(TibetanReview.net, Mar10’25) – As China sang self-praises on its decades-long rule and policies in Tibet with vows to strengthen its assimilation drive there in the name of Sinicization during the ongoing ‘Two Sessions’ conclave in Beijing, exile Tibetans and their supporters commemorated on Mar 10 the 66th anniversary of the brutal suppression of their popular uprising against the occupation rule.
And as the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) hosted guests from Estonia and Slovakia during the official commemoration of the event in Dharamshala on the Tsuglakhang courtyard, protesting activists of the Tibetan youth Congress scuffled with police in front of the Chinese embassy in New Delhi, while protest rallies were also held in cities in many countries, including the USA, across Europe, Australia, Canada, Japan and Taiwan.
The chief guest for the CTA event was Andrej Kiska, former President of Slovakia. He was joined by Csaba Kiss, the Coordinator of Slovakia Tibet Support Group.
Juku-Kalle Raid, Member of Estonian Parliament, was the special guest. He headed a group from Estonia which included Sakarias Jaan Leppik, former MP and former head of Tibet support group; members of parliament Karmen Joller, Hanah Lahe, Jaak Valge, and Ando Kiviberg. The group also included Roy Strider, Coordinator of Tibet Support Group in Estonian Parliament; Urmo Uiboleht, the Regent of Seto Kingdom in South-East Estonia; and Priit Rohumaa, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of AS Ekspress Group.
Both the guests addressed the gathering, recounting the horrendous histories of their own nations’ decades-long past histories under communist rule in expressing their understanding of the suffering of the Tibetan people and their yearning for freedom, while vowing support for their cause.
In his address, Raid has said: “I knew that 66 years ago, we consider that about 1.2 million Tibetans, who wanted nothing more but freedom, were killed. Actually, the entire Estonian population, all together, is 1.2 million. It means, for us, it’s like the Chinese Communist Regime killed everyone from our nation. So, we really understand what you are living through and what you have lived through.”
And Kiska has said in his address, referring to Tibetans who had carried out protest self-immolations in Tibet against the Chinese rule: “Two days ago, I was in the Tibet Museum and I saw those pictures of 158 people who set themselves on fire for freedom. I was looking at their faces, reading their stories and their words. My eyes were full of tears. Tibet is not just a place on the map; Tibet is a symbol of suffering for human rights, cultural identity, and freedom of religion.”
In their speeches, Sikyong Penpa Tsering of the CTA and Speaker Khenpo Sonam Tenphel of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile have strongly condemned China’s unending brutal occupation rule in Tibet and its current policy of trying to destroy the Tibetan national identity by strengthening its Sinicization efforts there.
They reaffirmed their decades-long commitment to seeking autonomy, not the restoration of independence, for their Tibetan homeland through a negotiated settlement.
The CTA also marks Mar 10 as Tibetan Martyrs’ Day and on Mar 8, its Department of Religion and Culture held an annual prayer service to remember and pay homage to the Tibetan individuals who gave their lives and suffered for the greater cause of Tibet, reported its Tibet.net Mar 8.
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Meanwhile in New Delhi, activists of the Tibetan Youth Congress waved Tibetan flags and held placards reading “Free Tibet” and “World Stand Up for Tibet” while shouting slogans against Chinese occupation even as they were being detained, reported the firstpost.com Mar 10.
As protests unfolded in Delhi, social media saw a surge of support under the hashtag #TibetanUprisingDay, which became the top trending topic in India, the report said.
Dozens of Tibetan protesters clashed with police as the latter blocked them from entering the embassy and briefly detained some of them after wrestling them to the ground, reported the AP Mar 10.
The ANI Mar 10 quoted a protester as saying, “China is lying… It says that Tibet belongs to China, it does not. We are not Chinese, we are Tibetans.”
It quoted another protester as saying, “We are protesting for the freedom of Tibet. Tibet was never a part of China. We have been protesting for a very long time now and we want freedom. Tibet is Tibet and it is not Xizang.”
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Protests were held in many other parts of the world, notably in Taipei and The Hague.
Hollywood star Richard Gere, who recently moved to Spain with his family, took part in the commemoration of the event in The Hague with Tibetans from across Europe, addressing the gathering and taking part in a solidarity demonstration.
The Hague protest march was to start at the Koekamp, go through the city to the Chinese embassy to deliver a letter to the ambassador to ask the Chinese government to respect the human rights of the Tibetan people, according to a press release from the event organizers Mar 5.
In Taipei, hundreds of people gathered at Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall on Mar 9 to commemorate the occasion and staged a march, protesting the Chinese Communist Party’s cultural and ethnic genocide in Tibet, reported taipeitimes.com Mar 10.
Those taking part included, for the first time, members of Taiwan’s National Human Rights Commission, a government watchdog agency established in Aug 2020, reported focustaiwan.tw Mar 9.
“We believe the Tibet issue is a human right issue where the Chinese Communists Party invaded Tibet and violated a peace agreement both signed,” it quoted the commission’s vice chairperson Wang Yu-ling as saying before the march.
A candlelit vigil was held at Liberty Square on Mar 10 night.
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In the USA, the Amherst Town Council welcomed the Regional Tibetan Community of Western Massachusetts at the steps of Town Hall on Mar 10 to commemorate the event as well as the Tibetan Women’s Uprising which is marked on Mar 12.
This event is an expression of solidarity for the Tibetan Peoples in exile across the world. The event includes the raising of the Tibetan flag, the reading of a proclamation by the Town Council, songs of protest and remembrance, speeches by community leaders, and a march from Amherst to Northampton along Route 9 and concluding in Easthampton, amherstindy.org earlier reported Mar 6.
President of the Amherst Town Council, Lynn Griesemer was stated to have noted: “We are honored to host this commemorative event and have done so since our change of government in 2018. It presents a wonderful moment to acknowledge and celebrate the robust contributions of the Tibetan Community in exile throughout the Valley. We continue to stand with our neighbors and friends to acknowledge the difficult past as we look forward to a better future.”