(TibetanReview.net, Mar11’24) — The 65th anniversary of the Tibetan national uprising against Chinese occupation rule was commemorated Mar 10 by Tibetans and their campaign supporters across the free world but again banned in Nepal’s capital Kathmandu which feared that allowing it would offend China. The official Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) event was held at Dharamshala, India and had parliament members from Germany and Australia as guests, including German MP Michael Karl Brand as the chief guest. The commemoration saw participation and support from citizens and political leaders in many countries.
Mass protest rallies were held across India, in cities and towns across the USA – where several state and local governments marked the day as “Tibet Day” and the like – and Canada as well as across Europe, besides Taiwan and Japan.
At the Dharamshala event, held on the Tsuglakhang courtyard, Sikyong (executive head) Mr Penpa Tsering of the CTA highlighted China’s marginalization of Tibetan language and destruction of Tibetan Buddhism, which he said threatened the survival of the Tibetan identity. He said the Chinese government’s actions violated fundamental principles of the country’s own constitutional law.
He reiterated the CTA’s commitment to pursue the Middle Way Policy of seeking autonomy, not independence, for resolving the Sino-Tibetan conflict through dialogue. He highlighted the role of international support for achieving this goal.
In its statement for the occasion, the Tibetan Parliament in Exile (TPiE) highlighted the thoughtless continuity of China’s brutal and violent repression of the Tibetan people under its occupation rule despite the latter’s efforts to reach a settlement through dialogue and the international community’s strong criticisms of its rights record.
Speaker Khenpo Sonam Tenphel also used the occasion to express hope that members of the TPiE will be able to overcome difficulties with application of mind and intelligence to carry out the much-needed legislative amendments for restoring the effective functioning of the CTA during this month’s upcoming parliament sessions.
The chief guest, as well as Australian Senators Deborah Mary O’Neill and Dean Anthony Smith, besides Australian MPs Michael McCormack and David Smith also addressed the gathering, expressing support for and solidarity with the Tibetan people in their struggle for freedom.
Michael Brand, Chair of the Parliamentary Group for Tibet in the German Parliament; Dean Smith, Co-Chair of the Australian All Party Parliamentary Group for Tibet (Liberal Party); Michael McCormack, former Australian Deputy Prime Minister (National Party); Deborah O’Neill; and David Smith (Labor Party) also addressed a joint press conference.
The official event ended with the Tibetans taking out a protest rally to downtown Dharamshala.
Tibetan communities and supporters across India held commemoration events and protest rallies.
In Delhi, over 300 protesters gathered near India’s Parliament House and chanted slogans including “Tibet was never a part of China” and “China should leave Tibet”, reported the AP Mar 10. They carried Tibetan flags and photographs of their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. The rally was organized by Tibetan Youth Congress, which campaigns for the restoration of Tibet’s independence from Chinese rule.
In Kolkata, Ganasamannay Kolkata and Paschim Banga Buddhijibi Sabha, two voluntary outfits dedicated to raising awareness about Tibet, led a gathering outside the Chinese consulate in Salt Lake to raise their voices against Beijing’s alleged human rights violation and cultural genocide in Tibet, reported the telegraphindia.com Mar 11.
“We urge upon the Indian Citizens to stand by the side of the people of Tibet for India’s National interests. … We also want the bill passed by Indian Parliament to get back their own land from China be enacted as soon as possible” neindiabroadcast.com Mar 11 quoted Advocate Ruby Mukherjee as saying, speaking on behalf of the two organizing groups.
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Nepal again denied permission to Tibetans in the country to commemorate their national uprising day. As a result, the Tibetan Refugee Welfare Office in Kathmandu advised Tibetans to hold their commemorative prayers and other religious activities in the privacy of their homes as in past many years.
All political parties in Nepal support Beijing’s One-China policy, which they understand means Taiwan and Tibet are part of the current greater China. China is a major source of investment, aid, and grant to Nepal. It even lobbies openly for the country’s fractious communist parties to form a coalition government with little domestic criticism.
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In the US state of Wisconsin, Tibetans and supporters gathered at Madison’s City County Building on the day declared by Governor Tony Evers as “Tibet Day in Wisconsin”.
“We want everybody out here in Wisconsin to understand the issue of Tibet is about human rights. It’s about justice, it’s about truth. We want everybody to support Tibet,” wkow.com Mar 11 quoted an organizer as saying.
In New Mexico, local and state officials honoured the day with proclamations. Mayor Alan Webber’s decreed the day as “Tibet Rights Day” throughout the city of Santa Fe while the state observed Mar 10 as “Tibet Day” by proclamation of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, reported aol.com Mar 11.
The Tibetan national anthem rang out in Santa Fe Plaza in the morning when dozens of demonstrators sang along, forming a choir equipped with signs and banners demanding, “Free Tibet”, the report said.
After declaring Mar 10 as “Tibetan Freedom Day in Santa Fe County”, Commissioner Anna Hansen, a practicing Tibetan Buddhist for decades, expressed her appreciation for the local Tibetan community, the report said.
In Amherst, the Tibetan flag was raised in front of Amherst Town Hall and there was a reading of a proclamation adopted by the Amherst Town Council on Mar 11. The proclamation, on behalf of the Regional Tibetan Association of Massachusetts, describes the 1959 event as a response to a brutal annexation of the country and pays tribute to more than a million Tibetans who lost their life in their struggle for the freedom of Tibet. It also states “the annexation and ongoing suppression of human rights and freedom in Tibet, egregious Sinicization of Tibetan Buddhism and the intentional marginalization of Tibetan language, culture, and identity should continue to be a concern for all freedom-loving people everywhere.”
On Mar 10 itself, Tibetans and advocates marched in solidarity through western Massachusetts. The Tibetans held a series of events commemorating the day, starting with a raising of the Tibetan flag at Amherst City Hall. They then marched to Northampton City Hall and Easthampton City Hall for a second and third flag raising events, reported wwlp.com Mar 10. Each flag raising was accompanied by speeches and prayers for peace.
“We are honored to host this commemorative event and have done so since our change of government in 2018,” amherstbulletin.com Mar 10 quoted Council President Lynn Griesemer as saying in a statement.
In the state of Utah, members of the Utah Tibetan Association and the Tibetan community gathered in downtown Salt Lake City, beginning at the Wallace F. Bennett Building to commemorate their national uprising day, reported fox13now.com Mar 10.
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In Austria’s capital Vienna, Dolores Bakos, member of the Vienna State Parliament and Vienna City Council, joined the Tibetan protest in front of the Chinese embassy with a banner reading “Free Tibet”, reported the ANI news agency.
Around 200 protesters carried Tibetan flags and posters highlighting the atrocities and genocidal actions committed by China in Tibet, as they took out a rally from the embassy to the Stephanplatz, the report said. They raised slogans like “Tibet belongs to Tibetans!”, “Long live the Dalai Lama!”, “Tibet was never a part of China,” and “China should leave Tibet” during this protest.
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Sydney’s Martin Place was ablaze with the multicoloured Tibetan flag on Mar 10 morning to mark the 65th anniversary since the Tibetan Uprising of Mar 10, 1959, reported sydneycriminallawyers.com.au Mar 11.
The NSW Tibetan Community rallied in the CBD before marching on to the Chinese Consulate in Camperdown. And as they marched, they chanted for an end to China’s colonial boarding schools, an end to the cultural genocide and an end to the desecration of the Tibetan environment, the report said.
This is the day in 1959, when Tibetans took to the streets of the capital Lhasa to protest against China’s illegal occupation of Tibet: an occupation that continues to this day – a military occupation, NSW Tibetan Community spokesperson Kyinzom Dhongdue has said.
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In Taiwan’s capital Taipei, Tibetan monks led the public in singing the Tibetan national anthem before leading a group down Zhongxiao East Road. The parade route went past the Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall, where a moment of silence was held to commemorate Tibetan sacrifices, reported taiwannews.com.tw Mar 10, citing Liberty Times.
Minister of the Council for Hakka Affairs in Taiwan Yiong Con-ziin, participating in the Tibetan protest, drew parallels between the protection of Tibet and the war in Ukraine, the report said.
Likening Tibet’s situation to the threats facing Taiwan, Yiong has said, “Tibet is not just a matter for Tibetans. All mankind must pray and work hard for Tibet’s freedom.”
DPP Department of International Affairs Director Wen Lii has said that after Tibet and China signed an agreement in 1951, in less than 10 years, the People’s Liberation Army entered Tibet, sending the Dalai Lama into exile, with Tibet’s religious freedom suppressed.
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The Tibetan uprising anniversary in Japan’s capital Tokyo, organized by the Tibetan community in Japan, was attended by many Japanese and representatives from Uyghur and Southern Mongolian communities, reported tibet.net Mar 11. An official function was held in the Tokyo Women Plaza conference hall, addressed by Dr Tsewang Gyalpo Arya, Representative of the Liaison Office of H.H. the Dalai Lama.
Some of the Tibetan and Japanese supporters were stated to have come from distant prefectures like, Mie, Aichi, Ibaragi, Saitama, etc.
The official commemoration was followed, later in the afternoon, with the participants protesting before the Chinese embassy in Tokyo. A copy of the Central Tibetan Administration’s statement was posted in the embassy’s letter box, the report said.