Richard Gere Speaks At The International Campaign for Tibet Peace Rally and Vigil for Tibet

Actor and Activist Richard Gere was a guest speaker, along with Archbishop Desmond Tutu and other digitaries, at the International Campaign for Tibet Peace Rally and Candlelight Vigil held Tuesday April 8, 2008. A crowd of some 2000 plus Tibetans and supporters gathered at the United Nations Plaza in San Francisco, California to hear the film actor discuss the current events in China against the Tibetans.

Richard spoke of a peaceful protest against the atrocities Tibetans are receiving at the hands of the Chinese government. Using words from the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader in exile, Richard urged the crowd to seek a peaceful resolve and to protest the Olympic Torch passing through Tibet, long held a symbol of peace and accomplishment.

Richard Gere, who has long been a supporter of Tibet and a follower of the Dalai Lama, said this is an "epic" moment in the history of Tibet-China relations. He called China's facade of a harmonious society a fraud by stating, "There is no harmony, no genuine harmony, without truth," Gere said. "Without freedom of religion, freedom of movement, freedom of culture."

Gere, chairman of the International Campaign for Tibet - Speaking to the campaigners, Gere said: "This torch is going through China and the world co-opting the idea of harmony to push a political position.

The protest came less than 24 hours before the Californian leg of the Beijing Olympic torch relay.

"The harmonious society (Chinese president) Hu Jintao talks about is a fraud. There can be no harmony without freedom of religion and culture."

Gere also read out a message from the Dalai Lama, reminding the protestors to steer clear of any violence during the torch relay: "It is the legitimate right of every Tibetan to struggle for their freedoms and right. On the other hand, it would be futile and not helpful to anyone if we do something that would create hatred in the minds of the Chinese people."

The Actor - who has branded China "one of the greatest human rights abusers on the planet" revealed to the gathered mass of people his vision for the future of the troubled region: "I have a dream that Chinese leaders wake up one day, blink their eyes as if coming out of a daze and say 'Oh my god, what have we done?', then look at each other at the same time and say, 'let's go talk to the Dalai Lama."