Toronto August 18 – The Canada Tibet Committee is pleased to announce that a 39-year-old woman is cycling her way around the world to help free Tibet. Karen McLinton first began her global cycle to overcome her own personal battle against chronic fatigue syndrome
Karen started her journey on August 27, 2001 from her home in Jersey, a small island off the coast of France. The purpose of her bike trip was to learn about different countries and their cultures. While traveling through Tibet, she learned about the human rights abuses that had been suffered by the Tibetan people since the Chinese occupation in 1959. Karen was overwhelmed by the devastation caused by China to Tibet — over 1.2 million Tibetans killed, over 6,000 monasteries destroyed, destruction of ancient and unique Tibetan culture and the environment, illegal organ trades by China, forced sterilization, brutal torture in Tibetan prisons and the kidnapping of the youngest political prisoner in the world – then six-year-old Gendhun Choekyi Nyima or the Panchen Lama, who is revered by Tibetans as the second most important Tibetan Buddhist figure, following the Dalai Lama.
“The Chinese government is getting away with murder in Tibet,” McLinton said. “I decided to take their story and continue out to other countries to tell them what’s going on.”
Karen has traveled over 15,000 km so far and plans to continue her message to Scandinavia, Australia and Britain. While spreading awareness on the situation of Tibet, she has found that her illness has also started to disappear.
The Canada Tibet Committee is an independent non-profit organization of Tibetans and Tibet-supporters in Canada, concerned about the continuing human rights violations and lack of democratic freedom in Tibet. It advocates on behalf of the Tibetan people with the principle of non-violence through outreach campaigns to government, non-governmental organizations, the public and the media. The CTC conducts seminars and organizes cultural events in an attempt to preserve the unique Tibetan culture,
Media Contact: Pema Lektsog (416) 269-8730 or email plektsog@yahoo.ca
Karen has been traveling across Canada since April and is scheduled to arrive in Toronto on Tuesday, August 19, 2003. She will be available for interviews until Saturday, August 23 in the Toronto area.
