DHARAMSHALA, October 10: Hundreds of Tibetan exiles and supporters yesterday carried out a candle light vigil and raised Tibetan national flags in the street of Mcleod Ganj in solidarity with the recent crackdown on Tibetans in Driru in eastern Tibet.
On October 6, around three hundred Chinese fired gun shots and used tear gas to disperse Tibetans gathered at a local government office appealing for the release of Dorjee Dragtsel, who was arrested earlier for defying orders to hoist the Chinese national flag atop houses in his village.
Moreover, last month Tibetans of Mowa village in Driru clashed with Chinese security forces after defiant Tibetans refused to raise the Chinese flag and threw them into a river.
“The very denial to raise China’s flag by the Tibetan people in Tibet highlights the height of resistance of our people. We stand here today in solidarity with our people who have been resisting China’s illegal occupation of Tibet for over 50 years,” said Nyima Yangtso, Vice President of the Regional Tibetan Youth Congress, Dharamshala.
The event was jointly organized by regional chapter of Tibetan Youth Congress and Students for a Free Tibet, India.
“We condemn China’s shooting of innocent Tibetans in Driru and call for immediate withdrawal of troops and release of all those detained Tibetans. China’s recent order that Tibetans must fly the Chinese flag is part of a propaganda campaign in Tibet, which according to Tibetans is no less different to the days of the Cultural Revolution. Tibetans want the freedom to fly their own flag and will continue to resist until Tibet is free,” said Dorjee Tseten, Asia Director of Students for a Free Tibet.
“It is now the responsibility of international government to make China accountable for the gross Human Rights violations in Tibet. The world must act and take the opportunity to highlight China’s crime in Tibet in the upcoming China’s Universal periodic Review on 22 October in the UN”.
Similar campaigns were also carried out in various parts of the world by Students for a Free Tibet and Tibet groups. The same group has also launched an online petition calling on China’s security chief Meng Jinazhu and Tibet Autonomous region party secretary Chen Quanguo to order an immediate end to the violence in Driru.
