by Daisuke Ochiai
Tenzin Dorjee , the Deputy Director of Students for a Free Tibet, was in the Japanese capital where he spoke about strategy and personal experiences in the Tibet movement. Tenzin was speaking at a two-day conference while visiting Tokyo. Hosted by SFT Japan, the conference took place at the National Olympic Memorial Youth Center near Shinjuku.
On the first day, SFT’s Mount Everest Base Camp protest video(April 2007) was screened. The protest, planned in reaction to a lack of improved human rights promised by the Chinese Government, took place on April 25th, the birthday of the Panchen Lama Gendun Choki Nyima. Tendor discussed action planning, arrest, dealing with the Chinese authorities, their weaknesses and took questions from the audience.
The second day of the conference, May 10th, was a panel group focused on discussing the topic “What can I do to help Tibet?”. Panel members included Ms. Ayako Sadakane, an ethnologist who has worked with Tibetan refugees in Nepal since the 70s. Ms. Sadakane discussed the challenges of working with refugees, obstacles put in place by government pressure, and the need for human resources that are not dependent on the government. Mr. Yukiyasu Osada, who has spent much time working inside Tibet as well as staff from Amnesty International Japan’s Tibet Team discussed their work and plans going forward. Tendor then compared SFT action techniques and drove home the point that everyone, no matter how small, has something unique they can offer to the Tibet movement.
When not at the conferences, Tendor also spent time at Waseda University and the Japanese Parliament promoting the Tibet cause before his return to New York.
