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CALIFORNIA: Andrus, Tutu join advocacy for Tibet
Bishop calls on Episcopalians, Americans to advocate for Tibet
[Episcopal News Service] Bishop Marc Andrus of the San Francisco-based Diocese of California, his eye on the Tibetan flag waving above Grace Cathedral Thursday, April 10, called upon Episcopalians and Americans to raise their voices in protest "against the ongoing injustice of China against the people of Tibet.""And we need to stand for the promotion of justice in our own country," he added.
The controversy and demonstrations that accompanied the Olympic Torch's arrival in San Francisco earlier in the week had subsided, but the need for action remains, said Andrus, who attended a Tuesday evening candlelight vigil along with such notables as Archbishop Desmond Tutu, actor Richard Gere and many others.
Tutu, coincidentally, was in San Francisco to receive the "OUTSPOKEN" Award from the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights (IGLHRC). During an acceptance speech, he compared the act of speaking up for human rights to the basic act of breathing, according to the organization's website.
Before a crowd of about 500 people at Grace Cathedral the Nobel Peace Prize winner condemned the persecution of gay people, apologized on behalf of the church for ostracizing gays, and challenged China to improve its human rights record.
The event overlapped with the vigil for Tibet in San Francisco's United Nations Plaza, held prior to the arrival of the Olympic Torch, on its way to Beijing, China, host of the next Olympic games.
Earlier torch stops in London and Paris also erupted into protests against Chinese oppression of Tibet, particularly the nation's use of violence to suppress anti-government unrest.
The President of the International Olympic Committee, Jacques Rogge, told reporters on Wednesday that the torch's tour would continue despite the protests. Yet he called upon Beijing authorities to respect their "moral engagement" to improve human rights and to provide news organization with greater access ahead of the Summer Games, according to the International Herald Tribune.
In San Francisco, Andrus said Americans have "much more access to information in this country … but we have perhaps a very complacent population.
For example, "we know that we've been torturing prisoners under interrogation in both Iraq and Guantanamo and yet the level of protest about it you'd have to say is rather weak. It's important for us to ask ourselves as we legitimately protest the human rights violations of China against Tibet what motives us and why and if we act properly in that sphere are we also going to act responsibly at home?
He added: "I think we have to understand that being quiet for the sake of politeness" ultimately becomes complicity in injustice.
"What I had hoped and still hope here is that we can provide a safe table for supporters of China and supporters of Tibet to come to have some kind of conversation here. The torch is passed, but we still have work to do."