Thousands protest on 55th Tibetan National Uprising Day

By Phuntsok Yangchen Kacheri petrol pump, March 10, 2014/phayul photo/Kunsang Gashon DHARAMSHALA, March 10: Thousands of Tibetans and supporters today marched from Tsuglakhang temple in McLeod Ganj to Kacheri despite heavy rain to mark the 55th Tibetan National Uprising Day. The protesters carrying Tibetan flags and pictures of Tibetan self-immolators walked down the winding road leading towards the local Indian judiciary and administrative premises as they raised slogans for freedom in Tibet, release of Panchen Lama and international intervention in the ongoing crisis in Tibet. At a gathering at Kacheri Petrol Pump, a venue for Tenth March protests for several years, representative of various Tibetan NGOs addressed the gathering. Tibetans march to lower Dharamshala, March 10, 2014/phayul photo/Kunsang Gashon “Today’s date is not only important for Tibetans but also to all those people around the world who believe in truth and non-violence,” said Tashi Lamsang, General Secretary of Tibetan Youth Congress. “On March 10, 1959, exactly 55 years ago from today, thousands of Tibetans lost their lives protesting against China’s occupation of Tibet, calling for HIs Holiness the Dalai Lama's long life. And today we have gathered here to remember all the Tibetan martyrs who have lost their lives for Tibet.” The protest march was jointly organized by four major Tibetan NGO’s, Tibetan Youth Congress, Tibetan Women’s Association, Gu-Chu-Sum Movement of Tibet, and Students for a Free Tibet. “The crisis in Tibet has only worsened, which is why Tibetans in exile and Tibet activists around the world are intensifying efforts to urge world governments to build pressure on China to end the severe repression in Tibet,” said the organizers in its joint statement. “By working in unison, like-minded governments can pressure China more strongly to end its dangerously provocative policies in Tibet and send the signal that China’s bullying of individual nations that support Tibet is unacceptable.” Since 2009, 127 Tibetans have set themselves on fire in Tibet to protest against China’s occupation of Tibet and its hard-line policies. Ram Swaroop, Advisor to the Indo-Tibetan Friendship Association expressed his happiness that the Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama has made Dharamshala his home for the last several decades.