Free Tibet tells Coke UK: Torture is the real thing in Tibet

Free Tibet Campaign today wrote to Coca-Cola UK president Sanjay Guha, in an effort to persuade the British branch of the multinational beverage firm to take a stand on Tibet (1). The group is making a last effort to convince Coca-Cola that its unquestioning sponsorship of the Olympic Torch relay can only tarnish its image if the Torch is taken into Tibet this month (2).

Previous entreaties by Free Tibet Campaign and other members of the International Tibet Support Network (ITSN) to engage with Coca-Cola headquarters in Atlanta have fallen on deaf ears. In March and again in April, Coca-Cola’s Chairman Neville Isdell was warned that the Chinese government planned to parade the Olympic torch through Lhasa at a time when Tibetans are mourning their dead and thousands are languishing in prison (3). Mr Isdell was also advised that Jampa Phuntsog, China’s governor in the Tibetan Autonomous Region, has admitted that the authorities expects Tibetans to protest when the torch arrives in Tibet and stated that: "we will deal with these persons severely... We will not be merciful."

Anne Holmes, acting director of Free Tibet Campaign, said: “We believe that sponsoring this journey through a country which has been brutalised and cut off from the world should leave a bad taste in any company’s mouth.”

So far Coca-Cola has failed to voice any such concerns, with Mr Isdell telling Tibetan groups that the company had no role in selecting the route and that “dropping out of the Torch Relay or using the event to put political pressure on China would erode the ability of the Olympic Games to make a contribution to lasting change in China”.

Ms Holmes explained the decision to turn the focus on Coca-Cola UK: “We can but hope that someone within Coca-Cola takes the company’s commitments to human rights seriously. Coke is a signatory of the United Nations Global Compact, which clearly states that businesses ‘should support and respect the protection of international human rights within their sphere of influence’ and that they ‘should ensure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses’.”

In the letter to Mr Guha, she wrote: “Coca-Cola may claim Tibet does not normally fall within its sphere of influence, but that claim will ring hollow if Coca-Cola’s brand is clearly associated with any Tibetan blood spilt during the Torch Relay’s tortuous progress through Tibetan areas.”

A graphic designer and supporter of Tibet, who is outraged by Coca-Cola’s sponsorship of the Torch Relay in Tibet, donated his take on the message Coke is sending to the Tibetan people. The image, which shows the Tibetan flag burning in a Coca-Cola bottle, has the tag line: SHOOTING BOXING TORTURE. IT’S THE REAL THING IN TIBET (3).

Forwarding the image to Mr Guha, Ms Holmes warned: “If Coca-Cola does not publicly call for an end to the arbitrary detentions and beatings of men, women and children in Tibet - who are simply protesting for their basic human rights to be respected - if it does not denounce and demand an end to the media blackout in Tibet, and if it allows the Chinese government to hijack its brand, along with the Olympic rings and ideals, then we fear this  image is how Coca-Cola’s sponsorship of the Torch Relay and the Games themselves will be remembered.”

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Notes to editors:

(1) To read the letter from Free Tibet Campaign to Coca-Cola UK, click here.

(2) The Olympic Torch is due to arrive in Lhasa on 18 or 19 June, so it is not too late for Coca-Cola to take a principled stand for the people of Tibet - and with them for the victims of human rights abuses everywhere.

(3) Copies of the correspondence between ITSN and Coca-Cola can be found at www.tibetnetwork.org/protests2008.

(4) To view the donated image of Coca-Cola in Tibet, click here.

Higher resolution versions are available on request.