STUDENTS FOR A FREE TIBET, Call for action.....Tibetan Protests meeting resistance/violence...please write to your senator/Congressman/U.S. State Department/Chinese Govt....suggested letters included

    Below is an email from the group "Students for a Free Tibet"..... It is meant to be shared with people So, please send it out to folks..... The Tibetans are being beat up and put in prison for peaceful marches. India is trying to stop the march of Tibetans back into Tibet.... ......siding with China, since they have become "business partners". Its time to let your voices be heard......please send mail, emails, and post blogs to protest  the continued suppression/cultural 'absorption' of the Tibetan peoples. ***************Mass email with specific update info & instructions**************  Dear Patrick,  Hundreds of Tibetans inside Tibet have carried out protests over the past two days to mark the 49th anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising and to demand freedom. Sources from Lhasa report the situation there is extremely tense after Chinese troops stopped two major protest marches by monks from Drepung Monastery and Sera Monasery - the two largest monasteries in Tibet.  A smaller group of monks and lay people also protested in front of the Jokhang temple on Monday, displaying a Tibetan flag and calling for independence. According to the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, the protesters, ranging in age from 15 to 40 years old, were arrested and beaten. To read a Dutch tourist's eye-witness report of the incident: http://steve.ulrike.stivi.be/english/list.php?LijstNr=2&Item=55  Please take immediate action to show support for these peaceful protests and to help protect the individuals involved. Send the letter below and please call the Chinese authorities in Lhasa, Tibetto show them the whole world is monitoring their actions closely.  Note: Lhasa is 12 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time (EST) so please call after 9pm EST. Secretary of the Chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR): +86 891 632 5889 TAR People's Government : +86 891 633 2067 People's Armed Police (Riot troop division): +86 891 633 0443 TAR People's Congress: +86 891 683 2423  If the person on the phone doesn't speak English, please read out loud the below lines in Chinese. English: The Chinese government must not arrest the Tibetans Chinese: "jang-fu bu-shue daibu zang-tsu" (Pinyin: zhengfu buxu daibu zangzu)  English: We are watching you Chinese: "wamen guanju nimen" (Pinyin: women guanzhu nimen)  In India, the Return March to Tibet continued today despite orders from the Indian government to stop. To read a report from Day 3, please visit: www.tibetanuprising.org  For updates on the protests in Tibet and the Return March, please visit the SFT blog: http://blog.studentsforafreetibet.org  You can take action on this alert either via email (please see directions below) or via the web at: http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/tibet_protests/3de6uwr275d8dw3?  Visit the web address below to tell your friends about this. http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/tibet_protests/forward/3de6uwr275d8dw3?  We encourage you to take action by April 10, 2008  Support the Protests in Tibet!  INSTRUCTIONS TO RESPOND VIA THE WEB: If you have access to a web browser, you can take action on this alert by going to the following URL:  http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/tibet_protests/3de6uwr275d8dw3?  INSTRUCTIONS TO RESPOND VIA EMAIL: Just choose the "reply to sender" option on your email program.  Your letter will be addressed and sent to: China's Ambassador to the United Nations Guangya Wang  ----THIS LETTER WILL BE SENT IN YOUR NAME---- Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted here],  I am shocked to learn that peaceful protests by Tibetans in recent days were violently stopped by the paramilitary People's Armed Police and that dozens have been arrested.  A witness of the Drepung protest, in which monks were simply walking and calling for the release of fellow monks who had been arbitrarily arrested after the Dalai Lama was awarded the U.S Congressional Gold Medal last October, reported that 10 military vehicles, 10 police vehicles, and several ambulances arrived at the checkpoint where the march was stopped. This raises serious concerns about the safety of the monks.  In central Lhasa, 17 people, including a 15-year old monk, were arrested for a protest and harshly beaten. They include Lobsang (15), Tsultrim Palden (20), Lobsang Ngodup (29), Lobsher (20), Phurdhen (22), Lobsang Thukjey (19), Lodie (30), Thupdon (24), Shoepa (30), Tsegyam (22), Gelek Pel (32), Tenpa Rigsan (26), Thupwang (30), Pema Garwang (30), and Samten (17).  On March 11th, 600 monks from Sera Monastery began marching to Lhasa, calling for the release of the monks arrested the previous day and for Tibet to be free. Approximately 2000 People's Armed Police and Public Security Bureau personnel fired tear-gas into the group.  I am appalled that your government has violently supressed the rights of these Tibetans to peacefully express their opinions. All of the protesters who have been detained must be released immediately.  I am deeply disturbed that China, preparing to host the Olympics in merely 147 days, is blatantly trampling on one of the most basic human rights - freedom of expression. Actions such as these arrests continue to stain China's international reputation.  Your government promised to improve respect for human rights before the Olympics begins, but your actions in Tibet show the opposite.  I will be following this situation closely in the coming days and alerting my government representatives to the situation inside Tibet. I urge you to release all the detainees and stop further use of violence against Tibetans.  ----END OF LETTER TO BE SENT----  Sincerely, Patrick Mahoney  --------------------------------------------------  If you received this message from a friend, you can sign up for Students for a Free Tibet's Online Action Center at:  http://actionnetwork.org/sft/join.html?r=dpqif3SqJRo-E  --------------------------------------------------