New York City, March 10 – Tibetans and supporters took to the streets of New York today, joining tens of thousands around the world to mark the 46th Tibetan National Uprising Day with demonstrations, vigils and rallies. On this day, forty-six years ago in Tibet’s capital city of Lhasa, thousands of Tibetans demonstrated against China’s occupation of their country and to protect the life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. After His Holiness’s escape on March 17th, tens of thousands of Tibetan people were slaughtered by the Chinese forces. A rally was held from 10.00 am to 1.00 pm at the United Nations’ Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza followed by a cross-town march on 42nd Street to the Chinese Consulate.
The protest rally was organized by five main organizations of New York; the Tibetan Community of New York and New Jersey, the Regional Tibetan Women’s Association, Student’s for a Free Tibet, U.S. Tibet Committee and the Regional Tibetan Youth Congress of New York and New Jersey.
Dr. Ngawang Rabgyal, representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to the Americas, addressed the huge gathering about the importance and the grounds for commemorating the particular day. Mr. Tsewang Phuntsok, Liaison officer to the Latin America read the statement of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in English and Mr. Dorjee Kundup, second secretary to the representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to the Americas, read the statement in Tibetan. Professor Robert Thurman of Columbia University, in his speech, reassured his comment by saying, “No evil power is strong enough to crush the determination of the Tibetans, even if the perpetrator is an evil giant as powerful as China.” Mr. Kunga Thinley, President of the Regional Tibetan Youth Congress of New York and New Jersey and Ms. Lhadon Tethong from the Student’s for a Free Tibet were the masters of the ceremonies.
The protest highlights the cases of two Tibetan political prisoners, both religious leaders. The Panchen Lama, one of the Tibet’s most important spiritual figures was kidnapped in 1995, when he was just six years old. He will turn sixteen this year, having spent ten years of his young life under house arrest. His whereabouts and health are unknown. Tenzin Delek Rinpoche was sentenced to death in 2002 for crimes he did not commit. Massive international pressure prompted the Chinese government to commute his sentence to life in prison this January.
The demonstrators are also concerned about the construction of the first railway between China and Tibet, with test runs scheduled for July 2006. Rail access would drastically increase the number of Chinese settlers moving into Tibet, posing an even greater threat to the survival of Tibetan culture. It would also facilitate removal of Tibet’s resources and expedite movement of Chinese troops into Tibet in the event of unrest. The Chinese government has admitted the rail line is being built for political reasons.
At the Chinese Consulate, after the cross-town march, Mr. Ngawang Palden, General Secretary of the Regional Tibetan Youth Congress of New York and New Jersey read the Statement of the Tibetan Youth Congress on the 46th National Uprising Day of Tibet and Mr. Han Shan of Student’s for a Free Tibet, while looking towards the windows of the Chinese Consulate building said, “No matter how good you organize and plan for the Beijing 2008 Olympics, we’ll be there again to make you feel ashamed of sinful deeds.” The mass rally ended roughly at around 5:00pm.
