Top performers from Denver, Fort Collins, Colorado Springs and elsewhere will come together in concert for the Global Human Rights Torch Relay on Saturday, April 5, in Denver’s City Park.
The artists will perform on two stages from noon to 8 p.m., as a show of support for the Human Rights Torch Relay. Popular bands and solo artists include Gaia Rhythm Project, Shel, The Hollyfelds, Melanie Susuras, Jason Vigil, Something Underground, Potcheen Folk Band, Savage Henry, Rob Drabkin, George Christiansen, Victoria Woodworth, Jeremy Facknitz, Sara Effner, Jessica Sonner, LeadvilleJim, Pairadeux, Lisa Genee, Kristina Ingham, Xiren, Remember May, and Dan Craig.
“This is a very special event,” says local spokeswoman Vivian Lam. “We will come together to stand up for human dignity and human rights.”
Despite optimism over an improvement to China’s human rights record, organizers say that after being awarded the 2008 Olympics, the country’s communist leadership continues its persecution of various ethnic and religious groups – a direct violation of the Olympic Charter.
“China’s government has proven by their actions, time and time again, that they have no respect for human rights,” says Lam. “Instead, these abuses have worsened.”
Tenzin Dhongyal, the president of the Tibetan Association of Colorado, says, “Just last month, Chinese soldiers arbitrarily arrested more than 200 Tibetans in Amdo region of Eastern Tibet. This continued and well-documented abuse of human rights by China is a major blow to the standard of an Olympic host and the world community.”
The Human Rights Torch Relay is an international campaign created to draw attention to worsening human rights violations both inside and outside China’s borders.
During the run up to the 2008 Olympics, the relay will reach 37 countries on five continents bringing the message: The Olympics and crimes against humanity cannot co-exist in China.
Since Beijing was chosen as the 2008 Olympic site, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Reporters Without Borders have all reported a marked increase in violent repression aimed at silencing groups and individuals that China’s communist leadership has labeled as enemies: Tibetan Buddhists, Christians, Uighur Muslims, democracy activists and Falun Gong practitioners. The Chinese Communist Party also supports other totalitarian regimes in Sudan, Burma, Zimbabwe and North Korea.
According to the Falun Dafa Information Center Web site, “Chinese security agencies have been conducting large-scale arrests of Falun Gong adherents throughout China in recent months as authorities step up efforts to “stamp out” the practice in advance of the Olympic Games, in August.
The Human Rights torch, which is in South America, will arrive in Boston on March 30 and continue its way across the U.S. throughout April. It will then head to Canada and Asia.
Sponsors of the local event include the Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong in China, Friends of Falun Gong, Tibetan Association of Colorado, Amnesty International at CU Boulder, Asian Student Alliance at DU, Never Again! At DU, Tidbits of Aurora Newspaper, The Epoch Times, Unified Vietnamese-American Council of Colorado, The Springs Coalition to Save Darfur, VietNews Colorado, Y Dan Vietnamese Newspaper, and DenverUrbanSpectrum.com Web site.

Event Details:
Date/Time: Saturday, April 5, 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Location: City Park, Denver Colorado
5k Run/Walk: begins with registration at 8 a.m.
Rally: 11 a.m. – Noon (featuring speeches and presentations from government officials, NGOs, and ethnic and spiritual groups)
Live Concert: Noon – 8 p.m.
Candlelight Vigil: 8 p.m.
Information: www.humanrightstorch.org/news/2008/03/01/denver-torch-relay/
Contact: 303-758-1296; carol.f@humanrightstorchusa.org

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