The protests in Tibet over the last week and the Chinese government’s violent response to them have cast a bright light on Tibet in an unparalleled way compared to recent international attention. People around the world are waking up to China’s repressive tactics and horrendous attitude towards human rights. Moreover, these events are bringing people to recognize that not only is the crackdown appalling, but these protests in Tibet part of are themselves a response to China’s illegal military occupation of Tibet. The world has seen many independence movements achieve success in recent years, so in some regards I believe the world is well primed to stand in solidarity with those Tibetans striving for independence from Chinese military rule.

The Irish Times letters to the editor includes one clear example of this:

Madam, – Ireland and several other EU countries have recognised Kosovo as a sovereign independent nation in spite of opposition from Serbia and the power of Russia.

Will Ireland now be consistent in the application of its political and moral principles and recognise Tibet as a sovereign independent country against the political and economic might of China? If not, the recognition of Kosovo will risk be seen as political opportunism . – Yours, etc,

ANTHONY OBRIEN, NEIL STEEDMAN, Tibet Support Group Ireland, Arklow, Co Wicklow.

Also of note, in response to the protests in Tibet and China’s violent response, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has announced that he will meet with the Dalai Lama on his next visit to the UK.

Gordon Brown has said he will meet Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama when he visits the UK. […]

During prime minister’s questions, he also said he had spoken to China’s premier on Wednesday morning and had urged an end to violence.

Throw in statements from Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Barack Obama, France’s Foreign Minister, Hindu organizations in India and the Burmese monks supporting Tibetans’ nonviolent protests and condemning China’s violent response, and there is a clear global sentiment rising in support of Tibet.

This situation in Tibet and the international attention to it will not go away any time soon. The Olympics are five months away and the whole world will be watching not only for who wins and who loses, but for how China treats Tibet. Now that Beijing and the International Olympic Committee have announced that China will be allowed to run the Olympic torch through Tibet, we can be sure to see Tibetans respond. That such an announcement would come amid a violent crackdown in Tibet is simply disgraceful. THe IOC has always claimed to be non-political and it is clear that they mean it in the absolute truest sense, as they put blinders on all moral understanding of human beings as equals deserving of humane treatment and rubber stamp China’s murderous oppression of Tibetans in their own land.

This announcement by Beijing can be seen as nothing other than an escalation in their efforts to assert physical claim over occupied Tibet. Rather than stopping violence and bringing calm to the region, China has chosen to stick their finger into Tibetans eyes in a promise for future confrontations. For those that think a boycott of the Beijing Olympics is unwarranted, I’d advise you to at least recognize that the torch should not be run through military-occupied Tibet. That’s something that the IOC can and should stop immediately.