The candle-lit side of the Olympics

15 August 2008/Budapest/BudapestSun/TibetPress

August 13, 2008 06:00 pm | A group of approximately 40-50 people spent the night before the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics (Aug 7) outside the Chinese Embassy in Budapest, in a silent, candle-lit vigil for Tibet.The action was set to take place between 8 and 9 p.m. (in reply to a global call to light a candle for Tibet at local time around the world at 9 p.m.) on August 7, the eve before the opening ceremonies at the Beijing Olympic Games. The call for the silent vigil came from the Tibet Support Association. While the group was not large, it included a small group of the Tibetan refugees living in Budapest, and there was a warm feeling of camaraderie as darkness fell, and the light of the candles glowed, spelling out “FREE TIBET” in large letters. The only break in the silence was when Tibor Hendrey read aloud his open letter to Hungarian politicians on behalf of the Tibet Support Association. According to Hendrey, an overwhelming opinion shows it was a mistake to give the 2008 Summer Olympics to Beijing, as world leaders are well aware of China’s serious human rights problems. Hendrey regretted that MSzP representatives have not passed, for the fifth time, the Parliamentary Resolution, despite the fact that all Parliamentary parties have unambiguously expressed their concerns due to the events in Tibet. The Tibet Support Association called on the President, members of the Hungarian government, leading politicians and prominent personalities to abstain from taking part in the Beijing Olympics, especially not to attend the opening ceremonies. (The Hungarian government was represented by local government minister István Gyenesei). Hendrey opined that Chinese-Tibetan “negotiations” have been merely tactical steps at making time to serve Chinese interests, particularly leading up to the Olympics. He claimed the resolution of the Tibetan situation was not an internal affair of China, but an international political obligation. by Adéle Eisenstein