What if the US had invaded Mexico? What if France had occupied Algeria? Or what if Australia had declared war on Papua New Guinea?
What if Japan had annexed Manchuria? What if Italy were to go back to Libya with gunboats? What if all of this happened in the year in which the Olympic Games were to be held in the US, France, Australia, Japan or Italy?
Would the Olympic Games still have gone ahead in these countries? On what grounds? In the name of the WTO? Globalization? Consumerism?
Humanity owes an enormous debt to Tibet, to its culture and to its inhabitants. Tibet has been left alone for almost 60 years, and this in the interests of realpolitik.
It is easy to see why this has happened. If you are big, you are able to go ahead and invade, destroy and exterminate. And if you are small but you have petroleum, then it’s deemed to be your own business.
A case in point is Chechnya. Another case in point is Iraq.
“Free Tibet. Stop the China Olympic Games.” Write an e-mail to the UN secretary-general and help spread the message.
Taiwan should be the first nation to boycott the Olympic Games. Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) should do what he promised during his campaign. Do it for your people, for your own land. It is time to be brave for Taiwan so it won’t be the next Tibet.
Graziano Pia
Italy
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