What the killing of George Floyd means to me

June 2, 2020
Matteo Mecacci
6 Comments

During the last few months, we at the International Campaign for Tibet have been continuing our work in support of the people of Tibet and to oppose the systematic discrimination they suffer at the hands of the Chinese government.

A few days ago, like everyone living in America, I saw the images of the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and I shared my thoughts about that tragedy on my personal Facebook page. Today, I want to share those thoughts with all of you who support ICT.

For a few days I had trouble watching the video of the killing of George Floyd. I could not stand hearing a man begging a policeman not to suffocate him, and seeing him succumbing.

Now, I think that this image represents something which is way bigger than the tragic loss of a precious human life. It represents the universal pain of all those who are oppressed by the arrogance of power.

The arrogance of power takes many, different forms: it’s institutional, it’s economic, it’s discriminatory, it’s racist, it’s intolerant and it’s bigoted.

That arrogance now needs to be stopped. With determination, but without violence, with strength and compassion for the opponent and with the indomitable will to overcome the obstacles.

Remember that when we accept injustice, we become complicit with it. Change is possible, and it starts with each of us saying that enough is enough.

About author View all posts

Matteo Mecacci

Matteo Mecacci, is President of the International Campaign for Tibet. Born in Firenze (Florence) Italy, Matteo Mecacci, studied International law at the University of Firenze. He represented the Transnational Radical Party and No Peace without Justice at the UN in New York from 2001 to 2008 and later served as a member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies as well as an elected official of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly. In that capacity he participated in over 20 election observation missions, including as OSCE Special Coordinator in Serbia and Belarus in 2012.
  
He was appointed head of mission of the OSCE/ODHIR election observation mission in Georgia in 2013. He served as Chairperson of the Italian Parliamentary Intergroup for Tibet, and in 2009, he organized the 5th World Parliamentarians Convention on Tibet in Rome. He was Co-chair of the International Network of Parliamentarians on Tibet (INPaT) and played an active role in promoting Tibetan democracy in exile, and was a Co-Chair of the Tibetan Election Observation Mission in 2011.

6 CommentsLeave a comment

  • I completely agree, I am almost as old as H. H.and thought some of this would have been resolved in the 60’s when I was protesting then, but it didn’t seem to make a difference, any more than my government made a different in helping Tibet at the time? Change needs to happen on both fronts, there is no difference, China needs to leave Tibet and America needs to stop it’s bigotry? We are all the same and we all want freedom??

  • “The arrogance of power” explanation and the way to antidote this, was exquisitely stated.The “arrogance of power” with exposure, requires self reflection, request for apology from the heart, and the vow with commitment to take the action so that this arrogance and abuse will stop and be replaced the respect and fairness for each human being on our one Earth.