From Mark (London) – For many years I have been a donative supporter of ‘Free Tibet’ (FT) which is based here in Ol’ London town.

Why ? – read on please:

The vision is a Free Tibet in which Tibetans are able to determine their own future and the human rights of all are respected. FT campaign for an end to China’s occupation of Tibet and for international recognition of Tibetans’ right to freedom. FT mobilise active support for the Tibetan cause, champion human rights and challenge those whose actions sustain the occupation.

FT are entirely funded by our supporters across the world. You can join us here.

“Tibet today is one of the most repressed and closed societies in the world.”

– Senator Robert Menendez, Chair of US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, 2012

China invaded Tibet in 1950. Inside its borders and across the world, Tibetans have never stopped believing Tibet is a nation.

After more than 60 years of occupation, Tibetans still resist China’s rule and defy its oppression.

That’s is why they have my personal support.

If you believe in the rights of animals, as I do; then in some instances you believe in human rights also. A Free Tibet in which Tibetans are able to determine their own future and the human rights of all are respected is such just a case for me – I fully support the work and aims of FT.

 

Website – https://www.freetibet.org/

About – https://www.freetibet.org/about

News – https://www.freetibet.org/news

 

Please support and become a member;

Regards Mark.

 

 

Support Tibetans standing up for their environment

 

Petition Link – https://secure.freetibet.org/support-tibetans-standing-their-environment

The Tibetan Plateau, otherwise known as the Third Pole, is an extremely important region for global climate systems. This vast landscape is the birthplace of nine of Asia’s largest rivers, sustaining nearly two billion people. The plateau contains the largest amount of glacier ice outside of Antarctica and the North Pole and helps regulate climate systems across Asia.

However, Tibet’s unique environment is changing. Along with the Arctic and island nations, Tibet is on the frontline of global climate change and is warming three times faster than the rest of the world. Natural disasters such as droughts, landslides and floods are increasing in frequency. As glaciers and permafrost thaw, people in the mountains may be forced to migrate due to water shortages. Millions of people downstream may also feel the effects of this altered river flow. The health of Tibet’s environment will determine the health of climate systems across Asia and beyond.

“This blue planet is our only home and Tibet is its roof. The Tibetan plateau needs to be protected, not just for Tibetans, but for the environmental health and sustainability of the entire world.” – Dalai Lama

Free Tibet is calling for international recognition for Tibet at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow in 2020.

Help us secure a place for Tibet at COP26. Sign our petition today and in the autumn we will take your signatures to the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Environmental Affairs of participating countries.

Tibetans deserve representation and a say in their own environment.

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Text of petition:

We the undersigned request that your government ensures that there will be Tibetan representation at the upcoming COP26 climate meeting in Glasgow in November.

One of the key threats faced by Tibetans today is the eradication of their environment, and the most pressing and comprehensive threat to Tibet’s environment is that of climate change. The Tibetan Plateau contains the largest concentration of frozen freshwater outside of the Arctic and Antarctica. But, its glaciers are receding at three times the global average due to climate change, resulting in eight billion tonnes of ice being lost every year as glaciers disappear. Between 1970 and 2010, Tibet lost over 27 per cent of its glacier coverage.

The depletion of Tibet’s glaciers risks seriously disrupting the flow of Tibet’s rivers, posing a threat to rural Tibetans and people downriver who rely on this water. Tibet’s fragile ecosystem could also be seriously damaged. These negative effects could be greatly exacerbated by the current construction of dams across Tibet’s rivers.

These risks require decisive action. We urge your government to make a clear statement of support for Tibetans and recognising them as one of the frontline communities in the struggle against climate change.

Furthermore, we request that you invite a Tibetan to attend COP26, ideally as part of your country’s delegation, with a view to them addressing the conference. It is important that they can recount in their own words the threats to their land and livelihoods that Tibetans are being forced to confront.

We look forward to hearing from you,

Yours sincerely,

Above – the February 2020 magazine cover.

 

 

Today, the European Commission decided to register a European Citizens’ Initiative entitled ‘Stop Finning – Stop the Trade’ related to sharks and rays. The aim of the Initiative is to ‘end the trade of fins in the EU including the import, export and transit of fins other than if naturally attached to the animal’s body.’

The organisers state that ‘although the removal of fins on board of EU vessels and in EU waters is prohibited and sharks must be landed with their fins naturally attached, the EU is among the biggest exporters of fins and a major transit hub for the global fin trade’.

Prior to Regulation (EU) No 605/2013, the previous regulation from 2003 prohibited shark fins from being separated, but left a loophole that allows boats with a “special permit” to continue this practice. Around 200 such “special permits” were held annually by Spain and Portugal.

The Initiative specifically calls on the Commission ‘to extend REGULATION (EU) No 605/2013 also to the trade of fins and […] develop a new regulation, extending “fins naturally attached” to all trading of sharks and rays in the EU’.

Under the Treaties, the EU can take legal action in areas of common fisheries policy and common commercial policy. The Commission therefore considers the initiative legally admissible and decided to register it. The Commission has not analysed the substance of the initiative at this stage.

The registration of this initiative will take place on 2 January 2020, allowing the organizers to start, within next 6 months, a one-year process of collection of signatures of support.

Should the initiative receive one million statements of support within 1 year, from at least 7 different Member States, the Commission will have to react within 6 months. The Commission can decide either to follow the request or not, and in both instances would be required to explain its reasoning.

Background

The European Citizens’ Initiative was introduced with the Lisbon Treaty as an agenda-setting tool in the hands of citizens. It was launched in April 2012.

In 2017, the European Commission tabled reform proposals for the European Citizens’ Initiative to make it more citizen-friendly. In December 2018, the European Parliament and the Council agreed on the reform and the revised rules will start applying as of 1 January 2020. The revised rules, among others, will give the organisers more flexibility to choose the starting date of their campaign as well as revise the proposed initiative before the Commission’s registration decision.

In the meantime, the Commission has been raising awarenessof the European Citizens’ Initiative through a communication campaign and offered support to organisers via a collaborative platform. In total, the Commission has registered 71 Citizens’ Initiatives and refused 26, with only 6 refusals in the past 5 years.

Once formally registered, a European Citizens’ Initiative allows one million citizens from at least one quarter of EU Member States to invite the European Commission to propose a legal act in areas where the Commission has the power to do so.

The conditions for admissibility are that the proposed action does not manifestly fall outside the framework of the Commission’s powers to submit a proposal for a legal act, that it is not manifestly abusive, frivolous or vexatious and that it is not manifestly contrary to the values of the Union.

Please sign the Petition:  https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_19_6783

And I mean...does anyone remember the end the cage age EU citizens’ initiative?
It officially ended on September 11, 2019 with 1.5 million votes.
The commission has 6 months to decide, a position has to come in March at the latest. But we don’t know anything about it.

Apparently it doesn’t look good, because the German meat mafia is already baking its own “bread-rolls” with the extension of the animal torture in pig boxes, do you remember this article https://worldanimalsvoice.com/2020/02/14/germany-the-horror-of-the-pig-boxes-remains-for-the-time/ ?

Ignorance and corruption in EU circles should not be underestimated; that’s what i want to say.

Of course, we will and must all participate in this initiative, we will invest hope and energy again to save these animals and our oceans from criminals.

But at the next time we need a citizens’ initiative to abolish the EU itself; because on its current form the EU has failed in both human and animal welfare.

My best regards to all, Venus