:Tibet petition

I thought some of you might be interested in this:

Dear friends,

In just 36 hours, 253,553 of us have supported the Dalai Lama‘s call for dialogue and human rights in Tibet. This is an incredible response–if each of us can get 4 more of our friends to sign the petition, we’ll hit 1 million this week!

China’s leaders are lashing out publicly at the Dalai Lama–but we’re told many Chinese
officials believe dialogue is the best hope for stability in Tibet. China’s leadership is right
now considering a crucial choice between crackdown and dialogue that could determine Tibet’s–and China’s–future.

We can affect this historic choice–China does care about its international reputation, and
we can help them choose the right path. China’s President Hu Jintao needs to hear that the
‘Made in China’ brand and the upcoming Olympics in Beijing will succeed only if he makes
the right choice. But it will take an avalanche of global people power to get his attention.
Click below now to join 250,000 others and sign the petition–and tell absolutely everyone
you can right away–our goal is 1 million voices united for Tibet:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/tibet_end_the_violence/22.php

China’s economy is dependent on “Made in China” exports that we all buy, and
the government is keen to make the Olympics in Beijing this summer a celebration
of a new and respected China. China is also a sprawling, diverse country with much
brutality in its past, so it has good reasons to be concerned about stability — some
of Tibet’s rioters killed innocent people. But President Hu must recognize that the
greatest danger to Chinese stability and development today comes from hardliners
who advocate escalating repression, not from those Tibetans seeking dialogue and
reform.

We will deliver our petition directly to Chinese officials in New York, London and Beijing,
but it must be a massive number first. Please forward this email to your address book
with a note explaining to your friends why this is important, or use our tell-a-friend tool
to email your address book–it will come up after you sign.

The Tibetan people have suffered quietly for decades. It is finally their moment to speak
–we must help them be heard.

With hope and respect,

Ricken, Iain, Graziela, Paul, Galit, Pascal, Milena, Ben and the whole Avaaz team

Here are some links with more information on the Tibetan protests and the Chinese response:

Crackdown in Tibet, but protests spreading:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/mar/19/tibet.china
http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/crackdown-on-protests-widens/2008/03/17/1205602289349.html

Dalai Lama calling for dialogue and restraint, and an end to violence:
http://www.dalailama.com/news.216.htm
http://www.agi.it/world/news/200803191258-pol-ren0032-art.html

Leaders across Europe and Asia starting to back dialogue as the way forward:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7300157.stm

Chinese Prime Minister attacks “Dalai clique”, leaves door open for talks:
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-03/18/content_7813194.htm

Other Chinese signals:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/China_looks_at_India_to_talk_to_Dalai_Lama/articleshow/2875142.cms
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