Human rights were on the minds of Treasure Valley residents Sunday.
About 150 people attended two events at the Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial in Boise. The first was held in support of Tibet and the ongoing fight with the Chinese government for religious and cultural freedom. As that vigil broke up, about 50 marchers entered the courtyard with signs decrying the atrocities in Darfur, Sudan.
A poster of the Dalai Lama stood near the bronze statue of Anne Frank as Tibetan banners and prayer flags rippled in the breeze, and people spoke about the need to support the struggle for religious freedom in the tiny Himalayan country.
President of the Tibetan Association of Idaho, Tashi Dondup, left Tibet 30 years ago in the same upheaval that sent the Dalai Lama to exile in India.
"We are not anti-Chinese, but we are pro-justice," Dondup said. "We support the Dalai Lama's nonviolent approach to resolving the situation in Tibet. We are hurt by the demonizing and denigration of the Dalai Lama. We urge the Chinese government to talk to the Dalai Lama and to understand his position. Doing that will put a stop to the cat-and-mouse games with the Olympic torch and end free-Tibet protests."
The Rev. Barbara Condon Harrison, of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Blackfoot, called on the people of Idaho to boycott Chinese goods until religious freedom is restored.
"The more the Chinese government intertwines itself in the global economy, the more the rest of the world has a chance to pressure the Chinese government into allowing religious and, perhaps, political freedom in Tibet," she said. "We can be an integral part of that pressure."
Similarly, the Global Day for Darfur was marked with signs, speeches and poetry. Three Sudanese refugees spoke to the group who marched quietly from the Boise Depot to the Human Rights Memorial. Mohammed Mohammed brought his wife, Maryiam Abdalla, and their two children to the U.S. in 2006.
"Our parents and sisters and brothers have been targets for mass killings for five years," he said. "Please rescue us. Save us. We are dying of starvation and lack of medical attention. Our homes and land have been destroyed. Our rights have been taken away. Please rescue us."
Brad Talbutt: 672-6737
