A Tibetan warrior princess

HONG KONG: Lhadon Tethong’s travel itinerary last week, and the company she kept, could easily qualify her for a life membership in the exclusive club of high-stepping jet-setters.

The 31-year-old Tibetan, who was born and raised in Canada, was in London, and later in San Francisco, where she was seen in the company of, among others, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Hollywood star Richard Gere.

As the executive director of Students for a Free Tibet (SFT), which embraces creative, non-violent direct action aimed at Tibetan independence, Lhadon uses her video blog ‘Beijing Wide Open’ as a platform to mobilise “a global uprising for Tibetan independence.”

Last week, as the Beijing Olympics torch relay wound its tortuous way from London through Paris to San Francisco, it encountered strident pro-Tibet protests that drew unflattering attention to China’s human rights abuses. “This is what the Chinese government gets when it leaves the safety and comfort of China, where it can control everything, and comes to the free world,” Lhadon told DNA.

Asked if Tibetans were disappointed by the participation of Indian celebrities, Lhadon says, “It’s their choice, finally, and we have to respect that...” But she has an appeal for "peace-loving people" across the world: "If you can go to Beijing during the Games and engage in simple but powerful protests, we will challenge the Chinese leaders to address the Tibetan issue."

Lhadon herself did just that last August, as Beijing began a year-long countdown to the Olympics: she slipped into the Chinese capital and live-blogged about her attempts to confront  IOC president Jacques Rogge and the unveiling of a ‘Free Tibet!’ banner on the Great Wall. She was arrested and deported. Asked if last week’s protests against the torch relay in London and Paris had been “over the top”, Lhadon bristles with indignation. “I think it’s China’s  cultural genocide there — that are over the top.”                 venky@dnaindia.net