Tibetan Youth Congress activists protest against Chinese President Xi Jinping with "Free Tibet" and "Stop the demolition of Larung Gar" placards in Margao, India, on 15 October 2016. Xi is in Goa attending the BRICS summit. TYC Handout
Tibet Sun Newsroom
MCLEOD GANJ, India, 15 October 2016
Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) activists staged a protest againt the visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping in Margao, shouting slogans of “Free Tibet” and “Stop the demolition of Larung Gar”.
Police detained all the protesters, who had gathered not far from the luxury resort where Chinese President Xi Jinping will be staying for the BRICS summit at the beach resort town in the western Indian state of Goa.
A similar protest took place in the national capital Delhi on Friday when Tibetan students protested outside the Chinese Embassy. They were detained by police, but were released later on.
BRICS is the association of five big developing nations comprised of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, that banded together in 2009 to counter the US dominance of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF).
All the leaders of these five countries are set to attend their annual summit from 15-16 October 2016, likely to deliberate on a range of key issues including confronting terrorism and boosting trade and investment.
“Today we are here to demand Xi Jinping to end the illegal occupation of Tibet and we also want to highlight the current demolition of Larung Gar Buddhist Academy where thousands of Tibetan monks and nuns are being displaced against their will. The world needs to hear this,” said Tenzing Jigme, President of Tibetan Youth Congress.
Jigme cited the over 140 self-immolations which have taken place in Tibet since 2009 protesting China’s illegal occupation and hardline policies. He also spoke about the demolition of the Larung Gar Buddhist Academy, said to be the world’s largest Buddhist monastic community, to reduce the population of the institute. Jigme said that the situation is critical in Tibet and that the Tibetans in Tibet are not satisfied with the rule of the current communist government.
“Tibet today faces a life-and-death situation. Tibet continues to burn,” he said.
Tibetan Youth Congress is the largest Tibetan NGO in exile. It is based in McLeod Ganj, Dharamshala, working for the freedom and independence of the Tibetan people.
While I admire the courage and activities of our Tibetan Youth, does this action yield any tangible outcome? Because of our protests in 2008 in exile, the number of Tibetan refugees fleeing Tibet has gone down. Because of our actions in exile, Tibetans in Tibet are suffering. We have to differentiate whether what we are doing is for self or for the people of Tibet. Once you decide this, then you will understand and think before you do something in the future.
I also think TYC should think of doing something new instead of this chor-police game with the Indian police and gain some internal media attention. TYC should learn something from SFT instead of just ranting “we are the biggest NGO in exile.” In fact, I think TYC is now the smallest NGO in exile if we do the survey correctly. This all happened because of some in TYC Central.