Dear Friend of Tibet,
We´re delighted to share the news that popular Tibetan singer, Tashi Dhondup, has been released one month early after serving 14 months of a 15-month labour camp sentence.
Tashi Dhondup, famous among Tibetans for songs in support of Tibetan independence and the Dalai Lama, was detained at gun-point in December 2009 and charged with composing ´subversive songs´. He was later sentenced to "re-education through labour" in Qinghai Prison Camp.
It´s not very often that we get the opportunity to spread good news about Tibet and Tashi Dhondup´s release is well worth celebrating. Tibetans greeted him as he traveled home with offers of traditional Tibetan scarves, and we hope that you will consider celebrating by supporting our work to help release more Tibetan political prisoners.
Tashi Dhondup is part of a new, brave generation of Tibetan writers, singers and artists giving voice to the persecution and unity of the Tibetan people through words and music. There are currently more than 50 Tibetan artists and writers who have been imprisoned, tortured, harassed or have disappeared, for expressing their views or sharing information about Chinese policies and their impact on Tibet today.
But Tibetans will not be silenced and this new generation of intellectuals continues to believe there is hope for the future of Tibet. Please help us support Tibetans in Tibet by joining our fundraising appeal to Put Tibet Back on the Map.
So far with your help we have raised over £3,000, but successes such as this demonstrate how important your support is. Please help us to raise more funds so that we can continue to amplify the voices of Tibetans in Tibet.
Here are some examples of how unveiling a tile or tiles, at just £5 each, can help the International Tibet Network, an organization providing campaign materials and coordination mechanisms for the global Tibet movement:
* Revealing one tile, for just £5, will help pay for campaign emails to be sent to the Chinese government.
* Uncovering five tiles, for £25, helps us to monitor the Tibetan language blogs from Tibet, where the news of Tashi Dhondup´s release first appeared.
* Twenty tiles, for £100, will pay for the translation and promotion of inspirational music and literature by Tibetans in Tibet, as part of a politically-charged cultural resurgence.
Please help us to release more Tibetan artists and writers who have been arrested for their courageous "Cultural Resistance", and support the International Tibet Network by donating to Put Tibet Back on the Map.
Best wishes and thank you for your support,
Alison Reynolds
Executive Director, International Tibet Network
PS For more information about Tashi Dhondup, visit www.ihearttibet.org.
A charge of 5% of all the funds raised (plus VAT) and standard rate banking charges will be deducted from donations received by the International Tibet Network and Students for a Free Tibet UK by the company that hosts this fundraising appeal.
