By Phurbu Thinley
Phayul Correspondent
Dharamsala, 22 November: In an aggressively violent and expressive protest against the continued occupation of Tibet by Communist China, Tibetans here in Dharamsala today symbolically set a large five star red flag of China on fire.
The protest march themed-“Burning the flag of Tyranny” saw Tibetan activists dragging the national flag of PRC (People’s Republic of China) from the main Temple gate up to the McLeod square before it was completely set on fire.
As the protesters proceeded by dragging the flag and, screaming pro-Tibet and anti-China slogans, more Tibetans and onlookers continued to join the protest march.
The five star red flag of China first appeared during the 1949 communist revolution. The red represents the blood sacrifice of the people of China for the revolution that started in China in early 1920s. The big central star represents the Han race of China and the four small stars represent the four nationalities: the Manchus, the Mongols, the Uigurs and the Tibetans.
A joint-statement released by Students for a Free Tibet, Friends of Tibet, Gu Chu Sum Movement of Tibet and National Democratic Party of Tibet here today, calls China the biggest remaining colonial power running brutal occupation of Manchuria, Inner Mongolia, East Turkestan (Xinjiang) and Tibet.
It blames Communist China of systematically destroying the native culture and national identity of the people of these colonised states and severely exploiting their natural resources all in the name of “peaceful liberation” and “development” in over fifty years of its illegal and forceful rule.
When asked whether such protests would have positive impact on Tibetan freedom struggle; Tenzin Tsundue, a prominent free-Tibet activist, says, “The world is learning more from what we are doing. China does not want to face the real truth but, it cannot, at the same time, do away with this.”
Tibetans have been staging routine and varying protests all over India during the Chinese President Hu Jintao’s ongoing visit to India. Hu is presently on a four-day visit to India starting from November 20 and will leave India tomorrow.
Dharamsala, in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, is the administrative capital of Tibetans in exile and home to the exiled Tibetan leader, His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
