"Tibet! Tibet!"

http://my.earthlink.net/article/ent?guid=20080303/47cb85d0_536_133420080303-1273210044

"Shanghai (dpa) - Icelandic pop singer Bjork backed independence for Tibet during her concert on Sunday in Shanghai, eyewitnesses said on Monday.

She shouted "Tibet, Tibet!" followed by "Raise your flag!" towards the end of her final song, "Declare independence."

Her protest apparently went unnoticed by the majority of an estimated 3,000 people at the Shanghai International Gymnastics Centre.

But it is likely to anger China's communist government, which has previously expelled foreigners for making public protests in favour of Tibetan independence.

The words "Raise your flag" are part of the standard lyrics of the song.

A representative of the Chinese concert organizer, Shanghai-based Emma Entertainment, said by telephone that she had been backstage and was unaware of Bjork shouting "Tibet, Tibet!" The company declined further comment on the incident.

At a similar concert in Tokyo last week, Bjork dedicated her performance of "Declare independence" to supporting Kosovo's declaration of independence.

That statement led organizers of a Serbian music festival planned for July to drop her from the lineup, citing security fears.

Her Shanghai protest came as several Tibetan independence groups are running high-profile campaigns to promote their cause ahead of the Olympic Games in Beijing in August.

Most Tibetans support calls by the exiled Dalai Lama, Tibetan Buddhism's highest leader, for greater autonomy for Tibet within China, although many still favour independence.

The Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959 after an abortive uprising against the occupation of Tibet by Chinese troops since 1951. He remains as popular as ever among ordinary Tibetans."

I don't she meant to offend or provoke anyone. I think that Declare Independence is a song dedicated for the oppressed everywhere, for example: when she came here she dedicated it to the Indigenous Australians.

"i have been asked by many for a statement after dedicating my song "declare independence" to both kosovo and tibet ( amongst others ) on different occasions.

i would like to put importance on that i am not a politician, i am first and last a musician and as such i feel my duty to try to express the whole range of human emotions. the urge for declaring independence is just one of them but an important one that we all feel at some times in our lives. this song was written more with the personal in mind but the fact that it has translated to its broadest meaning, the struggle of a suppressed nation, gives me much pleasure .

i would like to wish all individuals and nations good luck in their battle for independence.

justice !


warmth , björk."

RAISE YOUR FLAG!