March for Tibet’s Independence concludes
DHARAMSALA, 2 June: March for Tibet’s Independence from Philadelphia to Washington DC, the US and from Rainbow Bridge Border to Toronto, Canada initiated by some Tibetan activists has concluded successfully on Tuesday.
The Tibetan activists began their march on 23 May to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the day when China forced the Tibetan delegation led by Ngabo Ngawang Jigme to sign the ‘Seventeen-Point Agreement’ in Beijing.
The activists; Dhondup Lhadar, Tenzin Wangdu, Thupten Choenyi, Lobsang Yeshi, Penpa Tsering, and Migmar Dolma marched for ten days from Independence Hall in Philadelphia before it successfully concluded at the National Mall in Washington DC.
They were accompanied by photographer Khenrab from Seattle and Tenzin Wangdue for logistics and management.
In a parallel march, Sunny Sonam, a Tibetan activist from Canada also carried out ten days March for Tibet’s Independence from Rainbow Bridge Border to the Chinese embassy in Toronto that also concluded on the same day.
“We demanded Tibet’s Independence through this march because this year, China is marking the so-called ’70th anniversary of its peaceful liberation of Tibet.’ But in reality, over the last 60-70 years under the Chinese occupation, Tibetans received nothing but tears and blood,” Dhondup Lhadar, one of the marchers said.
“We also wanted to highlight the fact that Tibet an independent country was illegally occupied by China and to gain support for the restoration of Tibet’s independence.”
Many Tibetans and supporters alike took part in the march be it for some hours or days and the Marches concluded with a concluding ceremony attended by Tibetans and supporters.
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.”
