Tibetans protest, Parliament calls it grim occasion in history of Tibet as it marks 70 years of Chinese occupation
DHARAMSALA, 23 May: It marks a “grim occasion in the history of Tibet,” the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile(TPiE) has said on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of China’s “violent armed invasion and occupation” of Tibet.
As the Chinese communist regime “plans to hold a mass celebration to mark the 70th anniversary of its supposed peaceful liberation of Tibet,” it marks a “grim occasion in the history of Tibet,” read a statement issued by the TPiE.
“With the false claim of carrying out a peaceful liberation of Tibet, the government of China led by the Communist Party of China applied overwhelming coercion on the Tibetan side to compel it to sign the so-called 17-Point Agreement,” it added.
While China marks 23 May 2021 as what they call the “70th anniversary of the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet,” Tibetans mark it as a “black day in their history.
On 23 May 1951, China forced the Tibetan delegation led by Ngabo Ngawang Jigme to sign the ‘Seventeen-Point Agreement’ in Beijing.
The statement further stated that the Communist Chinese government ignored every provision of the agreement and that the Tibetan people were dealt only with violent repression.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama repudiated the agreement signed under duress once he arrived in exile on June 20, 1959. The Dalai Lama declared the ‘Seventeen-Point Agreement’ as having been thrust upon the then Tibetan government and people by the threat of arms.
As China marks the “70th anniversary of its peaceful liberation of Tibet,” Tibetan activists began 10 days march for Tibet’s Independence from Philadelphia to Washington DC while a march for Tibet’s Independence in a parallel protest is being carried out from in Canada from Rainbow Bridge Border to Toronto.
This is the second March for Tibet’s Independence initiated by a ground of Tibetan Americans and Canadians. The activists have declared that “historically, Tibet and China had been two distinct nations,” and that China began the invasion of Tibet in 1949 and “violently incorporated Tibet into the People’s Republic of China.”
Dhondup Lhadar Rangzen, Tenzin Wangdu, Thupten Choenyi, Lobsang Yeshi, Penpa Tsering, and Migmar Dolma began their ten-day march today from Philadelphia Independence Hall that will end one 1 June before the steps of the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington DC while Sunny Sonam, Sangyal Kyap and Tara Dolam from Toronto RTYC took part of the parallel March for Tibet’s independence protest in Canada.
The activists have called out China, a colonizer and a threat to the global order.
“China has invaded and colonized once-free nations such as Tibet, East Turkestan, Southern Mongolia, and Manchuria; it has also threatened the freedom and security of other world nations through spying and stealing of intellectual property rights,” their statement read.
“Through this march we want the international community to be vigilant against these threats.”
The activists have further demanded the Chinese government to take responsibility for the millions of deaths caused by the Coronavirus across the world and urged the international community to press China to hold them accountable, the boycott of 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and Chinese products, and oppose China’s ongoing colonialism in Tibet, and support Tibetan people’s struggle to restore Tibet’s independence.
The March for Tibet’s Independence also demands the immediate release of the Panchen Lama and all the Tibetan political prisoners from Chinese prisons while urging the US congress and senate to “hold hearing sessions on Tibetan struggle” seeking support for the just cause of Tibet from Washington and the American people.
