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Serfs Emancipation Day: Ex-political prisoner demonstrates outside Chinese embassy |
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TIBET 1959-2009: 50 years of oppression; 50 years of resistance
[London, 27 March] On the eve of “Serfs Emancipation Day”, a new public holiday that the Chinese government has imposed on the Tibetan people, ex-political prisoner, Palden Gyatso, was joined by members of the UK Tibetan community in a demonstration outside the Chinese embassy in London. (to see video click [here])
Kneeling on the pavement, handcuffed and gagged, wearing shirts with the message “I’m Tibetan and I am NOT emancipated”, the group gave a strong rebuttal to the Chinese government’s hypocritical and cynical propaganda that Tibetans were liberated 50 years ago.1 If they had taken this action inside Tibet, they would have been met with swift and brutal reprisals that could have resulted in beatings, detention and even death.
Palden Gyatso, witness to China’s brutal crackdown in Tibet following the Tibetan people’s uprising in 1959 said, “We are remembering this day not as the day when Tibet was liberated, but imprisoned instead. Before China’s Red Army marched into Tibet, we enjoyed freedom of speech, freedom of movement and freedom of religion. But since the invasion, repressive surveillance and restrictions were imposed.”2
Tibet Society Chairman, Fredrick Hyde-Chambers, and Chief Executive, Philippa Carrick, joined this historic demonstration that exercised the basic human right to freedom of peaceful assembly, a right denied Tibetans in Tibet.
Philippa Carrick said, “it is salutary to think that if we had done this simple action in Lhasa, we would have been risking our lives and the lives of our families. The situation inside Tibet is critical; after 50 years of occupation, subjugation and repression, Tibetans are desperate. What little news that gets out of Tibet tells of continued demonstrations, arrests, severe crackdowns and, tragically, suicides. A member of the group protesting here today recently received news that his best friend, Tashi Sangpo, a Tibetan monk from the Amdo Golok Ragya monastery, committed suicide. Unfortunately this is not an isolated incident and is a tragic indication of the current intense frustration and despair Tibetans are feeling inside Tibet.”
Background
1) Photos from outside the Chinese Embassy, 27 March 2009 [here]
2) See Palden Gyatso’s Serfs Emancipation Day message [here]
General background
Palden Gyatso was a young monk living in Tibet when the People’s Liberation Army came in to “liberate” the Tibetan people. He was witness to the Tibetan People’s uprising on 10 March 1959 and was arrested for peacefully demonstrating in Lhasa. He spent the next 33 years in jail or labour camp, suffering horrific torture and deprivation. In the UK for a short tour to accompany screenings of a new film of his life, Palden has been urging people to use the democratic freedoms they enjoy in the UK to call on the British government to take positive action for Tibet, such as sending an independent delegation to Tibet to see firsthand what the conditions are for Tibetans.
The Chinese government continues to deny any such reasonable requests and Tibet remains under de facto martial law. There is no media access and there is currently a stop on tourist visas. When asked why Tibet is under lockdown and why Tibetans still risk their lives to demonstrate on the streets, visiting Chinese scholars in London this week tried to insist that Tibet was open and accessible and Tibetans enjoy a harmonious and stable life. However they went on to admit there were currently temporary restrictions due to possible unrest because of the anniversaries in March. The very same anniversaries Tibetans are supposed to be celebrating as a liberated people.
Film footage from inside Tibet
From the Tibetan government in exile (www.tibet.net): [here]
Alternative link: [here]
NB. This video was also shown on Youtube. The site is now blocked in China. |
