China’s President Hu Jintao met with protests calling for Tibetan independence during his first ever official visit to Toronto.
Members of the Tibetan community and Tibet supporters in Toronto are demonstrating amid tight security with scores of intelligence and police personnel to express their rights & bring attention to China’s ongoing illegal military occupation of Tibet and pressure Prime Minister Paul Martin to ensure that Tibetan self-determination is on the agenda for discussions with the Chinese President. The protesters had assembled at this downtown hotel since nine in the morning till the visiting Chinese President heads to Niagara Falls.
The spokesperson from teh organizing committee requested the Canadians to pressure their Government to put “Advocacy human rights before economy”
The present situation inside Tibet has not improved since Hu Jintao came to power. There is continuation of imprisonment and torturing of Tibetans for nothing more than the peaceful expression of their religious and political beliefs.
The China Government recently celebrated the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) for which Mr. Sonam Gyalpo was detained on 28 August 2005, at around 6pm which is their most recent attempt to depict Tibet as an integral part of China rather than a distinct nation and people with a rich history of independence.
“The image Beijing is attempting to put forth in anticipation of the upcoming 2008 Olympic Games of China as a progressive and modern democratic nation is grossly inaccurate,” said Kate Woznow, National Coordinator of SFT Canada. “It’s up to the governments and citizens of free countries like Canada to reject this myth and hold China accountable for its continued systematic repression of Tibetans fundamental right to determine their own future.”
When the Chinese President was leaving his hotel for Niagara, the demonstrators managed to come very close to him and expressed their frustration peacefully by waving the Tibetan National flag and shouting slogans.
An SFT member, Chris Schwartz, who is one of the two SFT Canada member from Montreal who managed to get in at the dinner venue got arrested for shouting pro Tibet slogans at the venue of the gala dinner organized by Canada-China Business Committee and he is handcuffed and taken away by the local police. While the protestors outside the venue of the dinner party continuously shouted slogans like, Free Tibet, China Out of Tibet, Canada Save Tibet and so on. He was later released after few hours of questioning.
Todays protest was jointly organized by SFT,CTC,CTAO,TYC,TWA and Chushi Gangdruk of Canada. The protestors covered both the enterance to the hotel as well as the convention center. There were few hundred shouting “FREE TIBET”
