[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 88 (Friday, June 14, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1091]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E1091]]



                      THE TIBETAN FREEDOM CONCERT

                                 ______


                           HON. NANCY PELOSI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 13, 1996

  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring to the attention of my 
colleagues an important event which is taking place in San Francisco 
this weekend. The Tibetan Freedom Concert, a 2-day music festival for a 
free Tibet, begins this Saturday in Golden Gate Park. More than 20 
well-known popular music artists, from the Beastie Boys and the 
Smashing Pumpkins to bay area natives Pavement, have donated their time 
and their talent to draw attention to the plight of the Tibetan people.
  Leading the way to inspire our youth is a San Francisco-based 
organization called the Milarepa fund which publicizes and supports the 
Tibetan peoples' nonviolent struggle for freedom. The Milarepa fund's 
diligent efforts to promote human rights in China are making an 
important contribution to furthering public awareness of the Tibetan 
tragedy, and they are reaching out to the next generation to help them 
develop an understanding of human rights violations throughout the 
world.
  I urge my colleagues to follow the example being set by the thousands 
of young women and men who will be attending the Freedom Concert. They 
have taken it upon themselves to learn more about the terrible human 
rights violations that the Chinese Government inflicts daily upon the 
citizens of Tibet. They are concerned about the deforestation of the 
Tibetan Plateau. They are outraged by the ongoing pattern of forced 
abortions and sterilization of Tibetan women. And they are mobilizing 
to stop the continuing genocide of the Tibetan people.

  Among the actions being suggested is a boycott of Chinese goods in 
order to send a clear message to the government in Beijing that their 
actions are reprehensible. Household items marked ``Made in China'' are 
often manufactured in forced labor camps by political prisoners who 
have been jailed for doing nothing more than expressing their opinions 
or practicing their religious beliefs. The boycott is helping consumers 
learn about the interdependence of economics, politics, and their 
everyday actions. The sooner we understand this interdependence, the 
sooner we can ensure basic human and environmental rights throughout 
the world.
  I comment the organizers of this concert, the artists who are 
performing and the activists who labor every day to advance the cause 
of human rights around the globe. They are not alone.

                          ____________________