Last night, on the eve of the Olympics, Wellingtonians concerned about the current situation in Tibet gathered in Civic Square to Light a Candle for Tibet. The group gathered in a circle and braved the Wellington wind to light their candles. As the candle light flickered on their faces they projected their positive thoughts, their hopes, and their best wishes to remember Tibet, to swiftly improve human rights and for a peaceful resolution to the Tibet issue.

Tessa Moana of the Tibet Solidarity Network said ‘We decided to take part in this global event for freedom, because we want to acknowledge and remember those in Tibet whose human rights have got worse in the last few months, not better. We want to remember: those that are still incarcerated; those that have been tortured and killed since the crackdown in Tibet in March; and those that daily still encounter oppression of their basic human rights in Tibet ...

'At a time when the global spotlight is firmly on Beijing and the splender of the Olympic games, we want to join with one million others worldwide, who are choosing to shine a light on Tibet instead, by taking part in this huge and peaceful global protest of light.’

She went on to say that The Tibet Solidarity Network is not against the Olympics, nor are they anti-Chinese. They are simply concerned about human rights for Tibetans.

This global event, which started off in New Zealand last night in Wellington and Napier and continues today in Auckland and Christchurch , is organised by different groups across the country and is supported by His Holiness the Dalai Lama: "We hope your Candle for Tibet campaign will inspire the Chinese authorities to appreciate the value of freedom of all mankind and the importance of the Tibetan Buddhist culture that is benefiting millions of people and has the potential to serve humanity as a whole, including the Chinese people," - Tsering Tashi representative of HH the Dalai Lama, Tel Aviv 29/Jul/2008

Friends of Tibet are also launching their nationwide orange ribbon campaign today, while the Otago University Students for a Free Tibet group continue their Human Rights Olympics in Dunedin.

8/August/2008 Copyright © Tibet Solidarity Network. All rights reserved