Elie Wiesel leads Tibet protest -- 03/28/2008

+by the Foreign Desk of the TheJC.com -- +Nobel Prize winner Elie Wiesel has lobbied 25 of his fellow laureates to support a letter condemning the Chinese authorities' "unwarranted campaign" against Tibetan protesters.

Escalating protests against the Chinese occupation of Tibet, which began in 1951, have drawn a harsh reaction from Beijing.

Tibetan groups have claimed that almost 100 people have been killed this month, although the Chinese government said the number was fewer than 20. (PLEASE NOTE: These numbers have not been verified and are subject to change.)  The letter instigated by Mr Wiesel urges China to restart a dialogue with Tibet's exiled leader, the Dalai Lama, another Nobel Peace Prize winner.

"We protest the unwarranted campaign waged by the Chinese government against our fellow Nobel laureate, His Holiness the Dalai Lama," the letter reads. "Contrary to the repeated claims of Chinese authorities, the Dalai Lama does not seek separation from China, but religious and cultural autonomy. This autonomy is fundamental to the preservation of the ancient Tibetan heritage."

Mr Wiesel stopped short of calling for a boycott of this summer's Olympic Games in Beijing. However, last month, Hollywood mogul Steven Spielberg stepped down as artistic director for the Beijing Olympics in protest at Chinese sales of arms to the Sudanese government, accused of carrying out a genocide in the Darfur region.