The West Wight is the Western side of the Isle of Wight, situated off the Southern coast of England. There is a thriving Buddhist community on the Island made up of a number of different groups. The West Wight group, or Sangha, is non-denominational and meets weekly to meditate and discuss the Dharma, the Buddha's teachings.
U.S. president, Barack Obama has said he will not meet the Dalai Lama, who is currently in the U.S., until after visiting China in November. This will mark the first time since 1991 that the Dalai Lama has come to Washington and not met with the U.S. president.
That leads one former Federal Reserve official to suspect that Chinese fiscal leverage over the American government is at the root of the decision. “Bottom line,” says the official, “don’t piss off your banker.”
This follows a similar cop-out by Gordon Brown, in May last year, when he refused to meet his Holiness at number 10, his official residence as British Prime Minister, instead moving the meeting to Lambeth Palace, home of the Archbishop of Canterbury!
This goes beyond kowtowing to the Chinese regime and could be interpreted by them as an indication that they have carte blanche to clamp down on dissent in Tibet, which it invaded in 1950. I know why the Dalai Lama got his Noble Peace Prize, like a lot of people I'm wondering what Barack's is for?
A coalition of celebrities, NGOs and trade unions have launched a new website http://www.64ForSuu.org calling for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, and all of Burma’s political prisoners.
64 words for Aung San Suu Kyi allows anyone to upload video, text, image or twitter messages of support to Burma’s imprisoned democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. Burma Campaign UK want to gather thousands of messages by her 64th birthday on June 19th 2009.
The campaign has the backing of major celebrities, including George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Vaclav Havel, David Beckham, Daniel Craig, Stephen Fry, Eddie Izzard, Kevin Spacey and the British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown.
The Prime Minister has released an open letter to Aung San Suu Kyi.
Dear Daw Suu
The Burmese regime continues to resist the righteous clamour from your people and from the international community for your release. As you and the Burmese people are denied your democratic rights and freedoms the only way for me to communicate with you is through this open letter.
I wanted to publish it to let you know that you are not alone - that people are standing with you not just here in Britain, but everywhere that democracy and freedom are upheld.
We are heartened by your tremendous courage, your inspirational leadership, and by the knowledge that no oppression is so great that the forces of liberty cannot prevail The history books are full of stories of injustice. But they are also full of stories of hope, resistance and the victories that satisfy the deep human yearning to be free. I am confident that your story will stand prominently among those that show that from
the deepest wells of despair can come the greatest triumphs of human endeavour.
Inspired by and in solidarity with you, the British Government will continue to work with our international partners to support Burma’s path to stability, peace and economic recovery. The UN Security Council has set out the steps necessary for a return to democracy in Burma. I have worked with our partners in the EU to maintain sanctions that are tough and targeted against those individuals who wish to deny the Burmese people their rights. And I will continue to press your neighbours in Asia to work even harder for your release and that of all political prisoners in Burma.
My message to the Burmese regime is clear the people of Burma have suffered nearly half a century of conflict and isolation, it is time to embrace a new beginning. So I say to the Generals who imprison you: the time for a transition to democracy is now. By excluding you from that future, by silencing and imprisoning you, they condemn your country to
further decades of poverty and exclusion.
Your continued imprisonment reminds all of us that we should not take for granted the institution of democracy for which you campaign That we should not rest until you are able to play your rightful role in a free and secure Burma. And that our place is alongside all those who face imprisonment, repression and despair in their battle to build democracy, confront poverty and protect human rights. Daw Suu I want you to know: you are not alone.
I just received this email from Jenny who is a member of the Cowes Mahasandhi Tibetan Buddhist group.
Gordon Brown has sent a message to Buddhists in Britain as they celebrate Wesak, the festival
marking the Buddha’s birthday.
He said that everyone could learn from the Buddhist philosophy and should reflect on the contribution the religion has made to society.
The PM said:
“I wanted to take this opportunity to wish you a very happy Wesak. Britain’s Buddhists will join with others around the world to reflect on the birth and enlightenment of Lord Buddha and I wanted to let you know that my thoughts are with you as you celebrate this Buddha Day."
“The Fourth Noble Truths and Noble Eightfold Path have brought so much peace to so many and we can all learn from Buddhist philosophy and the practice of mindfulness."
“Today we should reflect on the great spiritual contribution that Buddhism has made to the world and congratulate Britain’s Buddhists for their vibrant contribution to our national life. Please do pass on my best wishes to your family and friends.”
A United Nations envoy has just returned from Burma and has yet again failed to secure the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and Burma’s 2,130 other political prisoners. UN envoys have now made 38 visits to Burma and have consistently failed to achieve any progress towards democracy and human rights.
Stronger action is needed. These prisoners have done nothing wrong. They have been imprisoned for calling for freedom and human rights. The United Nations Security Council must bring in a binding resolution to ensure that Burma’s political prisoners are released. We need your help to make this happen.
TAKE ACTION - IF YOU LIVE IN THE UNITED KINGDOM Take 2 minutes now and write to your MP and urge them to support Aung San Suu Kyi by signing Early Day Motion 343* (Early Day Motions are similar to a parliamentary petitions – read more below**).
EDM 343 calls for all the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and all Burma’s 2,130 political prisoners. The EDM demands that the British government uses its position on the UN Security Council to get the Security Council to take action.
We’ve made it really easy for you. Just go to this page and click “Take Action, Click Here”. Then all you do is put in your details (so we can find your MP for you) and personalise the message we’ve drafted for you. We take care of the rest!: http://voiceyourviews.net/eactivist/vyv.v?v=2121:999:15574
TAKE ACTION - IF YOU LIVE OUTSIDE THE UK Take 2 minutes now and email UN Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon and the UN Security Council from this website and urge him to make it his top priority to secure the release of all Burma’s political prisoners: http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/un_action.html
An update from inside Burma This week Burma’s imprisoned democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was allowed out of her house arrest for a few short minutes to meet with the UN Envoy to Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, and the Central Executive Committee of her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD).
Suu Kyi called on the UN to prioritise the release of all 2,100 political prisoners in Burma. She once more bravely stated that she is willing to talk to the Burmese regime at any time, but the regime is refusing to come to the negotiating table.
Aung San Suu Kyi is only kept safe because of her high international profile. You, as one of her supporters are helping to keep her safe.
I'd really, really..... really like to be able to just drop the politics for a while, but then along comes a politician and screws it all up again!
After all the successful petitioning and getting questions asked in the House and Gordon finally saying that he would meet his Holiness... now he's changed it! Instead of seeing the Dalai Lama at 10 Downing Street , the official residence of the British Prime Minister, Brown will now be at Lambeth Palace, home of the Archbishop of Canterbury, to greet him! Presumably so that he can convince the Chinese that he is meeting with a spiritual leader and not a political one.
President Bush received the Dalai Lama at the White House and presented him with the Congressional Gold Medal, Angela Merkel 's met him and both Tony Blair and John Major have previously welcomed his Holiness to Number Ten. So why not Gordon?
Before I get into this post I want to reiterate the statement that I made in a previous post, "It is Not the purpose of this blog to campaign on political issues, however as a Buddhist site we will continue to promote peace and the welfare of all beings by any appropriate non-violent means".
All of the previous postings, on the subjects of first Burma and now Tibet, have been to promote dialogue and engagement, to arouse Local and International awareness of the situation faced by the Burmese and Tibetan peoples and to encourage the use of democratic, peaceful pressure on the various politicians and authorities involved. So why Tibet and Burma? Well, this is a Buddhist blog and they are both Buddhist countries. This site is not a journalistic powerhouse, a Times or Guardian online, and so we are concentrating on those subjects that fall within our area of interest and, whereas in Buddhist terms that territory is having concern and compassion for all beings with equanimity, we can only do so much within the pages of this site. So what is our remit? This blog is intended as a conduit for information on the Buddha's teachings and other matters of a general Buddhist nature, primarily for the use of the West Wight Sangha and other Buddhist groups on the Isle of Wight. Beyond this we try to look at things from a British slant to keep it relevant to people here in the U.K. and to make it of interest to visitors from around the World.
Talking of which, the torch came to London. Protests were enthusiastic but peaceful, the policing was what I believe is called "robust" and Gordon Brown looked a prat.
Talking about the police, didn't "our boys in blue" look great and what a brilliant job they did controlling the British public!
All this being said, one can already see that the actions of the protesters are producing a reaction. The ordinary Chinese citizen is having to wait many hours to see the TV pictures of the demonstrations, they are insulated from the World media and World opinion. Their information comes from state controlled sources, and as a nation China is suspicious of the "West". Typical feelings are that there is a plot to sabotage the games and belittle China. The Chinese are a proud people with a huge country and just starting to flex their economic muscle, they are becoming a major player on the World stage. All of these factors show that we must start talking, dialogue and engagement, recognition of the truth of what is really happening ...... friendship are the only things which will bring peace to Tibet, Burma, China and the World. If you push people they push back. if you force totalitarian regimes to react they react with force.
Anyone noticed how quiet our politicians have been over Tibet recently?
China is on the fence - indicating an openness to talks with the Dalai Lama, while at the same time pressuring other governments to support its continuing crackdown. Each day, more leaders declare their stance. It's time to redouble our efforts - click here to send a personal message to your head of Government, urging support for dialogue with the Dalai Lama.
LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Wednesday he would meet exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, when he visits Britain in May, risking damage to Brown's drive for warmer relations with China.
"I will meet the Dalai Lama when he is in London," he told parliament. Read more
Well done and many thanks to everyone for their support.
The Petition is now closed. On Friday when I posted the first item on this the petition had just over 6,000 signatures..... it now stands at 8,849! This makes it the most heavily subscribed e-petition in the International affairs and defence category, almost twice that of the number two slot... the one about Burma.
Thanks to everyone who took the time to "sign" it, now it's over to you Gordon.
Further to the post below, by a strange coincidence, the Chinese authorities have given protesters until midnight Monday (today) to turn themselves in and benefit from leniency, "Criminals who do not surrender themselves by the deadline will be sternly punished according to the law", said a notice on the Tibetan government website (that's the Chinese invaders puppet government). This deadline is the same as that for those wishing to sign the online petition (http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/DalaiLama/) to Gordon Brown asking him to meet with the Dalai Lama this May. Interestingly on the video above David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, can be heard saying that the situation in Tibet needs "to be addressed in a way that balances restraint and DIALOGUE", so come on Gordon and stand up and be counted because this one isn't going away as BURMA seems to have conveniently done.
We will all have seen or heard the latest news from Tibet. In May this year the Dalai Lama is visiting the UK and so far Gordon Brown has refused to meet him (doesn't want to upset the Chinese, not with the Olympics, trade and everything?). There is, however, a petition on the Number Ten website urging him to do so. This petition has been around for some time and the closing date is this Monday, the 17th. With the recent events in Tibet our P.M. meeting his Holiness would send a clear message to the Chinese Government. The link to the petition is http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/DalaiLama/ if you are a U.K. citizen please consider taking a few seconds to sign this.
This follows a similar cop-out by Gordon Brown, in May last year, when he refused to meet his Holiness at number 10, his official residence as British Prime Minister, instead moving the meeting to Lambeth Palace, home of the Archbishop of Canterbury!
