Toronto: On Saturday, March 10th, hundreds of Tibetans and their supporters will mark the 48th anniversary of Tibetan National Uprising Day with a rally at Queens Park, a march through downtown Toronto and a demonstration at the Chinese Consulate. On this day in 1959, Tibetans collectively rose up in Lhasa, Tibet to protest the illegal invasion and occupation of their country by China. Protests and rallies are being planned worldwide in what is expected to be the largest March 10th commemoration since the 1959 uprising.
The Rally at Queen’s Park will begin at 10am with featured speakers, including MP Peggy Nash, MPP Cheri Dinovo and Senator Consiglio Dinino, who is also the Co-chair of the Ottawa based Parliamentary Friends of Tibet. Since Sunday, March 4th, Tibetans have participated in a Free Tibet Action Week sit-in at the Ontario Provincial Parliament, braving the harsh winter weather in order to call for an immediate end to China’s occupation of Tibet.
Following the 1959 uprising, Tibet’s spiritual and temporal leader, the Dalai Lama, was forced to flee Tibet and was followed by hundreds of thousands of Tibetans seeking refuge in neighboring India. Forty-eight years later, Tibetans continue to flee over the treacherous Himalayan Mountains in search of greater freedom and education opportunities. Those who speak out for religious and political freedom inside Tibet continue to be harshly suppressed. To date, the Chinese government refuses to acknowledge the ‘Middle Way-Approach’ of the Dalai Lama for a peaceful resolution of the Tibet issue.
This March 10th, Tibetans will also speak out against the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) selection of Beijing as host of the 2008 Olympics. Since Beijing was awarded the Olympic Games in 2001, China’s human rights record has actually worsened, especially in Tibet. This is most evident from the September 2006 border shootings of Tibetans by Chinese soldiers; resulting in the death of a 17 year old nun. The Chinese government clearly is using the Olympic Games as a propaganda tool to strengthen its regime, while continuing gross human rights violations in China and Tibet.
The March 10th commemoration is being organized by:
Canadian Tibetan Association of Ontario (CTAO), Tibetan Youth Congress – Toronto (TYC), Tibetan Women’s Association of Toronto (TWAO), Canada Tibet Committee – Toronto Chapter, Student’s for a Free Tibet – Toronto Chapter and Dhokham Chushi Gangdruk Society, Toronto.
