Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], March 12 : Tibetan women-in-exile held a candle march in the north Indian hill town of Shimla, marking the 65th anniversary of Tibetan Women's National Uprising Day and protesting against the atrocities being committed by the Chinese authorities in Tibet.
Tibetan women including Buddhist students, monks and others gathered in the north Indian hill town of Shimla to mark the anniversary and also to remember the women who died during the 1959 women's uprising inside Tibet.
The Tibetan women-in-exile participated under the banner of the Regional Chapter of TWA (Tibetan Women Association) and appealed to the international community to support the cause of Tibet.
Dawa Cheodon, the organiser of the protest and Tibetan freedom activist said that through the protest, they aim to globally highlight the situation in Tibet amid Chinese atrocities.
"Today we are here to mark the 65th Women National Uprising Day. On this day in 1959, 15,000 Tibetan women gathered near Potala Palace to protest against Chinese illegal occupation. We have gathered to pay tribute to those who died for us. Through this peace march, we are trying to highlight to the world about the situation in Tibet," Cheodon said.
"There is no internet or news access inside Tibet. China is planning a hydroelectric dam inside Tibet which is a big threat to the people and the monasteries. The degradation of our land and our people only benefits China," she added.
Tsering Dorjee, the spokesperson of the Tibetan community in exile, highlighted the human rights violations in Tibet and said that the dam being built on the Indo-China border presents a grave threat to the local culture as well as to the region.
"Tibetan communities across the globe are protesting today to mark the 65th anniversary of the Tibetan Women's National Uprising. On this day in 1959, women protested inside Tibet and today we are marking the anniversary. Today, human rights violations continue inside Tibet. Education rights are being snatched, the environment is being destroyed, and big dams are being built on the mountains on the Indo-China border," he said.
"These dams would be a threat to India and to the entire Asia. In the Kham region, a dam is being built that would destroy the important monasteries in the region. People are being displaced forcefully and are being imprisoned. Child labour is also being committed. Today through this peace march we are appealing to the world to get united against China and give a befitting reply," Dorjee added.
On March 12, 1959, Tibetans women in Lhasa on national uprising were protesting against the PRC (People's Republic of China). Thousands of Tibetan women were killed in Chinese rebuttal and over 80,000 Tibetans including spiritual leader Dalai Lama were forced to flee India.
Since then, thousands of Tibetans are living in-exile in India and other parts of the globe.
A large number of Tibetan women in exile across the globe protested and remembered those Tibetan women who were killed over 6 decades ago inside Tibet.
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