The truth revealed in Nottingham
On Tuesday May 27, the Western Shugden Society arranged two protests in the English city of Nottingham.
As people gathered to listen to the Dalai Lama at the Ice Arena in the morning, they were greeted by a vociferous picket of monks, nuns, and lay Buddhists from over 30 countries representing thousands of Western Shugden Society members around the world.
Limitations of space meant that only 40 people could protest at that location, but a few blocks away over a thousand people assembled in Old Market Square to deliver their message to the people of Nottingham.
Resounding message
What the crowd at the Ice Arena lacked in numbers they made up for in volume and the acoustics of the location ensured that everyone in the area heard the cries of ‘Dalai Lama Stop Lying’ and ‘Dalai Lama, Give Religious Freedom’.
Certainly everyone attending the Dalai Lama’s talk heard – and hundreds of them stopped on their way in to take a copy of the booklet, The Tibetan Situation Today.
Hypocrisy exposed
This booklet is proving to be very popular. Over ten thousand have been printed and distributed in the UK in the space of six days! Not to mention the thousands already distributed in USA and Germany. These, combined with the extensive press coverage the demonstrations have generated and the rapidly increasing buzz on the Internet mean that the message is getting out and it is becoming harder and harder for the Dalai Lama to hide behind his lies.
People are beginning to question the hypocrisy of a political leader of just 150,000 people posing as a champion of human rights and religious freedom and lecturing the world on love and kindness while he and his agents inflict horrible suffering on anyone who chooses not to follow his dictats.
The persecution continues
While the Dalai Lama sits on a high throne in the Ice Arena charming his audience with words he has stolen from his teacher but which in no way reflect his true intentions, millions continue to suffer at his hands. Just the day before, while he added an extra public talk to his charm offensive in Nottingham, a Shugden practitioners house was burned to the ground by his followers in India.
Every day the Western Shugden Society receives reports from Tibetans throughout the world who have been intimidated, humiliated, and worse by the Dalai Lama’s agents, simply because they will not give up a perfectly harmless practice that he has chosen to demonize to appease his political opponents. And these days, you don’t need to be doing the practice of Dorje Shugden to be the victim of intimidation, you just need to be related to someone who is, or sell something to them, or even share food with them!
While the Dalai Lama’s agents with their trademark Armani suits and pony tail hairstyles stalked the protesters in Nottingham, hiding behind trees and even posing as members of the public making inquiries at our demonstration registration desk, thousands who have received the “knock on the door” from their colleagues in India, are left homeless without money, food, or friends.
Closed minds and deaf ears
These protests came about because the Dalai Lama refused even to acknowledge our repeated requests for a meaningful dialog, and the behavior of some of his followers in Nottingham revealed that their minds are as closed as the Dalai Lama’s.
Whereas the majority of people attending the talk, while occasionally shocked at our message, respectfully listened to our arguments and took copies of our literature, a small minority of fanatical devotees greeted us with profanities, vulgar gestures, and even physical threats. One Tibetan monk even lifted his robes to moon the protesters in public! What must he be teaching them?
Dialog with the people
What a refreshing change it was in the afternoon to join the main demonstration in the Old Market Square and have an opportunity to put our case to the people of Nottingham.
As over a thousand protesters from all over the world, including hundreds of ordained monks and nuns, assembled amid thousands of shoppers, office workers, and kids on vacation, they were met with genuine interest by the people of Nottingham.
And why not? The Dalai Lama and his followers might try to dismiss the protesters as a small group of fanatics, but the public know better. Why would hundreds of monks and nuns, and as many lay Buddhists publicly protest the Dalai Lama’s hypocrisy and persecution if there were not something seriously wrong?
Person after person came up to ask questions and take our literature, while once again the press gathered to interview our spokesperson Kelsang Pema. That evening there impressive coverage was on the TV news.
We met with thinking people who are sensible enough to form their own views – and they listened to us and heard what we were saying.
The truth came out in Nottingham on Tuesday, as it will in town after town as the Western Shugden Society continues its campaign to protest wherever the Dalai Lama appears in public – until he stops once and for all his actions of discrimination, persecution, and intimidation.
Published: 28 May 2008