Oklahoman speaks out about Tibet

Kelly Osborne wanted his protest in Beijing to get the attention of the world.

Sunday, August 17th 2008, 12:00 am

By: News 9


By Rusty Surette, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Kelly Osborne wanted his protest in Beijing to get the attention of the world.

He knew protesting about Tibet was dangerous and he knew he'd be arrested by police in Beijing, but he went anyway.

Osborne's family is just happy to see him back home.

"Excited, very excited and so are our kids," said Michelle Osborne, who greeted her husband at the airport with Tibetan flags.

The father of four has been overseas protesting what he calls China's inhumane treatment of the people in Tibet.

"We have incredible human rights opportunities and benefits in this country and it's not like that in Tibet," said the youth pastor.

Osborne said he made the choice months ago to go to Beijing during the Olympics and protest, what he said is a country that should have never been allowed to host the games to begin with.

"The Tibetan people are really suffering. The Olympic games as far as we're concerned are kind of a joke. They ended up in Beijing and what we should be focusing on is the human rights records in Tibet," Osborne said.

Osborne and the other protesters knew going into this they'd be detained and deported, but never harmed.

"We knew what the consequences of our actions would be, but we knew what little risk there would be compared to what the Tibetan people are dealing with on a regular basis," Osborne said.

That is what Osborne and his people are trying to let the rest of the world know. They said if a Tibetan protested like the group did, they would have been captured, tortured and even killed.

"We all have an opportunity to stand up and say something about it and if we all do, that it'll make a difference," Osborne said.

The youth pastor said he'll continue telling others in Oklahoma about what's happening in China, hoping that they'll follow in his footsteps and demand better treatment for those in Tibet.

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