All of us at Students for a Free Tibet (SFT) express our deepest condolences to the victims of the devastating earthquake that struck Tibet and China last week. The human toll of this tragedy is staggering and our thoughts are with all of the families that have lost loved ones and the millions who are now displaced.

Tibetans in Tibet and around the world have been offering prayers and raising money to support the millions of Chinese people who have been impacted by this tragedy. In astatement issued on May 12th, the Dalai Lama offered his "deep sympathies and heartfelt condolences" to all of those affected.

Many people do not realize that the epicenter of the earthquake was in an area of eastern Tibet now administered under China's Sichuan province. This place is called "Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture" by the Chinese government, but "Aba" is actually "Ngaba" which is part of Amdo, the northeastern province of historical Tibet. The epicenter itself was in the Tibetan county of "Lungu" which the Chinese call "Wenchuan" and where, according to China's 2005 census information, at least 18.6% of the population is Tibetan.

It is throughout this eastern Tibetan region – Amdo and Kham – that a majority of the Tibetan protests have occurred over the past two months, and now this natural disaster is compounding the suffering that Tibetans are experiencing at the hands of Chinese authorities conducting a brutal crackdown on the popular, and predominantly peaceful, uprising against China's occupation. Just last week, only a day's drive from the earthquake's epicenter, more than 60 Tibetan nuns were brutally beaten and arrested for staging two separate peaceful demonstrations calling for the release of political prisoners, the return of the Dalai Lama, and independence for Tibet.

And while we have very little information about the impact of the earthquake on Tibetans because the areas around the epicenter remain cut off from the outside world, many fear the worst for thousands of Tibetans who remain detained or missing as a result of the crackdown. For instance, SFT has received unconfirmed but deeply distressing reports that many hundreds of Tibetans may have died when a large prison near Wenchuan collapsed. Official Chinese media has confirmed damage to a number of prisons in the area, but no detailed information has been released.

It is encouraging to see the incredible rescue efforts and increasingly open media reporting taking place in China, but we have heard almost no information about relief efforts in the affected Tibetan areas. However, on the day the earthquake struck, the regional government issued an urgent official document entitled “Combining work on anti-separatism and safeguarding stability with disaster relief work.” Considering the Chinese government's history of systematic oppression and disenfranchisement of Tibetans, we are gravely concerned that Tibetans impacted by the disaster will not receive equal consideration and assistance. The international community has rightly condemned the heinous efforts by the Burmese junta to block aid and relief to minority and dissident populations affected by the cyclone in Burma and must seek to prevent similar practices by Chinese authorities in Tibet.

We call upon the Chinese government to immediately cease its crackdown in Tibet and fulfill its international commitments to provide immediate medical care and humanitarian assistance to everyone affected by the earthquake. Furthermore, in the interest of ensuring that China's response to the natural disaster does not further exacerbate the suffering of Tibetans, international media and observers should be immediately allowed into all affected regions.

The inspiring and selfless efforts of tens of thousands of ordinary people in response to the earthquake suggest that something positive can emerge from the devastation. At the same time, recent history suggests that it is vital to keep the light of global public scrutiny on the Chinese authorities now to prevent further abuses and suffering.

Our thoughts and prayers are with all of those affected by the earthquake in China and Tibet.

Students for a Free Tibet International Headquarters

We suggest donations for the earthquake relief effort be made through Tibet Foundation and Mercy Corps.