Protesters in Calgary demand freedom for Tibet on 60th anniversary of National Uprising Day
Posted Mar 10, 2019 3:24 pm.
Last Updated Mar 10, 2019 3:34 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
CALGARY (660 NEWS) — Around 300 protesters gathered outside the Consulate-General of the People’s Republic of China in Calgary to protest against China’s occupation of Tibet.
Protesters chanted and waved Tibetan flags in honour of the 60th anniversary of National Uprising Day. In March 1959, some historical records suggest 87,000 Tibetans died trying to resist Chinese oppression.
Their signs demand an end to human rights violations in Tibet, while others wish for the Dalai Lama to have a long life.
Sangay is part of the diaspora in Calgary calling on the Canadian government to take action. “I live as a refugee, but I want to go back to my country, and I want Tibet to be free one day,” he said. “I want to request all the people of the world to support Tibet — the nation should support Tibet.”
Many of the Tibetans in attendance were refugees born in India. They’ve since come to Canada where they continue to draw attention to the human rights violations being committed by the Chinese government against the Tibetan people. Tibet has been under Chinese control since 1951.
Speaking through a translator, 86-year-old Norbu Dhondup remembers fleeing his home in Tibet with his family. He was alerted to the Chinese invasion by his family’s maid. They then fled on foot through the Himalayan mountains, leaving everything behind.
“My dad and grandfather they came to know that the Chinese were coming to get both of them, so they had to leave right away — there was no planning or research,” he said. Many Tibetans fled on foot through the Himalayan’s enroute to Bhutan, Nepal, and India.
Many of their children have grown up far from their homeland in Canada, but they have not forgotten the suffering and oppression their people continue to face.
“It’s important for the fight to keep going, our struggle is a non-violent struggle,” Sarah, a first generation Canadian explained. “We are a very peaceful people and we just want to be able to practice our culture, have our language, and be able to practice free religion within Tibetan borders and around the world.”
American research institute Freedom House has ranked Tibet as the second-worst place in the world for freedom.
“We want the Canadian government to keep raising human rights whenever they are in dialogue with China, even when discussing trade and economics,” she said.
