Editor:

    Hear the sound of freedom’s ring o’er the purple mountain majesty of high Tibet.  See the “Free Tibet” banner in the photo in the Aspen Daily News (March 14). Watch the horsemen with their lassos surround the occupiers and chant for a free Tibet. See the occupiers drag the protesters out of their homes and march them off at gunpoint. See the journalists expelled from Tibet so the genocide can continue in secret. See the bodies lying in the streets. Hear the Chinese obfuscate and blame the “Dalai Faction.” The Dalai Faction is all Tibet. They want their country back.

    While I might agree the Olympics should not be used for “political” purposes, still, this is not politics, but occupation and genocide. And, conversely, the prestige of hosting these games should not confer on countries blatantly conducting such occupation and genocide.

    While I might agree that athletes should mostly focus on their personal goals, still, Olympic athletes are representatives of their nations. If what they are seeing in Tibet is counter to the principles that their people respect, then they should speak out one way or another.

    Non-attendance of the opening ceremony is one valid way. Wearing a black armband might be another. And if they hold out a microphone to you, then you need only say “Free Tibet!”

    Forward this message, or your own, to the USOC at: media@usoc.org [1].
 
Michael Flanagin
Aspen