(TibetanReview.net, Mar11’26) – Tibetans and supporters across the free world marked the 67th anniversary of the Lhasa uprising against China’s armed invasion and illegal occupation of Tibet on Mar 10. A group of 10 US lawmakers set the tone for the anniversary, urging Washington the day before to make Tibet a priority in its China policy. The official commemoration was held by the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) on the Tsuglakhang compound in Dharamshala, with Prof Dr Hans-Gert Pöttering, former President of the European Parliament, as the chief guest, and with the attendance also of a number of other international and national guests.
The bipartisan US lawmakers’ action was led by Congressmen Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Young Kim (R-CA). Their letter, addressed to the administration’s top Tibet policy official, Riley M. Barnes, who also serves as the Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, urged the Trump administration to make Tibet a priority in its dealings with China.
Referring to the series of US laws adopted on the issue of Tibet, the lawmakers wrote: “We know what is possible when the Administration and Congress work together to promote America’s interests regarding Tibet,” They wrote about looking forward to “working with you as Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues to implement these laws and appropriations provided by Congress, to advance a renewed and reinvigorated push to peacefully resolve the dispute over Tibet’s future, and to continue the U.S. government’s unwavering support for our Tibetan allies.”
The lawmakers specified eight areas in which the Trump administration and Congress could collaborate to advance US policy on Tibet consistent with those laws. These included promote dialogue between the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and representatives of the Dalai Lama or Central Tibetan Administration (CTA); defending the right of religious freedom in the Dalai Lama’s succession; countering the PRC’s disinformation about Tibet; promoting access to Tibet for foreign diplomats, journalists and tourists; continuing programmatic support for Tibetans; prioritizing a solution for Tibetans in Nepal; engaging with the CTA; and supporting Tibetan broadcasting services.
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Apart from the chief guest, those who attended the Dharamshala event included Senator Jiří Oberfalzer, Vice-President of the Czech Senate; Michael Brand, German Parliamentary State Secretary, as well as others European lawmakers that included Alice Parma from Italy, Dr Wiebke Winter from Germany, Juris Vilums from Latvia, and Senator Jiri Dusek from the Czech Republic. Several of the guests addressed the gathering.
The event was preceded by a three-day Special International Tibet Support Groups Meeting with the participation of the above guests and a number of others totalling some 100 from 32 countries. Following intensive deliberations and discussions on a wide range of topics—including briefings on the current situation inside Tibet, strategies to counter China’s increasingly distorted narratives, and reflections on why Tibet matters more than ever in the evolving geopolitical landscape—the meeting renewed the participants’ commitment to strive towards achieving a resolution to the issue of Tibet.
In New Delhi, many Tibetan activists gathered outside the Chinese embassy to mark the uprising day and to call for a free Tibet. Several were detained by police, according to the IANS news service Mar 10.
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In the UK, the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Tibet (APPG Tibet) organised a wreath-laying ceremony at the Innocent Victims’ Memorial in Westminster Abbey, London, to commemorate the 67th anniversary of Tibetan National Uprising.
Also, the Office of Tibet in London hosted a group of ten undergraduate and postgraduate students from the University of Westminster for a 90-minute interactive session focusing on the political and diplomatic outreach of the CTA aimed at resolving the Sino-Tibetan conflict, the resilience of Tibetans living inside occupied Tibet, and the strategic importance of the Tibetan Plateau as a major source of minerals driving China’s renewable energy transition.
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In North America, the 36 Tibetan community associations across the continent organized protests and peaceful marches in their different localities, including at the United Nations Plaza in New York City, which was addressed by the CTA’s Representative at the Office of Tibet, Dr Namgyal Choedup. Local officials and governments in several regions showed support for Tibet through various proclamations and public announcements.
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In Australia’s capital Canberra, the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) Co-Chair Senator Deborah O’Neill (Labour) introduced a cross-party motion on Tibet in the country’s Senate, highlighting growing and international concern over human rights in Tibet and the protection of Tibetan cultural and religious identity. An identical motion was also passed in the House of Representatives.
The motion was co-sponsored by senators from several political parties, reflecting a strong cross-party consensus in the Australian Senate on the importance of protecting Tibetan human rights and safeguarding religious freedom.
Canberra also saw hundreds of Tibetans and supporters gathering outside Parliament House to mark the uprising anniversary in an event jointly organized by the Australian Tibetan National Association and the Australia Tibet Council. MPs David Smith, Dr Sophie Scamps, and Kate Chaney, as well as Senators Barbara Pocock, Lidia Thorpe, David Shoebridge, and Steph Hodgins-May addressed gatshering.
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In Japan’s capital Tokyo, a peaceful demonstration was held in front of the Chinese Embassy with the participation of Tibetans and supporters. Carrying Tibetan national flags and placards that highlighted the gravity of the ongoing situation in Tibet, the participants raised slogans, calling for freedom in Tibet and urging an end to repression and cultural genocide there. They also called for the closure of Chinese colonial-style boarding schools in Tibet and advocated for non-violence, human rights, and the preservation of Tibetan culture and identity.
Tibetans, Japanese supporters, and members of the Mongolian community, also staged a peace walk through the busy streets of Shibuya, carrying Tibetan flags and banners while chanting messages calling for peace and justice in Tibet.
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Earlier on Mar 7, nearly 30 Czech supporters of Tibet, including Senators Přemysl Rabas and Jiří Růžička, climbed Sněžka, the highest mountain in the Czech Republic, to raise the Tibetan national flag and express solidarity with the Tibetan people ahead of the Tibetan uprising anniversary. The climb was joined by Former Deputy Prime Minister and Former Minister for Environment Martin Bursik, Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama Thinley Chukki from the Tibet Bureau in Geneva, Mayor of the municipality of Blatno Iveta Rabasová Houfová, President of the Czechs Support Tibet and Secretary of the Czech Parliamentarians’ Group for Tibet Kateřina Bursik.
The event marked the eighth time Czech supporters organized the solidarity climb on Sněžka to commemorate the 1959 Tibetan National Uprising and demonstrate continued support for the Tibetan people’s struggle for freedom and human rights. Many participants carried Tibetan flags as they ascended the mountain, which rises 1,603 meters above sea level.
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International human rights organization Human Rights Watch issued a statement for the occasion on Mar 9, saying “repression of Tibet remains unrelenting” and referring to issues of crackdowns and arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, religious repression, and other issues.
The statement called on world leaders to “use this moment to challenge China’s enforced silence surrounding Tibet, by pressing for information about the 45 known detention cases, accountability for deaths in custody, and genuine international access to the region.”
(Sources: Tibet.net, Mar 9-11, 2026, hrw.org Mar 9, 2026, and others,)