Official anniversary to mark 61st anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising day

DHARAMSALA, 10 March: Hundreds of Tibetans and supporters gathered at the courtyard of Tsug-lag-Khang, the main temple in Mcleod Ganj, here today to observe the 61st anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising day.

Honourable Frantisek Kopriva, founding member and co-chairperson of Czech Parliamentary Group for Tibet and Dana Balcarova, the chairwoman of the committee of the environment of the chamber of deputies and founding member of the Czech Parliamentary Group for Tibet attended the official anniversary function as the Chief Guest and Special Guest respectively along with the representatives of the three pillars of the Tibetan democracy as well as members of the Tibetan Parliament-in-exile and officials of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA).

President of CTA, Dr Lobsang Sangay and Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament-in-exile, Pema Jungney read statements of the Kashag and Tibetan parliament respectively. Both the Tibetan leaders reiterated the Tibetan administration’s firm stand and commitment to peacefully resolve the issue of Tibet through ‘Middle Way Approach’; urged the Chinese government to enter into a peaceful Sino-Tibetan negotiation on the issue of Tibet and thanked friends of Tibet and the Tibetan people from the past and present across the world for their continued and unequivocal support for the issue of Tibet.

President Sangay, the elected head of the Tibetan people greeted the Chief Guest and Special Guest from Czech Republic in his address and stated that  “The Czech Republic has the distinction of not just being the biggest supporter of Tibet and Tibetan people,” and further recalled the “very special relationship and bond between the former President of Czechoslovakia Václav Havel and His Holiness the Dalai Lama” and that of the “great support for Tibet and Tibetan people”.

“Then President Václav Havel was the first head of state to welcome His Holiness the Dalai Lama to the government offices,”  President Sangay said.

President Sangay concluded by thanking the guests from Czech for coming all the way to Dharamsala amid the global outbreak of COVID-19.

Václav Havel was a Czech statesman, writer and former dissident, who served as the last President of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1992 and then as the first President of the Czech Republic from 1993 to 2003. He passed away on 18 December 2011.

Honourable Frantisek Kopriva began his address by stating that “we are very happy to be here to commemorate the 61st anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising Day.”

Speaking on the Czech Parliamentary Group for Tibet, he said, “We have 53 members in the parliamentary support group from 5 political parties that is almost the whole political spectrum.”

“This year Czech will fly a record around 900 Tibetan flags across the whole republic in the municipality halls, libraries and school and there will be a protest infant of the Chinese embassy where our colleagues on behalf of the group of Chamber of  Deputies and Senate will speak and remind the Chinese Government that we won’t be blind to violations of international law and human rights. What is happening in Tibet is not right and we stand with you.”

He further read a declaration signed by the Czech Parliamentary Group for Tibet reaffirming their support for the Tibet and the Tibetan people for their cause and concluded by saying “we will keep promoting Middle way approach, preserving Tibetan culture and the environment in the Czech parliament.”

Dana Balcarova who also chairs the Czech parliament’s committee of environment described Tibet’s environment as one of their priorities.

“As the chair of the Czech parliament’s committee of environment, I would like to say how important is the Tibetan plateau, the land of snow that affects not just Asia but the whole planet.”

The Central Tibetan Administration’s official anniversary function is held to pay tribute to the Tibetan martyrs who lost their lives in the March 10, 1959 Uprising in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital as well as all those Tibetans who had sacrificed their lives for the cause of Tibet.

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