Canberra, Australia: As Federal politicians and influential Australians arrive for the Chinese Ambassador’s reception on Tuesday, they will be greeted by members of Canberra’s Tibetan community holding a ten-metre “Free Tibet” banner at the entrance of the Chinese Embassy in Yarralumla.
Ambassaor Zhang Junsai is hosting the celebration to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
“We are not here to spoil the party but we want to remind those attending that there remains a serious problem in Tibet,” says Tsewang Thupten, spokesperson for the Tibetan Community of the Australian Capital Territory. “While China has made impressive progress in some areas over the last sixty years, for many, including the majority of Tibetans, life remains a day-to-day struggle to protect their culture and livelihoods.”
Protestors will also hold photographs of political prisoners, including Tibetan filmmaker Dhondup Wangchen, arrested in March 2008 and awaiting trial for “separatism” after gathering footage for the powerful documentary “Leaving Fear Behind”.
Tibet has been locked down ahead of the contentious anniversary, with the stepping up of an already heavy military presence and refusal of travel permits to tourists, journalists and other international observers. An estimated 1,200 Tibetans remain unaccounted for following a violent crackdown on demonstrations last March.
“Tibetans continue to be arrested, tortured and in some cases killed for exercising the kind of basic human rights and democratic freedoms that we in Australia take for granted,” says Tsewang, noting that five Tibetans had recently been sentenced to death in connection with protests in Lhasa last year. Their trials were conducted in secrecy.
This week a European Union fact-finding mission to Tibet has issued a damning criticism of Communist Party policy in Tibet, noting that Tibetans have become progressively marginalized and disadvantaged in their homeland(1).
Australia is home to around 600 Tibetans, including many former political prisoners.
