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France-Chinese Everest Protest; Den



Subject: France-Chinese Everest Protest; Deng

Protest against France-Chinese Everest mission (AFP)

But first, the French did it again, and some french are see that they do
not get
away with it! Anyone or organisation wishing to add their name(s) to the
CAF protest petition, please be my guest. Email your name and we will
take care the CAF gets it.  
Say what you want about China, and TOTAL, and the current Karen crisis.

In solidarity, 

Dawn Star
Euro-Burmanet, Paris
http://www-uvi.eunet.fr/asia/euro-burma/total/

   CHAMONIX, France, Feb 28 (AFP) - More than 2,000 people have signed a
petition protesting a Franco-Chinese climing expedition to scale Everest
because of Beijing's repression in Tibet, mountaineering officials said
Friday.

   The French Alpine Club (CAF), which organized the petition, says the
mission to scale Everest from the Tibetan side of the world's highest
mountain
risks being seen as supporting China's policy towards Tibet.

   The trip, originally planned for this spring but now delayed until
next year, "would legitimize all China's demands on Tibet, contributing
to people forgetting the limitless oppression there," said CAF president
Andre Croibier.

   Top French mountaineers have already said they will BOYCOTT the
Franco-Chinese expedition. The attempt to scale the 8,848-metre
(29,028-feet) mountain by a new route has been postponed due to the
protests.

   About 10 Chinese and French climbers plan to open a new direct route
on the north face of Everest, partially scaling a rocky spur at over
7,000 metres (23,100 feet), which will present enormous difficulties.

   The expedition will use oxygen cylinders for more than 2,000 metres
before making the final assault.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


Boston Globe: Editorials, February 26, 1997

                         By Globe Staff
             Even after the Leninist oligarchy he left in power has
passed
from the scene, Deng Xiaoping may be remembered by his countrymen
primarily
as the realist who undid the damage of Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution.

               For another people, the Tibetans, Deng's historic role
has
already been clearly defined. From the early days of the Communist
invasion
of Tibet, Deng was the great tormentor of Tibetans.

                         In 1950, Mao entrusted the ``liberation'' of
Tibet
to Deng, leader of the party's southwest bureau and political commissar
of
the 2d Field Army of the People's Liberation Army, the military arm that
the Chinese Communists used to conquer the ``roof of the world.'' Deng's
brutal policies after the conquest provoked the Tibetan revolts of the
'50s. In a deliberate effort to liquidate the religious and cultural
tradition of the Tibetans, Deng had senior Buddhist lamas taken off to
China, where they disappeared.
                    Sacred scriptures were used to pave public toilets.
Communist Party functionaries supplanted Buddhist monks in the
administration of renowned monasteries.

                         Mao had wanted to proceed more slowly in
colonizing Tibet, but Deng's insistence on a hard line prevailed. Deng
purged Tibetan Communists who had the disloyalty to complain about the
murder of Tibetans during the ``squashing rebellion'' movements from
1957
to 1959.

                         When Deng returned to power after being purged
himself during the Cultural Revolution, he dictated Tibet policy. One
reason his heir apparant, Hu Yaobang, lost power was because he proposed
more autonomyfor Tibet. In the last decade, Deng presided over campaigns
of
repression in Tibet and a migration of Han Chinese meant to render the
Tibetans a minority in their own country.

                         In an open letter to Deng, the imprisoned
Chinese
dissident Wei Jingsheng wrote that Deng will be ``condemned by history''
forthe tragedy he directed in Tibet. As a prisoner of conscience
speaking
truth to power, Wei exposed the parochial lies Beijing has told about
Tibet. He identified history's verdict on Deng with Tibet's.