Worldwide day of action: Protest event at the Brandenburg Gate

A broad alliance of various human rights organizations is organizing a protest event against the decision that the Olympic Winter Games 2022 are to take place in Beijing. It will take place in Berlin on Wednesday, June 23 (from 11 am to 1 pm), at the Pariser Platz in front of the Brandenburg Gate. The alliance criticizes the systematic and gross human rights crimes against the Uyghurs, Tibetans, Mongols, Kazakhs, and Chinese human rights activists.

The motto of the event will be "Xi und Bach hören zu"  ("Xi and Bach are listening"), and the idea is to speak up for the victims of the Chinese Communist Party by reading out statements of individual Uyghurs, Tibetans, Mongols, Chinese, and people from Hong Kong who are directly affected. Also, there will be speeches by Margarete Bause (Green Party) and Peter Heidt (FDP), both members of the German parliament. Other delegates are invited.

The protest event is part of a worldwide day of action on June 23, organized by a large number of human rights organizations – with similar events in London, New York, Brussels, Paris, Rome, Sydney, Johannesburg, Toronto, Delhi, Mexico City, Tokyo, Taipei, and at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne. 

Statements:

"After the 2008 Summer Games, we saw that the promised improvement in the human rights situation never happened. Instead of the promised opening of the country, the CP became even more authoritarian. There were no credible attempts to come to terms with the crackdowns on the protests in Tibet – and surveillance, indoctrination, and Sinization are now commonplace. Beijing should never have been given the Olympic Games. Government representatives should not be allowed to attend the Games." | International Campaign for Tibet und Tibet Initiative Deutschland 

"The Olympic Games should be characterized by living the Olympic ideals and values. The Olympic Games stand for diversity, freedom, friendship, and respect. However, the host of the next Winter Games is currently committing genocide crimes against the Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples. There is no reason to celebrate. We are asking governments, Olympic organizations on the national level, sponsors, and athletes not to support the Chinese government's serious human rights violations – but to say NO to Beijing 2022!" | Uyghur World Congress

"It is against the basic principles of the Olympic Games to carry out the Winter Games in a country that is guilty of human rights crimes."  | Ilham Tohti Initiative

"Thomas Bach is not prepared to comment on the repressive measures of the Chinese government – so he is to be seen as complicit in these serious crimes." | Society for Threatened Peoples

"What happened in 1936 must not be repeated. If we continue to ignore the facts and tolerate dictatorships, we are making the same mistake as our forefathers. We must not allow this to happen!" | Germany Stands with Hong Kong

"No sincere person would want to watch the Olympic Games in one part of the country, while millions of members of a minority group are systematically oppressed in another part of the country." | Hongkonger in Deutschland e.V.

Veranstaltende Organisationen und Kontakt:

• Tibet Initiative Deutschland | Tenzyn Zöchbauer | Tel.: 03042081535
• International Campaign for Tibet (Germany) | Kai Müller | Tel.: 015124067212
• Ilham Tohti Initiative e.V. | Enver Can | Tel.: 01738912048
• Society for Threatened Peoples | Hanno Schedler | Tel.: 017634994337
• Germany stands with Hong Kong | Nedia | Tel.: 01783789173 (WhatsApp)
•  Hongkonger in Deutschland e.V. | Aniessa Andresen | Tel.: 077238739633
•  Mongolian Cultural Center
•  Association of Tibetans in Germany
•  Uyghur World Congress
•  International Society for Human Rights