By Per Persson
Mr Christer Cederlöf comes walking in the street outside the Swedish Parliament with his heavily loaded jogging-carriage behind him and with a Tibetan flag majesticly flying in the wind. He is training for a long walk, that will start on May 12 outside the Parliament Building in Stockholm and end in Gothenburg on June 12, when His Holiness Dalai Lama will attend the Worldcongress in Cognitive Psychotherapy.
I ask Christer how he could come up with the idea of walking approximately 600 kilometers from Stockholm to Gothenburg.
– It is an obligation and a right as a demokrat and fellowhuman to try to influence the Swedish Parliament and the Global Community to suggest to the Chinese regime an inpartial mediator in the negotiations with the Tibetan government in exile. The Chinese regime continues with new demands and directions for allowing Tibet to acquire autonomy, and here is where I feel the Tibetan suffering should come to and end.
Christer will during the walk contact local medias and try to make newspapers, tv and radio engage in the matter at issue.
– In the beginning I actually had plans of a trackrace for Human Rights, in Stockholm City during coming summer, but the Swedish Sports Association turned out to be not interested. Considering that China is hosting the Olympics 2008 I thought that a disscussion about the Chinese violation of dissidents in China and also their occupation of Tibet was needed and my plan was to arrange trackraces to jumpstart this discussion.
Things did not turn out as planned, but I now feel more for the walk to Gothenburg and it will also be a tribute to His Holiness, who with undiminished force have tried to make way for a dialouge with the Chinese regime.
I wonder if it will not be a bit dull and lonely walking alone one month on the Swedish roads and sleeping in a tent.
– When I walk I recite “Om Mani Peme Hung” and I have also invited other interested to follow me on my way to Gothenburg and hopefully it will be a big manifestation on the arrival in Gothenburg on June 11. I have invited all Human Rights-organisations and political parties to participate so it will be exiting to see how things develope during the walk.
I wish Christer Cederlöf good luck with the manifestation as he walks away on the asfalted road with the Tibetan flag “freely” flying on top of the carriage.
Per Persson can be contacted at musketor.cederlof@chello.se
