Tibet Factfile

Tibet was once a region the size of Western Europe, brimming with beautiful monasteries and a fascinating culture. In 1949 the People's Liberation Army under Chairman Mao, the Communist leader of China, marched into Tibet without much resistance, claiming that Tibet was a part of China. Since then the Chinese have held the region, killing over 1.2 million Tibetans, and torturing many monks/nuns in the monasteries. The Chinese, under the communist doctrine, have tried to remove all religion from Tibet, destroying monasteries and arresting Tibetans who openly practice their religion. The Tibetan non-violent Buddhist belief makes an uprising against the heavily armed Chinese difficult, and therefore the nation and culture is slowly being pushed to extinction.

Not wanting to anger one of the world largest economies, many nations have turned a blind eye to Tibet in favour of doing business with its oppressor, and the Tibetan people have suffered.

The Aid For Tibet Society aims to free a number of political prisoners by letter writing campaigns with Amnesty International. One such prisoner, perhaps the youngest political prisoner in history, is the 11th Panchen Lama, who is the second most important spritual leader in Tibet after the Dalai Lama. The Chinese have even replaced him with their own "Panchen Lama", against the beliefs of the Tibetan people.

The 11th Panchen Lama

For a more detailed history of Tibet please click here to be taken to the Tibet.org web site, where there is a wealth of information and photographs.