March 4th-10th, 2007
For Immediate Release
Toronto – February 28, 2007, Toronto Tibetan Youth Congress will be holding a Free Tibet Action Week to increase the pressure on China and to alert the world about the ongoing human rights violation in Tibet by the Chinese government.
As China prepares to hold the 2008 Beijing Olympic, Toronto Tibetan Youth Congress will be holding a weeklong protest at Queens Park from March 4th to March 10th to demonstrate against the continued human rights violation in Tibet by the Chinese government. The Free Tibet Action Week culminates with the commemoration of the 48th Tibetan uprising day, which will be attended by hundreds of Tibetans and Tibet supporters from Toronto and neighbouring areas.
The International Olympic Committee awarded China the 2008 Olympic Games in 2001, contending that the Games will “improve human rights in China” and in Tibet. In April 2001, Liu Jingmin, Vice-President of the Beijing Olympic Bid Committee stated, By allowing Beijing to host the Games you will help the development of human rights. However, human rights violations remain systematic and widespread as reported by the various human rights organizations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, International Campaign for Tibet and so forth.
· Torture in China is Widespread, according to UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, who had the opportunity to visit Tibet and parts of China in 2005. In September 2006, the international observers witnessed the fatal shootings by the Chinese border patrols of unarmed Tibetan refugees at the Nangpa Pass (Nepal/Tibet Border).
· The whereabouts of the worlds youngest prisoner the XI Panchen Lama, kidnapped by the Chinese authorities at the age of six, is still unknown to this day. Tulku Tenzin Delek , a prominent Tibetan monk from Eastern Tibet along with his relative Lobsang Dhondup were arrested for charges that they did not commit. Lobsang is already executed while Tulku Tenzin Delek is sentenced to life imprisonment. Many more political prisoners are still facing a harsh life under Chinese oppression.
Such persistence in violation of Human rights by China make them unfit for holding the Olympics. We, the Toronto Tibetan Youth Congress urge the Canadian government to pressure the International Olympic Committee to rescind the hosting of Olympic 2008 by China.
The Toronto Tibetan Youth Congress is a chapter of the Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC), a worldwide organization of Tibetans united in our common struggle for the restoration of complete independence for the whole of Tibet. TYC has more than 20,000 members worldwide.
For more information, please contact: Phurbu Tsering at (647) 293-0303 (www.torontotyc.com)
Where: Queens Park in front of the legislative building
When: March 4th 10th 2007 Time: 9:00 a.m 5:00 p.m. (Daily)
Who: Toronto Tibetan Youth Congress
Guest Speakers: Senator Consiglio DiNino, MP Peggy Nash and MPP Cheri DiNovo
