The eleven-day “March for Tibet’s Independence” from Charlottesville to Washington, DC ends on Sunday, June 11 with a rally in front of China’s Embassy at 11am.
The final day begins at 8:30am on the Virginia side of the Key Bridge.
The core 16 walkers (12 Tibetans & 4 Westerners) will be joined by leaders of the Formosan Independence Movement as well as a large contingent of Tibetans and others from the East Coast of the United States.
The core walkers range in age from 25 to 72 years old. One of the core walkers is Jigme Norbu, son of Taktser Rinpoche (Oldest Brother of His Holiness The Dalai Lama). According to Norbu, “This walk has demonstrated once again Tibetans young and old want nothing less than to rule their own free country and to assure Tibetans inside of Tibet their wish for independence will be realized.”
Tsering Yeshi of Vermont echoed Norbu’s sentiments stating, “I went to bed last night thinking about independence and thought why we are doing this walk? We Tibetans must all step up and take greater responsibility to secure Tibet’s independence. We’re not part of China.”
Over 30 organizations from around the world have co-sponsored this walk. The main coordinating organization, the International Tibet Independence Movement(ITIM), has organized 12 such walks since 1995 in different parts of North America.
During the demonstration, a number of individuals will share their strong desire to secure Tibet, East Turkistan, Southern Mongolia, and Hong Kong’s independence, and their wish to see Taiwan remain independent.
For more information on ITIM, visit www.rangzen.org or contact Professor Larry Gerstein at 317-506-2249 or Tsewang Rigzin at 360-213-9393.
