Dear friends of Tibet,

*Chinese police are shooting unarmed Tibetans. We need your help to sound a
global alarm.

An international outcry will help stop China's violent attacks.**

*According to Radio Free Asia reports (article copied below), 5 more
Tibetans have been shot dead in the second day of shootings in eastern
Tibet. On Monday, Chinese security forces opened fire on a crowd of over
6000 unarmed Tibetan protestors in Draggo (Chinese: Luhuo) resulting in the
death of 3 Tibetans. Many others have been seriously injured. Today's
shootings were in Sertha (Chinese: Seda) also in eastern Tibet, near
Draggo, and follow three days of protests. Further protests have also been
reported in Ngaba.

*PLEASE TAKE 5 URGENT ACTIONS TODAY:*

*1. Call your Members of
Congress<https://secure3.convio.net/sft/site/Advocacy?alertId=839&pg=makeACall&JServSessionIdr004=kffreqp9g2.app334b>
* (or make a follow up call) to alert them to the growing crisis in eastern
Tibet and ask for their support.
*2. Call the US Embassy in China tonight* (after 8pm) to express your
concern and request them to take action. Call (86-10) 8531-3000. When you
call, ask to speak with someone in the 'political section'.
*3. Call the Chinese government offices in Ngaba, Golog, and
Draggo<http://goog_160222977>
* *tonight* <http://www.studentsforafreetibet.org/article.php?id=1235>(after
8pm) to alert them to the fact that the world is watching the
situation in eastern Tibet with great concern.
*4. Join the Solidarity
Vigils<http://www.studentsforafreetibet.org/article.php?id=1944>
* being organized in your communities or organize one in solidarity with
Tibetans inside Tibet calling for freedom for Tibet and the return of the
Dalai Lama.
*5. Sign and share* the Enough! Pledge for Global Intervention to Save
Tibetan Lives <http://standupfortibet.org/> and help reach 1million
signatures for Avaaz petition<http://www.avaaz.org/en/save_tibetan_lives_1/>.
Now is a critical time to get as many people, including influential figures
to sign the pledge to stand up for Tibet.

As peaceful protests continue to defiantly spread across Tibet, the Chinese
authorities and security forces are using the most violent of ways to stop
them. Every action that you take today and encourage others to take will
help build global pressure to stop China's violent attacks and support the
Tibetan people's cries for freedom.

With hope and determination,

TenDolkar

*HELPFUL REMINDERS:*

1. If you have already called your representatives, please call again to
update them on the current crisis in Draggo. Please follow up your call
with a thank you email and an update on the current crisis in Tibet:
a) Sample thank you
email<https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NXy2u5kM8fUeD1HdUp173SfifozBG2C0nabKNQDRcZo/edit?hl=en_US>
b) Update on the current crisis in
Tibet<https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kS4wF6RZ6kyYlDGGIPnhT8Q8n8WPzzssZ9QSdA9iMhc/edit?hl=en_US>
c) RFA's article: Chinese Security Forces Fire on Tibetan Protesters in
Second Day of Killing<http://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/protest-01242012093312.html>
2. When calling the US Embassy in China, request the Embassy staff to:
a) contact the Chinese authorities urgently to ascertain the current
situation in Ngaba, Golog, and Draggo, including details of casualties and
detainees, and to obtain assurances that medical treatment has been
provided to all who need it;
b) urge them to request permission to visit Ngaba, Golog, Draggo and other
affected regions of eastern Tibet;
c) press the Chinese government to respect the right of Tibetans to
peaceful protest.
3. We suggest calling the Chinese government offices through Skype or any
non-US phone numbers (as we have heard that they are refusing to pick up
calls from US numbers).
4. Visit SFT's website<http://sft.convio.net/site/R?i=jMIV901pXB3OUzdaUViucg>for
more actions you can take to alert the world to the crisis in Tibet.

*Sample Thank You Email:*
*Dear XXX,

Thank you for speaking with me earlier.

I've copied below more information on the recent events that I discussed
with you over the phone. You can also find those documents here:

Press release on shootings in Tibet: *
http://www.studentsforafreetibet.org/article.php?id=2388
*Information sheet on crisis in Tibet: *http://is.gd/xEntOr*

I am deeply concerned by China’s violent escalation against these peaceful
protests and hope Representative XXX will join other elected leaders in
denouncing these actions. [Add something personal here in your own words -
ie. As a Tibetan-American, I know how brutal the Chinese regime is in
Tibet, and I'm gravely worried that more Tibetan lives will be lost]

I hope Representative/MP XXX will speak up on behalf of the Tibetan people
and human rights and freedom in Tibet by:
1) Pressing for a Congressional resolution on the unprecedented wave of
self-immolations in Tibet;
2) Writing a letter to China’s Ambassador to the U.S. urging restraint and
for China to address Tibetan grievances. Please copy the letter to the
State Department.
3) Issuing a public statement of concern about the crisis in Tibet and/or
signing the Stand Up for Tibet pledge.

The XXX government's strong support for Tibet is greatly appreciated.
Please let me know if you have any questions or require further information.

I look forward to hearing from you on this urgent matter.

Sincerely,
XXX
[your phone #]
[your address]*

*READ MORE:*

1. SFT's press release: Tibetans, Supporters Worldwide Denounce China's
Escalating Violence in Tibet; 3 Reported Dead After Chinese Troops Open
Fire On Protesters <http://studentsforafreetibet.org/article.php?id=2388>
2. RFA report: Chinese Security Forces Fire on Tibetan Protesters in Second
Day of Killing<http://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/protest-01242012093312.html>(copied
below)
3. Statement by the Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues Maria
Otero<http://www.humanrights.gov/2012/01/24/statement-by-the-special-coordinator-for-tibetan-issues-maria-otero/>(released
January 24)

*Chinese security forces fire on Tibetan protesters in second day of
killing. *

Tibetans warmly welcome the release of two monks of Tsitsang monastery in
Kardze county in March, 2011.
Chinese authorities shot dead five Tibetans and seriously wounded 40
others on Tuesday in the second day of bloodshed as protests escalated in
the troubled Kardze (in Chinese, Ganzi) prefecture in Sichuan province,
local sources said.

A crackdown has been launched in Serthar (in Chinese, Seda) county where
the incident occurred as protesters were surrounded by security forces and
all public movements limited, the sources said.

"Tibetans are confined to their house as the Chinese police fire on anyone
who venture to go outside in the streets," a local source told RFA.

Another source said, "all the crossings in the town are blocked by police.

"The hotels, shops and other business in the town were ordered shut and the
situation is extremely tense," the second source said.

Sources said the seriously injured have not been given treatment as people
dare not take them to the hospital.

*Second shooting*

The shooting came a day after at least six Tibetans were believd killed and
an unknown number injured when security forces fired on protesters in
Draggo (in Chinese, Luhuo) county also in the Kardze prefecture, Tibetan
sources in the region and in exile said.

The killings have raised tensions in Tibetan-populated regions of China
following a wave of self-immolation protests beginning in March 2011
against rule by Beijing.

The incident in Serthar on Tuesday sparked off from protests that began on
Monday with posters calling for more self immolations and cautioning
Tibetans not to allow the bodies of those who set themselves ablaze from
being taken away by Chinese security forces, the sources said.

Tibetans in the Kardze area, the Tibetan area of Kham, are renowned for
their strong sense of Tibetan identity and nationalism, the International
Campaign for Tibet said.

"[They] have risked their lives on numerous occasions through
demonstrations, prayer vigils, and solitary protests, in order to convey
their loyalty to [Tibet's spritual leader] the Dalai Lama and their anguish
at the repression since March, 2008," it said.

*More protests*

Protests were also reported in neighboring Ngaba (in Chinese, Aba
prefecture) as several hundred monks and lay Tibetans sat along a road
crossing to speak up against the Chinese rule.

"The laypersons took off their upper clothes and remained half naked
reciting mantra and eating [roasted barley] in protest," one source said.

"They marched to the main town in Meruma and when the Chinese police tried
to block them, they refused to stop and marched ahead," the source said.

"Then the recitation [of mantra] turned into slogans, calling for the long
life of Dalai Lama and freedom for Tibet."

Tibetans who tried to attend a 15-day special prayer at the Kirti monastery
in Ngaba were also stopped and beaten by Chinese security forces, the
source said.

Tensions in the Tibet Autonomous Region and in Tibetan-populated areas in
China's provinces have not subsided since anti-China protests swept through
the Tibetan Plateau in March 2008.

Chinese authorities have blamed the Dalai Lama for the tense situation,
saying he is encouraging the self-immolations, which run contrary to
Buddhist teachings.

But the Dalai Lama blamed China's "ruthless and illogical" policy toward
Tibet.

He called on the Chinese government to change its "repressive" policies in
Tibet, citing the crackdown on monasteries and policies curtailing the use
of the Tibetan language.

*Reported by Thakla Gyal for RFA's Tibetan service. Translated by Karma
Dorjee. Written in English by Parameswaran Ponnudurai. *
--
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Tenzin Dolkar
USA Grassroots Director
Students for a Free Tibet International Headquarters
tdolkar@stud...
T: + 212.358.0071
M: + 917.664.5530
www.studentsforafreetibet.org
www.facebook.com/studentsforafreetibet
www.twitter.com/SFTHQ
blog.studentsforafreetibet.org
www.youtube.com/SFTtv
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