, which will contain information and contact details for councillors.
You can also present your case to higher levels of your local council and contact the Council Leader or Executive Committee Chair. (Please note: ways to contact representatives will vary for each country but this overview is quite standard across the regions.)
The main way of contacting councillors is by writing letters to them. You can address letters to a councillor 'care of' the council headquarters. It should be suggested to supporters that when writing to a councillor, they:
-
Either type the letter (preferably) or use blue or black ink on white paper.
-
Give background information about the Tibetan National Uprising and why the 50th anniversary is so significant.
-
Keep it brief. Write one (preferably) or two (at most) sides of A4 paper. If they are enclosing any supplementary material about the situation in Tibet or the Tibetan National Uprising ensure it is concise as your councillor is unlikely to have time to read long texts.
-
Be polite and fairly formal in tone.
-
Be creative! Let's fly the flag as widely as possible!
-
This pack is just a starter pack to use prior to ITSN member groups receiving a specially designed tool kit from Raise a Tibetan Flag Campaign.
Suggested letter text
Dear Councillor [NAME]
I am writing to draw your attention to the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising and an opportunity for [YOUR LOCAL] Council to mark the occasion with a gesture of goodwill toward the Tibetan people. On 10 March 1959 mass demonstrations by the Tibetan people calling for their freedom from China's rule were met with a brutal response from the Chinese military. It is estimated that at least 100,000 Tibetans were killed at the hands of the People's Liberation Army of China as a result of the Uprising. This tragedy for the Tibetan people was compounded by the need of the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, to flee into exile seven days later, where he has remained since.
As a mark of respect for those who lost their lives and in remembrance of the tragic events of March 1959, I am requesting that [YOUR LOCAL] Council fly the Tibetan flag from council premises to mark the Tibetan Uprising Day on 10 March. Such a symbolic gesture has been carried out by hundreds of supporters across the world for the past nine years.
I would like to ask you to raise this matter with your fellow councillors and to encourage a decision to join with councils worldwide and raise the Tibetan flag over [NAME OF COUNCIL HEADQUARTERS] in March 2009.
Yours Sincerely,
[YOUR NAME]
(NOTE: This suggested text can be adapted for use with schools, libraries, shops etc)
Global Signature Campaign
Tibetan Women's Association is spearheading a global signature campaign that seeks to appeal the European Parliament to implement the resolution passed in the year 2000. Please find the details below. Please reprint the covering letter on you official paper and create a signature collection sheet and collect as many signatures as possible. Please make sure that you direct the collected signature along with the appeal letter to the president of the European Parliament. Do update the Central Tibetan Women's Association on the total number of signatures collected.
Hans-Gert Pottering
President of the European Parliament
Wiertzstraat
1047 Brussels
Belgium
Telephone : (+32.2)284.21.11
Fax : (+32.2)284.90.75
Subject: A Global Signature Campaign to appeal the European Parliament on TGIE'ss recognition
On the occasion of the 50th Commemoration of National Tibetan Women's Uprising Day, Tibetan Women across the globe appeals the European Parliament to reassess and implement their resolution to recognize the Tibetan Government in Exile.
The unwavering support of the European Union towards the cause of Tibet has been consistent and commendable. However there can be no rest, no respite while conditions within Tibet remain unchanged. The sleuthing trend for the international countries to walk the tightrope when it comes to addressing the issue of human rights violations in Tibet and in bringing a viable solution to resolve the issue of Tibet does recoil the Tibetan struggle. Tibetan Women's Association stands unreserved in our condemnation of the atrocities of the Chinese rule and we urge the members of the European Parliament to bring a foreseeable and practical realization to the June 2000 resolution tabled on June 6, 2000 at the European Parliament where it sought "the governments of the Member States to give serious consideration to the possibility of recognizing the Tibetan Government in exile as the legitimate representative of the Tibetan people if, within three years, the Beijing authorities and the Tibetan government in exile have not signed an agreement on a new Statute for Tibet, through negotiations organized under the aegis of the Secretary-General of the United Nations".
Six years since the deadline of July 2003, the resolution still remains standing and unimplemented with no concrete overtures. As the Tibetan freedom struggle reaches its 50th year, the recognition of TGIE as the legitimate representation of the Tibetan people, in its 49th year of its founding and successful establishment, is due and of indispensable significance in the midst of the perpetuating brutalities and atrocities committed by the Chinese People's Liberation Army in Tibet that have scarred the past 50 years for the Tibetan people. Still rampant as before, the agitprop of the Chinese government obscures the ongoing tragedy inside Tibet to the rest of the world. Therefore we request the members of the European parliament to heed and implement the long over-due resolution before the June 2009 European elections.
The proposed recognition will secure the future of Tibet and will bring reassurance, hope and encouragement to the six million Tibetans both inside and outside Tibet with unwavering faith in the indomitable leadership of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
The restoration of a peaceful Tibet as envisioned and outlined by His Holiness the Dalai Lama through the Middle Way approach will benefit the whole of Asia politically and environmentally and will contribute fundamentally to world peace. We urge the Chinese leadership to seize this opportunity, to change the image of China from one of despotic tyranny to one of open transparent government, from of a regime of violence and oppression to a nation founded upon freedom and justice. We beseech the Chinese Government to open actual, honest negotiation with His Holiness the Dalai Lama and work sincerely towards resolving the issue of Tibet in the interests of both Chinese and Tibetan peoples.
We also request the world parliamentarians to embark on formulating a proposal to recognize the Tibetan Government in exile as the rightful representative of the struggle and spirit of the Tibetan people.
The Tibetan Women's Association (TWA) has 49 regional chapters across the globe and over 15, 000 members outside Tibet. Today, TWA is the second largest Tibetan NGO and the only women's NGO in exile that advocates human rights for Tibetan women in Tibet and works to empower Tibetan women in exile, in particular newly arriving refugees from Tibet.
Global Signature Campaign; Tibetan Women's Association is spearheading a global signature campaign that seeks to appeal the European Parliament to implement the resolution passed in the year 2000. Please find the details in the attachment (two). Please reprint the covering letter on you official paper and create a signature collection sheet and collect as many signatures as possible. Please make sure that you direct the collected signature along with the appeal letter to the president of the European Parliament. Do update the Central Tibetan Women's Association on the total number of signatures collected.