Hundreds of people from the Tibetan community gathered in the City Centre in the capital city of Australia to commemorate the 63rd anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising Day.
Over 150 Tibetans and Tibet supporters participated in the protest rally in Canberra. Karma Singey, Representative of the Dalai Lama delivered Kashag's statement to the crowd, reiterating the repressive policies of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) under which Tibetans inside Tibet still continue to suffer.
Kalsang Tsering, the President of the ACT Tibetan Community and the Australian Tibetan Communities Association, talked about his own personal experience of not being able to see his father for over a decade due to tightened security measures and surveillance by the Chinese authorities inside Tibet.
Kelsang Dolkar, Media Liaison Officer of the ACT Tibetan Community, also addressed the crowd about activist and scholar Go-Sherab Gyatso's 10 years imprisonment and also talked about the recent death of Tsewang Norbu under the Chinese authorities after he attempted to self-immolate on February 25 in Tibet.
Jay Moran, the Regional Director of Amnesty International talked about witnessing the 2008 spontaneous Tibetan plateau wide protest in Tibet that led to worldwide demonstrations and protests, and how she had thought that it would lead to freedom for Tibet. Although she was disappointed that the Tibetans still had to fight for their rights and freedom, on behalf of Amnesty International, she pledged their support to always stand by the Tibetans for their fight for justice just cause.
The rally continued through the city centre, ringing with slogans demanding freedom for Tibet, human rights and justice for Tibetans inside Tibet. In front of the Chinese embassy, emotions ran high as the majority of the Tibetans present at the rally were either former political prisoners or were family members of former political prisoners who had suffered for many years under the brutal regime of the CCP.
Wu LeBao, a Chinese dissident whose activism and vocal criticism of CCP's censorship and influence in Australia led to his name being black-listed in China, showed his support for the Tibetan cause and admiration for the determination of the Tibetan community to stand up for their cause for so many years.
Dadon, a former political prisoner and beloved member of the Canberra Tibetan Community, spoke outside the Chinese embassy in Mandarin, letting them know that even though the Dalai Lama had sincerely and open-mindedly endeavoured to hold dialogues with the CCP to obtain genuine autonomy for Tibet, they had ignored these attempts.
Tibetans all over the world would continue to resist and challenge the brutal and illegal occupation of Tibet by the CCP. Protest rallies in Sydney, Melbourne and other states Similarly, the Tibetan community in Sydney organised a protest rally from Dee Why to Mantin place.
( With inputs from ANI )
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