10th March Tibetan National Uprising Day Organized in Bern under Special Arrangements
The 61st commemoration of the 10th March Tibetan National Uprising Day was held in the Swiss capital of Bern at Helvetiaplatz on a rainy Tuesday afternoon. It was only attended by the board members of the Tibetan Community in Switzerland and Liechtenstein (TCSL), representatives of a few Tibetan groups, some local Tibetans and important Tibet friends. Mr. Tsamdha Norbu, the president of TCSL, opened the gathering by introducing the importance and significance of the important date in the Tibetan history. He explained that the demonstration had to be reduced in its size and scope in regard to public health safety guidelines from the Federal Government of Switzerland. But he assured the gathering that the depth and the definition of the anniversary has not fallen in its standard no matter the inconveniences caused by the Coronavirus health scare in the local community.
The anniversary went on as the guests took their turns to make their statements on the status of the current political and human rights situations in Tibet and on other related issues. Mrs. Santa Marina Dekyi, the president of the Tibetan Women`s Association urged all Tibetans to not to forget the sufferings of the Tibetans inside Tibet and to keep fighting until freedom is regained. She requested the Swiss public to not to ignore the Tibet issue and to have it in their day to day conversations and that that would matter. Mr. Jigme Adoetsang president of the Tibetan Youth Association in Europe also took the chance to say a few words highlighting the criticality of the current situation in TIbet. He said the Tibetan people are excessively restricted by the Chinese government in their movements and assembly and their freedom of expression and ideology repressed. He also reminded the gathering of the seriousness of the political imprisonment of millions of muslims in East Turkestan and the need of the Tibetans in standing in solidarity with them in their difficult times. The other most prominent guest speaker was Mrs. Regula Rytz, Swiss Parliamentarian and President of the Green Party Switzerland and also the president of the Parliamentary Group for Tibet. She said the current situation in Tibet is very urgent and an emergency on the daily basis and that the international community of nations have a responsibility in pressuring China to pressure China to stop its reckless human rights abuses in Tibet. She said Switzerland is no exception and that it should not step away from its role in calling for and demanding China to make progress on issues of human and political rights on the Tibetan plateau. Also, in attendance was the Director of the Society for Threatened People, Mr. Chris Wiedmer said that the forceful expulsion of the nuns and monks from their nunneries and monasteries and the subsequent re-education and forbiddance to truly studying and learning their own language and culture is of grave concern. He also called on the Swiss government to put the prevailing and critical situations in Tibet and in East Turkestan before any bilateral trade and friendship deals with China. He said the Swiss government must see changes in Tibet for the better and the closure of the concentration camps in East Turkestan before economically profiting from China. He said Switzerland should not forget its role in upholding its principles of freedom and democracy and care wherever it matters. His speech was followed by a brief explanation and a summary of the statement from the Central Tibetan Administration on the 61st Anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising Day, by Mr. Samdhong Jampa , a member of the Tibetan parliament in exile in India. The CTA accused the Chinese government of lying on all fronts and on all issues and said that the Tibetans have been their own people in their own land for centuries with their own language, culture, tradition and national characteristics and not otherwise. It rejected the Chinese notion of Tibet being its part in its history dating back to many years. It also raised concerns on issues regarding the Chinese governments policies on the medium of instruction in schools in Chinese language rather than Tibetan language and its possible consequences. It also protested the Chinese governments unwanted hand in selecting the re-incarnation of the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet and said that the rights and duties of the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama lies only in the hands of the Tibetan people. The CTA has also requested the World Health Organization to engage on the issues of the Coronavirus health crisis in Tibet through the Chinese government and watch out on their safeties. The representative of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama to Switzerland Mr. Chime Rigzin also spoke at the demonstration and said that the Tibetans should stand united in the common fight for freedom and that each one must own up to the responsibility. He urged otherwise everyone overseas to read the statement of the Central Tibetan Administration to understand its political messages sent out from both the Tibetan parliament and A Central Tibetan Administration in Dharamshala. And then the talks were given, and the activists chanted slogans demanding peace, justice and freedom in Tibet. They also called for the release of political prisoners and the exit of the Chinese government from Tibet. The gathering ended with the singing of a prayer and proceeded with the handing over of a letter to the Chinese embassy in Bern. The letter which was later read at the gate of the Chinese Embassy called on the Chinese government to resolve the Tibetan issues on terms of peace and dialogue. The letter was written and delivered to in the name of the Tibetan Community in Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
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