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Whit Johnson reportingWorldwide protests and controversy continue to plague celebrations for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Today the silence was broken in Salt Lake City.
There were actually two rallies going on today at the City County building: Those in support of and those who want to boycott the Beijing Olympics.
The issue of possible human rights violations in Tibet is something hundreds of people in Salt Lake want to talk about.
What was originally planned to be a pro-Tibet rally in downtown Salt Lake City quickly became a platform for protests on both sides of a highly controversial issue. Lhaksam Choedon, a Tibet supporter, said, "We're not against the Chinese people. We're against the government's policy. What they are doing inside Tibet is a great injustice."
"We are here to show our support for the Olympics because we believe the Olympics belongs to the people of the entire world, and no one has the right to frustrate or destroy it," said China supporter Taowen Le.
The decision for Beijing to host the 2008 Summer Olympics has sparked outrage and violence around the world.
Much like past demonstrations, here in Utah, the discussion was about human rights violations. Tibet supporter Tenzin Sampho said, "The recent riots in Tibet, where a lot of Tibetans were killed, a lot of Tibetans after the riots were detained."
Le said, "What happened last month in Tibet, China, was not so-called peaceful protests. Not at all. There are violent acts. They are terrorist attacks."
The rallies have been extremely emotional today. There were Chinese supporters on one side of the street, and supporters of Tibet on the other, and Salt Lake City police in the middle keeping a watch on everything. There have been numerous verbal altercations, but so far nothing violent.
Those we spoke to on both sides shared the common goal of informing the people of Salt Lake City. "We want to tell people, America, the truth about Tibet," said China supporter Stella Yang.
Unlike other protests of the Beijing Olympics, Salt Lake City police are reporting no injuries or arrests.
E-mail: wjohnson@ksl.com
